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A Chinese business executive, Bo Zhang, with connections to Hunter Biden and a former top adviser to Joe Biden, is facing legal action for failing to pay a New York designer millions in “contractually-owed payments. Zhang, who offered to wire money to Hunter Biden in the past, is in a civil dispute with Jacob Barton, a designer who worked on projects like the National September 11 Memorial and Museum. The dispute involves the failure of Zhang’s entity, Harves Bridge, to deliver over $4 million in payments to Barton for designing interactive sports gaming centers in China.

Francis Person, who introduced Hunter Biden to Zhang, is the co-founder and CEO of DreamCube Innovations, a company that entered into an agreement with Barton’s company to develop sports-themed gaming centers in China. Person has close ties to the Biden family and expressed optimism about DreamCube’s future potential with deals signed with the NBA and Manchester United soccer club. There are indications that Zhang and Person managed affiliates in D.C. and China, but it is unclear if Person is directly involved in the arbitration case seeking payment from Zhang for Barton’s design work.

Barton claims he fulfilled his contractual obligations but did not receive the full amount owed to him, leading to an arbiter ruling in his favor for nearly $5.7 million in compensation. Zhang’s whereabouts have been difficult to determine, with efforts to serve him with legal papers proving challenging as he appears to have actively avoided detection and may have relocated to China. Barton continues to pursue the payment owed to him through legal means as Zhang has not paid the outstanding fees.

Hunter Biden was made aware of Zhang’s background by Person in 2015 and subsequently met with Zhang several times over the next few years. Zhang also offered financial assistance to Hunter during his divorce and extended an invitation for him to visit China. Person expressed interest in working with Hunter, emphasizing loyalty to family and a desire to learn from him. President Biden spoke highly of Person’s contributions during his tenure as vice president, highlighting his significance in times of urgency.

Barton declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, and efforts to reach representatives for Zhang and Person were unsuccessful. The legal dispute between Barton and Zhang underscores the complexity of international business dealings and the difficulties in obtaining payment when parties fail to fulfill their contractual obligations. Despite the challenges faced by Barton in recouping the money owed to him, he continues to pursue the matter through legal channels.

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