Hunter Biden, the son of former vice president Joe Biden, cofounded a record production company in 2018 that recently defaulted on its mortgage payments and went into foreclosure on its studio, state records show.
The company, Biden Enterprise LLC, which claims to work with rising hip hop and country artists, was registered in a Las Vegas suburb and listed Robert Hunter Biden and Michael Elisaldez as directors.
Elisaldez, a 42-year-old Californian who described Hunter Biden as a "good friend" in social media posts, boasted about working with singers and songwriters, including Instagram model and influencer Kristen Strout and former Family Matters star Darius McCrary. Elisaldez also posted videos of himself riding on private jets, hanging out with bikini models, and ordering bottle service at Las Vegas nightclubs.
"You have to live for your work. Don't know how to stop can't stop. The world can't see us coming. Hoody mobbing. This ain't a game we live for this music $h!t," wrote Elsaldez in one Instagram post, adding the hashtag "#bidenenterprise."
Hunter Biden's financial activities have come under scrutiny during the 2020 primary race. Biden held lucrative positions with the Ukrainian gas company Burisma Holdings and other foreign companies while his father, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, was vice president. Joe Biden has been dogged from the outset of campaign season with questions about whether his son used his proximity to power for personal benefit.
The younger Biden has taken pains to avoid disclosing his financial information in a paternity lawsuit filed against him by the mother of his 18-month-old child. In court filings, he claimed he has been unemployed and without income since last May, even as he and his wife have been renting a $12,000-per-month home in Hollywood Hills. Last week, he agreed to settle the child support case, avoiding a court-ordered deposition and discovery deadline that would have delved into his work status, income, and tax history.
Biden Enterprise LLC purchased a $365,000 home in Paradise, Nev., in February 2019 to use as a recording studio, according to records from the Office of the Clark County Recorder obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon. The company received a $255,500 loan from the Fidelity National Title Agency of Nevada.
The documents show that the company defaulted on the payments and went into foreclosure last month. They also show that Biden Enterprise LLC owes multiple back payments to Republic Silver State Disposal Inc., for unpaid liens related to garbage disposal.
Elisaldez’s Instagram profile, which uses the handle @family1st_records, describes its owner as an "executive music producer" involved in "artist management, artist development." He also describes himself as the "CEO" of multiple production companies, including Biden Enterprise LLC, A-Lister Entertainment, and F1 Records, which are registered under his name.
He said in an Instagram post that the company he started with Biden was involved both in music production and sports gambling.
"A-Lister Entertainment & Biden Enterprise LLC is going Frank Rostin on that a$$. That's rite not only are we tapping into the Casino game at the Rio hotel Las Vegas but also in the PC Gaming world," said Elisaldez in a post last summer.
Caesars Entertainment Corporation, which owns the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Vegas, was unable to confirm whether such a deal existed as of press time. The Biden campaign did not respond to request for comment.
On Elisaldez's page, he touted his work with songwriter BJ the Chicago Kid, Mexican musician Jay Rivas, and the 1500 or Nothin' ensemble.
BJ the Chicago Kid told the Free Beacon that he worked with Elisaldez’s daughter on vocal coaching.
Former Family Matters star Darius McCrary, now a singer and producer, previously had a small association with Elisaldez’s record company Family 1st Records, according to McCrary’s spokesperson LaShirl Smith. "I know Darius has previously had an association with them on a small scale in the past (maybe studio session of some sort), but he doesn't have any affiliation with them currently," said Smith.
Kristen Strout, a former member of the Lingerie Football League and Instagram model in Nashville, said she recorded a song with Elisaldez in Las Vegas in January. She said Elisaldez reached out to her about recording music after she posted videos of herself singing on social media.
"He paid for a couple of singing lessons for me here in Nashville," she told the Free Beacon. "He seemed normal when I went there, nothing seemed off, they did record in the studio.... I mainly just went for the experience, to see what goes into recording a song."
Strout said they recorded at a studio at the Palms Casino Resort and that Elisaldez and a sound engineer were present.
"It was a legit awesome studio. It was huge. They were both professional," she said.
The director of the studio at the Palms, Zoe Thrall, said she was not familiar with Elisaldez or his record company, but added that the studio has clients coming and going frequently. She said the space is available for rent for $175 an hour, plus additional costs for engineers or special equipment.
Elisaldez did not respond to multiple requests for comment about Biden Enterprise and his business partnership with Hunter Biden. His Instagram page mentions Hunter Biden in several posts.
"For those close friends n family that know me and my good friend and business partner Hunter well hes off running his dads presedential campaign for the time being and well he always had this one Axe on him that he always carried around so there for an Axe so in good memory of him till he gets back," wrote Elisaldez in a post six months ago, showing off his necklace with an ax charm on it.
In another missive, Elisaldez slammed President Trump for asking Ukraine to look into Hunter Biden’s business dealings in the country.
"Just leave [Hunter] alone already leave the kids out of it we don't talk about [Trump’s] son and the countries he visits," he wrote last fall. "So please just let my dearest friend be he was already victoroius winning his dad's vice presidentcy campaign under one of our greatest presidents @barackobama. Now running his father's winning 2020 Presidentail campaign and up 31% , a 5 percentage point gain from July let us just work."
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office said Biden was removed as an active manager prior to the end of 2019 but couldn’t provide the precise date of his removal.