Donald Trump’s pardons and commutations have wiped out at least $119 million that courts ordered criminals to pay back to their victims. That’s the finding of a new CBS News investigation. Small businesses, retirees and a school pension fund lost out. Many of the people who got off the hook had lawyers, lobbyists or donations tied to Trump.
The Numbers
CBS reviewed court judgments in more than 160 clemency orders Trump issued from January 2025 through October 2026. It counted only restitution that was still unpaid when he granted clemency. The total came to $119.4 million, and that leaves out the Jan. 6 pardons entirely.
Joe Biden’s clemency orders erased about $14,000 in four years, according to Justice Department records cited by CBS. Trump has erased more than 8,000 times that in less than two. Counting fines, restitution prosecutors had requested, and debts shared with co-defendants, more than $1 billion has been affected.
The Ozy Media Con Man
Carlos Watson built Ozy Media into what looked like a media empire. A federal jury in Brooklyn convicted him of fraud in July 2024, and a judge ordered him to repay investors almost $37 million. Hours before he was due to report to prison in March 2025, Trump commuted his nearly 10-year sentence. The restitution vanished with it.
Investor Thomas Franco put almost $4 million into the company. He told CBS he felt victimized all over again: “authority and accountability are two very different things.” Watson’s clemency case was handled by a lawyer who represented Rudy Giuliani, according to CBS sources.
Small Businesses Got Burned
The single biggest debt erased was almost $49 million owed by Andres and Adriana Camberos. The siblings were convicted in 2024 of a scheme to buy food at deep discounts and resell it in the U.S. They owed 19 companies, from Mars Wrigley to a small veteran-owned business in Virginia. Trump granted both of them clemency in January 2026.
It was Adriana Camberos’ second grant from Trump. He commuted her sentence for an earlier fraud on his last day in office in 2021. Prosecutors say the siblings launched the new scheme within weeks of her release. Their clemency lawyers included a former deputy White House counsel from Trump’s first term.
Friends in High Places
CBS found at least 18 people freed from fines or restitution who had White House ties. Trump allies advocated for them, or they or their families had donated to his reelection. About 70% of his second-term clemency actions skipped the Justice Department’s pardon office entirely.
Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley owed $17 million to community banks they defrauded. Their daughter Savannah spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention, then Trump pardoned her parents. Nikola founder Trevor Milton and his wife gave almost $3 million to pro-Trump groups about five months before his pardon. That pardon came two weeks after prosecutors asked for $660.8 million in restitution, so a judge never ruled on it. Milton says the pardon was not tied to his donations.
A Nursing Home Boss Got His Money Back
Some pardoned criminals did even better. Nursing home executive Joseph Schwartz paid nearly $1 million to a lobbying firm tied to right-wing operatives Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl to push for clemency. Trump pardoned him in November 2025, three months into a three-year sentence.
Schwartz had already paid $5 million in restitution to the IRS. After the pardon, a court let him take it back. His company, Skyline Healthcare, collapsed in 2018. A former cook at one of its homes told CBS the company took insurance premiums out of workers’ paychecks and never paid the insurers. She said none of Schwartz’s victims got any restitution.
Retirees Left Holding the Bag
Private equity CEO David Gentile was convicted of a $1.6 billion investment fraud that hit more than 10,000 investors. He served 12 days of a seven-year sentence before Trump freed him and cancelled any duty to repay. Victims included veterans, teachers and nurses. One retiree who voted for Trump three times lost $250,000 he’d saved for his grandchildren.
Federal prosecutors later gathered evidence that Gentile had discussed paying $2.5 million to secure his commutation, as The New York Times first reported. Political appointees at the Justice Department shut that investigation down, according to CBS sources. A retired priest close to Trump denied any money changed hands. No one has been charged.
The White House Response
A White House spokeswoman told CBS that Trump uses his constitutional authority at his discretion and that paying lobbyists for pardons is a waste of money. Officials called several of the cases political prosecutions or unfairly harsh sentences.
Victims can still sue, because clemency doesn’t erase civil liability. But experts told CBS those lawsuits are slow and expensive. Restitution orders let the government garnish wages for 20 years. A pardon from this Republican president ends all of it.
The Bottom Line
Trump sold himself as the law-and-order candidate. Instead, fraudsters with the right lawyers, lobbyists and donations walk free while their victims eat the loss. That’s $119 million taken from small businesses, retirees and workers, and every Republican who defends this pardon racket owns it.
Sources: CBS News investigation by Gabe Kaminsky, Steve Reilly and Daniel Klaidman.