Donald Trump sparks fury as he frees £1.2 billion fraudster after simply 12 days behind bars
Donald Trump has faced backlash for commuting the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors to the tune of £1.21 billion
Donald Trump has sparked fury after setting free yet another convicted billion dollar fraudster.
The president stepped in just 12 days into David Gentile’s jail term to commute the con’s seven-year sentence. It came despite the 59-year-old taking investors for £1.21 billion. Gentile had only reported to prison on 14 November before he was abruptly released last week, according to Bureau of Prisons records.
Gentile and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, were convicted in August 2024 on securities and wire fraud charges. Jurors found they misled more than 17,000 retail investors through promises of guaranteed returns from private equity funds managed by their firm, GPB Capital.
A federal judge sentenced Gentile in May to seven years in prison, while Schneider received a six-year term. Unlike a presidential pardon, Trump’s commutation does not wipe Gentile’s conviction, nor does it remove potential penalties tied to the case. Schneider, who remains imprisoned, does not appear to have received any clemency.
The president’s Thanksgiving-week action was confirmed by the White House after the intervention was first celebrated on social media by Alice Marie Johnson, Trump’s self-styled “pardon czar.” Johnson, who received clemency from Trump during his first term and has since taken a prominent role in advising on pardons, wrote that she was “deeply grateful to see David Gentile heading home to his young children.”
Trump has previously used presidential clemency to erase white-collar convictions and to highlight prosecutions he portrays as politically tainted.
He has pardoned dozens who were found guilty and owed billions of dollars back to the US taxpayer. Prosecutors had described the wrongdoing at GPB Capital as a straightforward and devastating fraud.
Investors were falsely promised an eight per cent annual return funded by income from portfolio companies such as car dealerships. Instead, they found that a “significant” portion of the distributions came from new investor money, creating what appeared to be a false appearance of profitability.
“They raised approximately $£1.6 billion from individual investors based on false promises of generating investment returns from the profits of portfolio companies,” said Joseph Nocella Jr., US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. “All while using investor capital to pay distributions and create a false appearance of success.”
The human cost was laid out in more than 1,000 victim statements submitted to the court. One said: “I lost my whole life savings. I am living from cheque to cheque.” Another described years of careful saving wiped out in months.
Adam Gana, a lawyer representing defrauded investors in an ongoing case, condemned the presidential intervention. “The stories that we’ve heard are just heartbreaking, and it’s just unbelievable that somebody like that would receive a commutation. This is not a case that should be political. This guy belongs in prison,” he said.
Gentile, a Scientologist and the former CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, served just 12 days behind bars before Trump’s decision set him free. A White House official said the firm had disclosed as early as 2015 that investor capital might be used to fund distributions, an assertion the administration has used to argue that the case was mischaracterised as a Ponzi scheme.
Gentile’s defence lawyers and those acting for Schneider declined to comment, and Gentile himself did not respond to requests for a statement.
Trump’s commutation comes as he increasingly uses the sweeping powers of presidential clemency, issuing decisions that have drawn accusations of cronyism and political favouritism. While the White House has offered no explanation as to why Gentile’s case merited intervention, Johnson’s vocal support suggests the executive’s cause had powerful advocates within Trump’s circle.
The Department of Justice has agreed to no restitution order in the criminal case, though victims are pursuing compensation through civil lawsuits.
As Gentile walks free, Schneider remains behind bars serving his six-year sentence, without any indication of similar mercy from the president.
In October, Changpeng Zhao, founder of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange Binance, was pardoned by Trump. Zhao, also known as “CZ”, was sentenced to four months in prison in April 2024 after pleading guilty to violating US money laundering laws. Binance also pleaded guilty and was ordered to pay £3.4 billion after a US investigation found it helped users bypass sanctions.
In the same month, Trump commuted the sentence of George Santos, a former Republican congressman serving seven years in prison for fraud and identity theft. In a post on social media, Trump said Santos “has been horribly mistreated”, adding: “Therefore, I just signed a Commutation, releasing George Santos from prison, IMMEDIATELY. Good luck George, have a great life!”
The pardon reignited debate over the White House’s embrace of cryptocurrency as the Trump family’s own investments in the industry have deepened.
