GRIFTER PARDONS GRIFTER
Robert Davis
December 1, 2025
Robert Davis
December 1, 2025
RAW STORY
Donald Trump in the Oval Office (Photo via Reuters)
A former Department of Justice pardon attorney slammed President Donald Trump on Monday for freeing a billion-dollar Ponzi schemer from federal prison just before Thanksgiving.
The White House confirmed on Monday that Trump commuted the sentence of David Gentile, the former CEO of GPB Capital, who was convicted in May of wire and bank fraud charges, according to a report by CNN. Gentile was just 12 days into his seven-year sentence when Trump commuted it.
CNBC reported that Gentile defrauded tens of thousands of investors while at GPB Capital, costing them billions. The investigation into Gentile began in 2018, during Trump's first term, and one of Trump's DOJ attorneys pushed the courts to give Gentile a 15-year sentence earlier this year.
Liz Oyer, a former pardon attorney, commented on Trump's decision to commute Gentile's sentence in a new YouTube video.
"Once again, Trump has offered no explanation to the American people or to the victims of Gentile's fraud," Oyer said in the video, arguing that he tried to keep the clemency a "secret."
"We cannot let these corrupt abuses of the pardon power fly under the radar," she continued.
Gentile is not the first white-collar criminal the Trump administration has freed since taking office. Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Binance. Zhao was convicted on money laundering charges, and his company paid more than $4 billion in fines.
"This is another grotesque abuse of the pardon power that should outrage all Americans," Oyer said in a post on X.
Donald Trump in the Oval Office (Photo via Reuters)
A former Department of Justice pardon attorney slammed President Donald Trump on Monday for freeing a billion-dollar Ponzi schemer from federal prison just before Thanksgiving.
The White House confirmed on Monday that Trump commuted the sentence of David Gentile, the former CEO of GPB Capital, who was convicted in May of wire and bank fraud charges, according to a report by CNN. Gentile was just 12 days into his seven-year sentence when Trump commuted it.
CNBC reported that Gentile defrauded tens of thousands of investors while at GPB Capital, costing them billions. The investigation into Gentile began in 2018, during Trump's first term, and one of Trump's DOJ attorneys pushed the courts to give Gentile a 15-year sentence earlier this year.
Liz Oyer, a former pardon attorney, commented on Trump's decision to commute Gentile's sentence in a new YouTube video.
"Once again, Trump has offered no explanation to the American people or to the victims of Gentile's fraud," Oyer said in the video, arguing that he tried to keep the clemency a "secret."
"We cannot let these corrupt abuses of the pardon power fly under the radar," she continued.
Gentile is not the first white-collar criminal the Trump administration has freed since taking office. Trump also pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the billionaire founder of cryptocurrency trading platform Binance. Zhao was convicted on money laundering charges, and his company paid more than $4 billion in fines.
"This is another grotesque abuse of the pardon power that should outrage all Americans," Oyer said in a post on X.
‘Shamelessly Corrupt’: Trump Frees Private Equity Executive Convicted of Defrauding 10,000+ Investors
One elderly victim said they “lost a significant portion” of their retirement savings to David Gentile’s $1.6 billion scheme.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House on October 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Dec 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
In yet another gift to corporate criminals, President Donald Trump has reportedly used his executive authority to commute the seven-year prison sentence of a former private equity executive convicted of defrauding more than 10,000 investors of around $1.6 billion.
David Gentile, the founder and former CEO of GPB Capital, was convicted of securities and wire fraud last year and sentenced to prison in May, but he ended up serving just days behind bars. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the White House “argued that prosecutors had falsely characterized the business as a Ponzi scheme.”
One victim said they lost their “whole life savings” to the scheme and are now living “check to check.” Another, who described themselves as “an elderly victim,” said they “lost a significant portion” of their retirement savings.
“This money was earmarked to help my two grandsons pay for college,” the person said. “They had tragically lost their father and needed some financial assistance. So this loss attached my entire family.”
