Trump's pardons full of Florida scammers, rappers and well-connected [View all]
Stephen Bannon, two rappers and convicted fraudsters to benefit from the presidential power.
An eye doctor convicted in the biggest Medicare fraud in the nations history. A Miami developer charged in the Varsity Blues college admissions scandal. And five executives accused of defrauding the state of Florida.
Thats a sampling of the people with Florida ties who received one of President Donald Trumps last-minute pardons just before he left the White House.
More than 100 individuals received a pardon or commutation of their sentence early Wednesday morning. Though the final list did not include Trump or his family, it included a group of well-connected convicted felons, wealthy fraudsters and two celebrity rappers, as well as dozens of individuals sentenced to long sentences for drug crimes. Elliot Broidy, a past fundraiser for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republicans, received a full pardon.
Trump also came to the rescue of Stephen Bannon, a former White House adviser and the architect of his successful 2016 campaign for president. Bannon and two Florida men were charged last year with using donations to a nonprofit called Build the Wall on personal expenses despite promises they wouldnt.
Still, Bannons two associates Brian Kolfage, of the Panhandles Miramar Beach, and Andrew M. Badolato, a Sarasota-area venture capitalist long tied to Bannon did not receive a pardon from Trump. According to the charges, the three men and another partner skimmed $1 million from the nonprofit in the made-in-Florida scandal. They face up to 40 years in prison.
https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2021/01/20/trumps-pardons-full-of-florida-scammers-rappers-and-well-connected/