White House defends releasing jailed executive who defrauded thousands out of $1.6bn
White House stands by release of executive who ran $1.6bn fraud
- Donald Trump commuted the prison sentence of David Gentile, a private equity executive convicted of a $1.6 billion fraud scheme.
- Gentile was released on 26 November 2025, having served less than two weeks of his seven-year sentence.
- The White House defended the commutation on 2 December 2025, with spokesperson Karoline Leavitt stating the Biden government was 'unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent representations to Mr Gentile'.
- Leavitt characterised the case as another example of the 'weaponization of justice from the previous administration'.
- Gentile's conviction in August 2024 for conspiracy to commit securities and wire fraud, along with securities fraud, will not be erased despite the commutation.