Chicago – July 13, 2026
Hunter Biden has been awarded $1.7 million in punitive damages in a defamation lawsuit against Patrick Byrne, the former CEO of Overstock.com. The ruling came after Byrne accused Biden of seeking an $800 million bribe from Iran in 2021 in exchange for using his father, then-President Joe Biden, to influence U.S. policy and unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets.
Hunter Biden denied the allegations and sued, arguing the claims were false and damaging to his reputation. U.S. District Judge Stephen Wilson found that Byrne failed to provide credible evidence supporting the accusations and ruled that the statements were defamatory. The judge also noted Byrne’s repeated failure to comply with court orders and his absence from trial, resulting in a default judgment against him. In addition to the punitive damages, the court awarded Hunter Biden nominal damages of $1 and approximately $35,000 in sanctions against Byrne, bringing the legal dispute to a decisive close.
