The Department of the Treasury and the defense of the youtuber and influencer Jorge Christian Batista Agrontbetter known on social media as Chris Agront, are finalizing an agreement, with the aim that the businessman also pays the multimillion dollar amount of money he owes to the government.
Batista Agront was charged on July 13 for violations of the Internal Revenue Code, after allegedly not reporting more than $11 million in income and not paying the Treasury about $7.6 million between 2017 and 2022a figure that includes penalties and interest.
The possible agreement with the Treasury came to light today, Monday, at the start of the trial against the businessman in the San Juan Court, which was scheduled for August 31 by Judge Nerisvel Durán Guzmán.
Although Batista Agront’s lawyer, Francisco Rebollo, declined to offer details of the agreement, The prosecutor in charge of the case, Deborah Rodríguez, anticipated that the influencer could end up paying less than the amount owed. However, he stressed that the accused would have to face fines in the criminal process.
Similarly, the Public Ministry announced that, as part of the agreement, the embargoes that the Treasury executed against the businessman could be rendered null and void. Among other things, the agency seized bank accounts and two luxury vehicles in the businessman’s name: a 2021 Mercedes Benz G550, worth $239,884, and a 2020 Lamborghini Urus bus, worth $349,599.
“Mr. Batista Agront is in the interest of paying and repaying all the money owed. They (Hacienda and the accused) are in that process, which is not overnight and it takes a while”established Rodríguez, specifying that the beginning of the trial was postponed due to the lack of some documents from the Treasury.
to questions of The new daythe press spokeswoman for said agency, Vilmar Trinta, confirmed the talks between the parties, but emphasized that at this time “there is no agreement.”
In the event that the expert appears in court next week, the judge warned that she would accept it “as long as it is in accordance with the law.”
Defend your client
Meanwhile, Rebollo defended that his client, who markets himself as an expert in the Forex currency exchange network, “is simply a Puerto Rican taxpayer who was notified of a deficiency by the Treasury Department.”
Although the attorney tried to minimize the case, the accusation shows that Batista Agront’s debt amounts to $4.5 million individually and $3 million for his corporation JetTrades LLC, through which he offers financial advice in Puerto Rico, United States and other Latin American countries.
Nor, it was alleged, was the young man registered in the Unified Internal Revenue System (SURI) and the payments he received came from platforms such as PayPal, Evenbrite and Stripe.
“A week after being notified, (Batista Agront) had filed all his forms up to date, forms that have not been accepted by the Treasury. Furthermore, he is going to fully meet his tax liability.”added the lawyer.
For Rodríguez, however, the filing of returns is a direct responsibility of each individual, who should not depend on the state going “behind” the taxpayers.
“There is not a big difference between the great merchant, the millionaire, and us wage earners, who have the responsibility of filing returns every year”Rodriguez noted.
Batista Agront, who posted bail of $100,000 after they found cause for his arrest, faces between three to eight years in prison and a fine of up to $20,000.