CBS News tally: Trump clemency erased at least $119 million in court-ordered restitution to crime victims

A CBS News investigation published Oct. 27 found that President Trump's clemency orders have erased at least $119 million in unpaid, court-ordered restitution owed to crime victims since January 2025.

CBS reviewed court judgments in more than 160 clemency orders issued from January 2025 through October 2026. It counted only restitution still unpaid when clemency was granted. It set aside the more than 1,500 blanket pardons and commutations tied to the 2020 election and the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack.

The numbers

The $119 million is the floor, according to CBS. Another $119.9 million in fines is no longer owed to the federal Crime Victims Fund.

About $665.8 million in restitution that prosecutors had requested was cancelled before a court could rule on it. That includes the $660.8 million prosecutors sought from former Nikola CEO Trevor Milton before Trump pardoned him.

Add roughly $170.9 million owed jointly with co-defendants who did not get clemency, and CBS puts the total affected above $1.1 billion.

The comparison with Biden is stark. Justice Department records show his clemency orders erased about $14,000 over four years. CBS attributes that largely to the fact that most of his actions were commutations, which left financial penalties in place.

Liz Oyer, a former Justice Department pardon attorney, estimated earlier this year that Trump's second-term pardons have wiped out more than $1.56 billion in criminal penalties.

The victims

The people owed money range from small family food businesses and community banks to Mars Wrigley, the IRS and other federal agencies, actor Terry Crews, and a trust in the name of baseball star Alex Rodriguez, CBS found.

The largest single sum was almost $49 million. A judge ordered siblings Andres and Adriana Camberos to repay 19 companies after their October 2024 conviction in a food-resale scheme. Mars Wrigley was owed $22 million. A small veteran-owned business in Virginia was owed $17,800. Trump granted both siblings clemency in January 2026, and the debt vanished.

Ozy Media founder Carlos Watson was convicted of fraud by a federal jury in Brooklyn in July 2024 and ordered to repay investors almost $37 million. Hours before he was due to report to prison in March 2025, Trump commuted his nearly 10-year sentence. The restitution went with it.

Investor Thomas Franco put almost $4 million into the company. He told CBS he felt victimized all over again. "Clearly the president has constitutional authority to grant clemency, and I certainly don't question that authority," Franco said. "But authority and accountability are two very different things."

Donations and access

CBS identified at least 18 clemency recipients with restitution owed to victims or government treasuries who had ties to the White House. In many of those cases, CBS reported, lawyers and lobbyists pressed for pardons after making donations to Trump's campaigns.

CBS says Milton gave nearly $2 million to pro-Trump political committees during the 2024 campaign. His victims included people who lost retirement savings and others who had never invested before.

Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive, was convicted of withholding more than $10 million from the paychecks of nurses, doctors and other care workers. He used some of that money to buy a $2 million yacht and other high-end items. Trump pardoned him in April 2025, weeks after his mother contributed $1 million to a Trump-connected super PAC, according to CBS.

CBS describes a "pardon economy" in which well-connected defendants hire lawyers and lobbyists with White House ties. No charge or investigation tied to any of these donations has been announced. The pardon power is broad, and Franco himself concedes it.

The administration's crime pitch

The administration is running hard on public safety. The Justice Department's latest National Crime Victimization Survey found violent victimizations fell from 8.2 million in 2024 to 7.5 million in 2025. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward called it proof that Trump's "Make America Safe Again" agenda is working. The FBI estimated the 2025 murder rate at 4.1 per 100,000, the lowest in more than half a century.

In March, Trump signed an executive order directing agencies to go after online fraud and set up a victims restoration program to recover money for victims. That program targets scam victims. It has no bearing on restitution already ordered by federal judges.

Vice President JD Vance is steering a "war on fraud" aimed at abuse of federal programs. Bloomberg, speaking with current and former officials, reported that its results so far appear to track investigations that began before this year and before the administration.

What comes next

The $119 million covers orders through October 2026. Trump has more than two years left in his term, and the pardon power carries no limit on restitution. Every future grant adds to the total, and victims holding court judgments have no recourse once the president signs.

The White House has not been quoted addressing the CBS tally.