Trump’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda erases more than $119M owed to victims

Trump’s ‘tough on crime’ agenda erases more than $119M owed to victims Convicted fraudsters and other criminals pardoned by the president over the last year thanks owed victims and the federal government more than $1 billion - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Already a member? Log in Donald Trump’s pardon wave has erased more than $119 million in restitution owed to crime victims following a historic streak of pardons for white-collar criminals and political allies accused of fraud and corruption. The list of fines, compiled by CBS News, does not include nearly $120 million that was owed to the Crime Victims Fund and another $171 million in restitution that is jointly owed with co-defendants who did not receive clemency, bringing the total funds that were denied to victims and the government to more than $1.1 billion over the last two years. Those fines also don’t include $661 million in restitution owed by the former tech CEO who was convicted of defrauding investors, nor the potentially tens of thousands of dollars that would have likely been owed to the government by the more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6 attack. The president issued rioters a blanket pardon on his first day in office. Earlier this year, former Department of Justice pardon attorney Liz Oyer estimated that Trump’s second-term pardons wiped out more than $1.56 billion in criminal penalties, a figure that is likely to continue to surge over the president’s remaining years in office. At least 18 clemency recipients whose restitution to victims or government treasuries had ties to the White House, according to records reviewed by CBS. In many of those cases, lawyers and lobbyists advocated for their convicted allies' pardons after making donations to the president’s campaigns. Among them are Trevor Milton, the former Nikola CEO who poured nearly $2 million from investors into pro-Trump political committees during the 2024 presidential campaign. His victims included people who lost their retirement savings and others who had never invested in the stock market before. Trump’s pardon wiped away his $661 million in restitution. Nursing home executive Paul Walczak was convicted of withholding more than $10 million from paychecks belonging to nurses, doctors and other care workers at his facilities. He used some of that money to buy a $2 million yacht and other high-end purchases. Trump pardoned him in April 2025, weeks after his mother contributed $1 million to a Trump-connected super PAC. The network’s analysis follows the Trump administration’s so-called “war on fraud” targeting alleged abuse of federal programs, an effort steered by Vice President JD Vance and a newly launched task force. The results thus far, however, appear to have followed longstanding investigations that predated this year and the Trump administration, according to Bloomberg, speaking to current and former officials. The administration also has announced $25 million to encourage Americans to blow the whistle on alleged fraud and recover a fraction of the amount that the tips help uncover. Trump also has said he will offer $1 million to “anybody” whose voter fraud allegations lead to the arrest and conviction “of those that created the Fraud.” But the president’s pardon pen has wiped out tens of millions of dollars from convicted fraudsters, among other white-collar defendants, CBS uncovered. “Donald Trump and his ‘Fraud Czar’ JD Vance have trafficked in rampant corruption and pay-to-play politics, taking every opportunity to bail out their wealthy and well-connected donors for massive amounts of cash,” the Democratic National Committee's Deputy Communications Director Kendall Witmer said in a statement following the report. “Trump and Vance promised to ‘drain the swamp,’ yet their administration has helped out convicted fraudsters while screwing over the Americans and small businesses who were cheated out of their money,” Witmer added. The White House is also reportedly weighing whether to issue blanket pardons for staff to avoid further scrutiny over policy decisions executed by members of his administration. According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump plans to pardon “everyone who has come within 200 feet of the Oval [Office].” Right-wing institutions such as the Heritage Foundation and American Moment are pressing White House counsel on issuing pardons and preparing legal defense funds to support potential criminal and congressional probes in the future, The Washington Sun reported. “President Trump should issue very broad preemptive pardons for anyone who worked for him or in his orbit,” Trump ally Mike Davis, president of the Article III Project, recently told the outlet. “I certainly don’t want to see innocent people go through hell and lose all their money,” Trump told reporters on Saturday. Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu has warned that a “blanket presidential pardon for crimes that have never been charged has never been fully litigated.” “People committing crimes for Trump, or in connection with Trump, take the risk that they will be successfully prosecuted by a future DOJ,” he said Sunday. In a statement to CBS News, White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said the president “exercises his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations at his discretion.” Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments [Image text:] Executive Grant of Clemency Donald J.Trump President of the United States of America DONuDA.TX FKOGDENT