In a statement following Gentile’s sentencing earlier this year, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia—who was appointed to the role by Trump’s loyalist FBI director, Kash Patel—said the private equity executive and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, “wove a web of lies to steal more than one billion dollars from investors through empty promises of guaranteed profits and unlawfully rerouting funds to provide an illusion of success.”
“The defendants abused their high-ranking positions within their company to exploit the trust of their investors and directly manipulate payments to perpetuate this scheme,” said Raia. “May today’s sentencing deter anyone who seeks to greedily profit off their clients through deceitful practices.”
Critics said Trump’s commutation of Gentile’s sentence sends the opposite message: That the administration is soft on corporate crime and rich fraudsters despite posturing as fierce protectors of the rule of law and throwing the book at the vulnerable.
“Trump will deport an Afghan living in the US with Temporary Protected Status if he is accused of stealing $1,000,” said US Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.). “But he’ll set a white dude free who was convicted of stealing $1.6 billion from American citizens to go commit more crime.”
After criticizing former President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of death-row prisoners, Trump has wielded his pardon power to spare political allies—including January 6 rioters—and rich executives while his administration works to “delegitimize the very concept of white-collar crime.”
Since the start of Trump’s second term, his administration has halted or dropped more than 160 federal enforcement actions against corporations, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. White-collar criminals reportedly view Trump as their “get-out-of-jail-free card.”
“The most shamelessly corrupt administration in history,” journalist Wajahat Ali wrote in response to the Gentile commutation.
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One elderly victim said they “lost a significant portion” of their retirement savings to David Gentile’s $1.6 billion scheme.
US President Donald Trump speaks during a press conference in the Oval Office of the White House on October 15, 2025 in Washington, DC.
(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Jake Johnson
Dec 01, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
In yet another gift to corporate criminals, President Donald Trump has reportedly used his executive authority to commute the seven-year prison sentence of a former private equity executive convicted of defrauding more than 10,000 investors of around $1.6 billion.
David Gentile, the founder and former CEO of GPB Capital, was convicted of securities and wire fraud last year and sentenced to prison in May, but he ended up serving just days behind bars. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the White House “argued that prosecutors had falsely characterized the business as a Ponzi scheme.”
One victim said they lost their “whole life savings” to the scheme and are now living “check to check.” Another, who described themselves as “an elderly victim,” said they “lost a significant portion” of their retirement savings.
“This money was earmarked to help my two grandsons pay for college,” the person said. “They had tragically lost their father and needed some financial assistance. So this loss attached my entire family.”
In a statement following Gentile’s sentencing earlier this year, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia—who was appointed to the role by Trump’s loyalist FBI director, Kash Patel—said the private equity executive and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, “wove a web of lies to steal more than one billion dollars from investors through empty promises of guaranteed profits and unlawfully rerouting funds to provide an illusion of success.”
“The defendants abused their high-ranking positions within their company to exploit the trust of their investors and directly manipulate payments to perpetuate this scheme,” said Raia. “May today’s sentencing deter anyone who seeks to greedily profit off their clients through deceitful practices.”
Critics said Trump’s commutation of Gentile’s sentence sends the opposite message: That the administration is soft on corporate crime and rich fraudsters despite posturing as fierce protectors of the rule of law and throwing the book at the vulnerable.
“Trump will deport an Afghan living in the US with Temporary Protected Status if he is accused of stealing $1,000,” said US Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.). “But he’ll set a white dude free who was convicted of stealing $1.6 billion from American citizens to go commit more crime.”
After criticizing former President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of death-row prisoners, Trump has wielded his pardon power to spare political allies—including January 6 rioters—and rich executives while his administration works to “delegitimize the very concept of white-collar crime.”
Since the start of Trump’s second term, his administration has halted or dropped more than 160 federal enforcement actions against corporations, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. White-collar criminals reportedly view Trump as their “get-out-of-jail-free card.”
“The most shamelessly corrupt administration in history,” journalist Wajahat Ali wrote in response to the Gentile commutation.
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