CBS review: Trump clemency orders erased over $1B in fines and restitution, $119M owed to victims

Left · 1A CBS News investigation published on 27 October 2026 reported that victims of fraudsters who won clemency from President Donald Trump lost out on $119 million in restitution, with small businesses and retirees among those left empty-handed. 1 Left · 1According to Raw Story's summary of the CBS work, reporters reviewed court judgments in more than 160 clemency orders issued from January 2025 through October 2026, excluding the more than 1,500 grants tied to the 2020 election and Jan. 6. 2 Left · 1Raw Story reported that the orders affected more than $1 billion in federal fines and restitution, about $1.08 billion in total. 2

Left · 1By comparison, President Joe Biden's clemency orders erased about $14,000 in restitution over four years, according to Justice Department records; most were commutations that left financial penalties intact. A House Judiciary Committee report earlier put the cost to crime victims at $1.7 billion. 2 Left · 1At least 18 people freed from fines or restitution had White House ties, meaning Trump's lawyers, lobbyists or allies advocated for them or they or their relatives donated to his reelection campaign. About 70% of second-term clemency actions bypassed the Justice Department's pardon office. 2 Left · 1The largest single debt erased was nearly $49 million owed by siblings Andres and Adriana Camberos, convicted of defrauding food makers. It was Adriana Camberos's second clemency; prosecutors said the pair began the scheme within weeks of her release after the first. A White House official called the case a "political prosecution." 2

Left · 1Former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton was pardoned about two weeks after prosecutors sought $660.8 million in restitution; he and his wife had given almost $3 million to pro-Trump groups about five months earlier. Milton said the pardon "was not tied to anything," and a White House official said donations "played absolutely no role." 2 Left · 1David Gentile, convicted of a $1.6 billion fraud, served 12 days of a seven-year sentence before his commutation freed him from restitution. People familiar with the matter told CBS that prosecutors gathered evidence he had discussed paying $2.5 million for it, and that political appointees at the Justice Department shut the investigation down; a retired priest close to Trump denied any money was paid, and Gentile's lawyer did not respond. 2 Left · 1Victims described the toll: Abraham Kamarck, whose veteran-owned company was owed $17,800, said they were "constantly fighting to survive," and Gentile victim Jeffrey Rosenbery, a three-time Trump voter, lost $250,000 he had saved for his grandchildren. 2

Left · 1White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said Trump "exercises his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations at his discretion" and that anyone spending money to lobby for pardons is "foolishly wasting their money." 2