The forgiving of a loan is treated by the IRS as income for the beneficiary. If the loan was forgiven Hunter would owe income tax on it (Form 1099-C Cancelation of Debt).
A gift by a third party, however, is typically not taxable (although it could raise a bunch of other ethical/legal issues).
NON-TAXABLE limit on Gifts is about $14,000.
Anything higher —the tax must be paid by the GIVER.