A former business associate is demanding that Hunter Biden pay back $1 million this week for failing to provide legal services, the New York Post reported.
Chi Ping "Patrick" Ho, who worked for Chinese firm CEFC, sent a letter to Hunter Biden's attorneys last week threatening to sue the first son within seven days unless he returns the money.
In 2017, Hunter Biden had been hired to act as an attorney for Ho, who claims he did no legal work for him.
"Patrick says he paid him, and that Hunter never did anything for him and that according to the contract the money should be reimbursed," a source told Post columnist Miranda Devine.
According to the Post on Sunday, Ho sent a legal letter to Hunter Biden last week requesting that their attorney-client agreement be terminated immediately. The letter also threatened legal action unless Ho receives a detailed list of services provided by Hunter Biden and reimbursement for the unused funds.
The Hong Kong law firm Huen & Partners sent Ho's letter to Hunter Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell in Washington, D.C.
Ho, former Hong Kong Home Affairs secretary, was convicted in 2019 for paying bribes to the presidents of Chad and Uganda. He was sentenced to three years' jail before being deported to Hong Kong.
Ho says the only legal work Hunter Biden did for him was to call another attorney, Edward Kim, and show up late for a meeting with Ho and Kim the morning after Ho's arrest in November 2017.
A transcript of Hunter Biden's plea deal appearance in July before Delaware U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika shows that the first son, under oath, said he received the million dollar payment "for legal fees for Patrick Ho," through "my own law firm."
After Noreika asked Hunter Biden whether he had been doing legal work for Ho apart from the law firm, the first son began to answer affirmatively before lawyer Chris Clark stepped in.
"That wasn't through Boise Schiller, Your Honor, Mr. Biden was engaged as an attorney," Clark said.
"Right. So that's why I asked. You were doing work for him –" Noreika said.
"My own law firm, not as counsel," Hunter Biden replied.
"So you had your own law firm as well?" the judge asked.
"I think Owasco PT acted as a — acted as a law firm entity, yeah," Hunter Biden said.
IRS whistleblower Joe Ziegler last year testified to the House Ways and Means Committee that, "the $1 million payment was not for legal fees and was misrepresented in the failed plea agreement."