Questions have been raised about the business dealings of President Joe Biden’s family members, including his son Hunter and brother Jim. However, less attention has been given to the activities of the President’s younger brother, Frank W. Biden, who is a non-attorney adviser to the Berman Law Group and resides in Boca Raton, Florida.
While Frank Biden has not received the same level of media scrutiny as his relatives, he has come under the spotlight recently for his speeches at medical conferences and his business activities.
CNN reported that Frank Biden has invoked his brother’s position of power and influence in his private business pursuits over the years. In a speech to medical professionals in Boston, Frank Biden boasted of the “bully pulpit” he was afforded due to “my brother Joey” and vowed to help attendees “get federal dollars.”
Frank Biden was also a keynote speaker at a medical conference in Venice, Italy, where he gave a lecture on “the future of global health care.” According to attendees, he talked about his family and his brother’s cancer initiative.
Following his remarks, the leader of a trade group who attended the event promptly posted a video from Venice informing members he represents that he’d spoken with Frank Biden about their efforts to lobby the federal government on Medicare reimbursement rules. The president’s brother, he told his members, had agreed to help.
Frank Biden has denied any suggestion that he has leveraged his brother’s office for personal gain, and he is not a registered federal lobbyist. He told CNN that he has not communicated with the government on behalf of the Heart Rhythm Society.
He initially claimed that his trip to Italy was paid for by the CEO of BioSig Technologies, a health technology company that co-sponsored the conference. However, the relationship between Frank Biden and BioSig is murky, with both parties giving shifting statements when asked about it.
In a piece titled “How Frank Biden leveraged his famous name for business gain,” ABC News detailed Frank Biden’s role in a controversial charter school enterprise. In 2009, a local business executive asked him to become the president and front man for a fledgling charter school venture.
Frank Biden used his family’s prominent connections in Washington to help land the company a series of charter contracts from local officials in Florida, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars over a five-year period from the company in the process.
Frank Biden has been unabashed about using his famous last name to his advantage, calling it “a tremendous asset” in media interviews. He has said that his family’s record of “taking care of people who need help” brings him “automatic acceptance” as he seeks government approvals for his ventures.
While Frank Biden has denied any wrongdoing and insists that he has not abused his family connections, his business dealings have raised questions about the ethics of using political power for personal gain. As the President’s brother, he is inevitably going to be associated with the family’s political influence, and his actions are likely to come under greater scrutiny in the future.
