NEW YORK CITY – Kristopher Lakin of Wood River and three others who work for Jeffrey Cooper of Edwardsville requested a light sentence for Hunter Biden’s former partner Devon Archer on his fraud conviction.
Archer currently works for Cooper, according to a supporter.
Archer met Cooper through Hunter Biden, whose name as a manager stood out on annual reports of Cooper’s Eudora Global from 2012 to 2014.
Cooper and Hunter Biden met through their wives, former high school classmates Francesca Moroney Cooper and Kathleen Buhle Biden.
At the Southern District of New York, U.S. District Judge Ronnie Abrams has set Archer’s sentencing for Feb. 28.
Jurors found he and others looted a tribal bond issue for their own gain.
Abrams overturned the verdict, but the Second Circuit Court of Appeals reversed her and directed her to sentence him.
In the meantime, she granted Archer regular requests to fly all over the world. Abrams allowed Archer to visit China, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Italy, England, Spain, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Kazakhstan, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Turks and Caicos islands, Ukraine, Serbia, and French Antilles.
Lakin sent Abrams a letter as chief product officer for Group XI Health, a Cooper company, calling Archer a man of great character with a big heart.
He praised Archer’s dedication to fairness, hard work, and philanthropy.
He wrote that Archer delivered 20,000 surgical masks to inmates and guards at Riker’s Island in March 2020, never mentioning he covered the cost.
“He possesses an enviable sense of moral probity that, in my opinion, drives his internal compass,” Lakin wrote.
“I have no doubt that, given the opportunity, he will continue to utilize his resources, time and relationships to positively impact our society, making it considerably better than it would be in his absence.”
Lakin and father Tom Lakin defended a sexual abuse suit that started in Madison County in 2006.
Allegations in the suit led federal prosecutors to investigate Tom Lakin, who pleaded guilty of drug distribution and served a sentence of six years.
The abuse suit ended in 2017, by stipulation of the parties.
Abrams received three letters from leaders at Cooper’s “Atomic 47.”
Chief legal officer Scott Wanamaker wrote that he believed Archer is a person of high moral and ethical character.
He wrote that on numerous occasions he observed Archer in business settings.
“I have consistently found him to conduct himself in an honest, forthright and ethical manner,” Wanamaker wrote.
Chief marketing officer Callie de Quevedo wrote that Archer oversees business affairs for a portfolio of financial technical companies.
She wrote that he epitomized leadership, “and he does so masterfully, honorably, and with integrity.”
She wrote that his excellent reputation and trusted relationships made it possible to secure accounts immediately in harrowing times.
She wrote that he consistently and easily gains the trust of clients, understands their unique objectives and business needs, and nurtures their relationships.
“He is unfailingly warm and generous and kind,” de Quevedo wrote.
Chief technology officer James Mrowka wrote that Archer provided honest assessments, full information, and a refreshing transparency.
He wrote that Archer thinks about how opportunities could benefit the company as a whole and not how it affects him.
“Almost all people of this thoughtful and conscientious makeup, at some time or another in life get burned and taken advantage of because they trusted the wrong people,” Mrowka wrote.
“Unfortunately for Devon, when he got burned it also happened to coincide with him getting caught up in a political whirlwind that made the damage exponentially greater.”
Abrams also received a letter from Enrique Gonzalez of the Philippines, a director of Atomic 47.
He called it a financial technology company that operates an electronic wallet.
“The goal of the company is to make cross border remittance better, faster and cheaper,” Gonzalez wrote.
He wrote that Archer has worked in senior management in Atomic 47.
He wrote that they secured a license deal in the Philippines.
He wrote that they acquired a minority stake in Mobile Pole Position, a Singapore financial technology investment firm.
He wrote that Archer worked in senior management in Mobile Pole Position, which invested in a range of companies in Southeast Asia.
“In all of my dealings and work with Devon, he has exhibited discipline, hard work, commitment to the success of whichever project we were handling at the time, and integrity,” Gonzalez wrote.
Cooper didn’t send a letter but son John Cooper did, stating he found Archer kind and courteous on a first visit to his home at age 13.
He wrote that he was flustered when he arrived in New York as a freshman at Columbia University, but Archer helped him get his sea legs under him.
He wrote that he heads to their house every week or two to have dinner.