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Presidential pardons have the power to wipe clean criminal records and erase financial penalties worth hundreds of millions of dollars. While this constitutional authority was intended as an act of mercy, recent pardons have eliminated some of the largest restitution orders in U.S. history—leaving victims of massive fraud schemes without compensation they were promised.
From tax evasion schemes worth tens of millions to securities fraud involving hundreds of millions, these pardons have sparked intense debate about justice, accountability, and whether the pardon power should extend to erasing financial obligations to victims.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. presidents have pardoned individuals responsible for some of the largest financial crimes in history, erasing millions in restitution owed to victims.
- The power to pardon federal crimes is virtually unchecked, allowing presidents to absolve not only individuals but also corporations of massive financial penalties.
- The decision to pardon frequently sparks debates about justice, accountability, and the reach of executive authority.
Marc Rich: The Fugitive Financier
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In 2001, President Bill Clinton granted a controversial last-minute pardon to Marc Rich, a commodities trader who had fled to Switzerland to avoid prosecution. Rich was indicted in 1983 for evading more than $48 million in taxes (about $157 million in 2025 dollars), headed an oil pricing scheme during the 1973 oil crisis, and illegally traded oil with Iran during the 1979-1980 hostage crisis. Rich lived as a fugitive for 17 years, even missing his daughter’s funeral in 1996 for fear of arrest. Clinton’s pardon came on his final day in office after Rich’s ex-wife, Denise, donated over $1 million to Democratic causes, including $450,000 to the Clinton Presidential Library.
The decision sparked bipartisan condemnation and triggered a federal investigation, though no charges were ultimately filed.
Conrad Black: Media Mogul and Trump Biographer
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President Donald Trump granted a pardon to former media mogul Conrad Black in May 2019. Black had been convicted of fraud and obstructing justice for his involvement in the looting of about $60 million from shareholders in Toronto-based media company Hollinger International.
Black had helped sell Trump the property in Chicago that would become the Trump International Hotel & Tower in Chicago, and had written a biography of him, Donald Trump: A President Like No Other.
Trevor Milton: Nikola’s $680 Million Securities Fraud
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In 2025, Trump pardoned Trevor Milton, the founder of electric vehicle maker Nikola Corporation. Milton had been convicted of defrauding investors through false claims about the company’s electric trucks. Milton faced a $680 million restitution order to Nikola shareholders, which was nullified by the pardon. Trump’s move came after Milton and his wife donated more than $1.8 million to a Trump reelection campaign fund.
Trump’s action sparked renewed debate over the use of presidential clemency in white-collar cases.
Important
While a pardon forgives a crime entirely and restores civil rights, other forms of clemency that a president can grant only reduce or eliminate a sentence while leaving the conviction intact. This was the case with Jason Galanis, a financier convicted in a scheme that defrauded Native American tribes and pension funds out of millions, who was serving a 14-year sentence and was ordered to pay over $80 million in restitution. Trump commuted his sentence, stipulating that no further fines or restitution were to be collected.
Todd and Julie Chrisley: Reality TV and $30 Million Bank Fraud
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Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley were convicted in 2022 of submitting false documents to secure over $30 million in fraudulent loans and concealing millions in income to evade taxes. Both received lengthy prison sentences, but President Trump’s 2025 pardon wiped their records clean and canceled all remaining financial penalties, including millions owed to banks and the IRS.
HDR Global Trading: A $100 Million Cryptocurrency Fine Erased
President Trump’s clemency extended to corporations as well. In 2025, he pardoned HDR Global Trading Limited, the operator of cryptocurrency exchange BitMEX, erasing a $100 million fine for running what prosecutors said was a money laundering platform.
The pardon nullified all financial penalties. He also pardoned the platform’s cofounders: Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed.
Ross Ulbricht: Silk Road’s $184 Million Forfeiture
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Ross Ulbricht, founder of the Silk Road darknet marketplace, was sentenced to life in prison and ordered to forfeit $184 million for facilitating illegal drug sales and money laundering. Silk Road was an underground marketplace on the dark web where users could anonymously buy and sell illegal drugs, weapons, and other illicit goods using bitcoin cryptocurrency. Operating from 2011 to 2013, the site facilitated over 1.5 million transactions worth, and prosecutors had said they collected evidence that Ulbricht sought contracts to kill those who threatened his business.
President Trump’s 2025 pardon released Ulbricht and eliminated the massive financial penalties, fulfilling a campaign promise to libertarian supporters.
Devon Archer: Hunter Biden’s Former Business Partner
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In March 2025, President Trump pardoned Devon Archer, Hunter Biden’s former business partner, who was convicted in 2018 for his role in fraudulently issuing more than $60 million in tribal bonds to the Oglala Sioux Nation of South Dakota. Archer was sentenced to a year and a day in prison after pleading not guilty and unsuccessfully appealing his case all the way to the Supreme Court, which refused to hear his challenge in 2024.
The White House suggested Archer’s prosecution intensified after he began cooperating with congressional investigators examining the business dealings of Hunter Biden, the son of the former president, Joe Biden.
Bottom Line
Presidential pardons have been used to rectify perceived injustices, but when it comes to financial crimes, the pardons often spark more controversy than they resolve. From Marc Rich’s $48 million tax evasion scheme to Trevor Milton’s $680 million securities fraud, these pardons have wiped away over a billion dollars in restitution owed to victims and the government.
While the Constitution grants presidents the power to pardon, the growing trend of pardoning wealthy fraudsters—often with political or financial ties to the president—raises serious questions about justice and accountability.
