Donald Trump‘s list of pardons is a rogue’s gallery of immoral, greedy criminals who exploit people to wring as much money out of them as possible. So, perhaps it’s not exactly a mystery why Trump apparently feels so much kinship with them that he’s prepared to issue a full presidential pardon.
Such was the case for Eliyahu Weinstein. In 2013, he pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud and money laundering during a Ponzi scheme that cost his victims $200 million, was sentenced to 22 years in federal prison, and ordered to pay the money back.
In 2018, he confessed to a second set of frauds he committed while on pretrial release, earning him an additional 135-month sentence, raising his total sentence to 24 years. But for Trump, he was just a smol bean, and it’s totally not fair he’s in prison! And so, on Jan 19, 2021, Trump commuted his sentence and had him released immediately.
A fresh chance!
Time for Weinstein to turn over a new leaf, right? After all, if he just kept committing crimes, Trump would look very silly! Well, we’re pleased to report that Weinstein kept his name clean!
Trump set him free.
— Shaun King (@shaunking) November 16, 2025
He then stole $41 million more. https://t.co/Ty2IVIKLoP
Unfortunately, Weinstein did that by claiming he was now called “Mike Konig” and launched a whole new Ponzi scheme! This pitched COVID-19 supplies, baby formula, and first-aid kits supposedly bound for Ukraine as high-yield short-term investments, using money swindled mostly from the Orthodox Jewish community
In classic Ponzi manner, Weinstein used new investor money to pay the initial participants, all the while enjoying the high life by blowing their millions on luxuries and gambling. On a covert recording, he laid it out: “I finagled, and Ponzied, and lied to people to cover us.”
Weinstein was quickly convicted (again) and, as of last week, given a brand new 37-year prison sentence. But hey, just because this guy’s committed massive fraud three times doesn’t mean he’d do it for a fourth time, right?
Maybe Trump will commute his sentence again and give this lil’ stinker just one more chance to go straight. And if he doesn’t? Well, he’s only ripping off poor people, so who cares? Whatever the case, Trump probably sees a kindred spirit here, and a spirit that yearns to be free regardless of all that crime stuff. And what’s a little massive fraud between buddies?
