FRAUD ALERT: Newsom adds new list of Trump’s pardoned fraudster friends to Trump Criminals tracker

The Governor calls on the internet's finest investigators to check on Trump's MASSIVE FRAUD

What you need to know: Governor Newsom today unveiled an updated public tracker that exposes President Trump's pattern of pardoning convicted fraudsters and corrupt insiders, even as his administration falsely claims states like California are engaging in "massive fraud."

SACRAMENTO - As President Trump continues to baselessly accuse states like California of "massive fraud," Governor Gavin Newsom today updated a public tracker with new information showing who Trump is actually protecting: convicted fraudsters, campaign finance criminals, and corrupt political operatives granted presidential clemency.

The tolerance for fraud is so entrenched in Trump's government that we are calling on some of the best self-proclaimed independent investigators, Nick Shirley, Benny Johnson and Nick Sortor to investigate the MASSIVE FRAUD that seems to have been swept under the rug by the president.

The refreshed website - Gov.ca.gov/TrumpCriminals- establishes a public record of some of Trump's worst clemency actions, allowing anyone to see which criminals the President has chosen to free, and for what crimes. The list includes criminals convicted of fraud, tax evasion, securities fraud, campaign-finance violations, Medicare and Medicaid fraud, public corruption, and conspiracy to defraud the United States, among other crimes.

Donald Trump is the personification of fraud. His hypocrisy knows no bounds: he is pardoning people convicted of fraud, corruption, and abusing the public trust - while turning around and using 'fraud' as a launching pad to go after political rivals. While his administration hands out get-out-of-jail-free cards to real fraudsters, the federal government is now trying to intimidate and target California with baseless allegations of 'massive fraud.' The rule of law isn't a political weapon - it's a promise, and we won't let it be twisted to settle scores.

Governor Gavin Newsom

Recently, California took the Trump administration to courtfor illegally freezing over $10 billion in federal funding for child care and family assistance programs that support essential programs and services for vulnerable children and their families. It took a federal judge less than 24 hoursto order an emergency pause to Trump's politically-motivated stunt targeting critical services for California families and kids. The Trump administration's professed basis for this action was generalized concerns about fraud in the programs nationwide. Yet they chose to freeze funding only for "Democrat-led" states. And they did not point to any information or allegations specific to California. This just shows, once again, that the Trump administration does not really care about combatting fraud, only punishing their perceived enemies.

Special treatment for rich friends?

Just last week, Trump issued multiple additional pardons and commutations, including for a family member of a large donor loyalist who has contributed to his super PAC. A recent analysisinto the pardons Trump has issued in his first year of his second term shows he has pardoned an unusually high number of wealthy people accused of financial crimes. More than half of Trump's pardons have been for money laundering, bank fraud, and wire fraud, and half of the pardon recipients have been business executives or politicians.

Fraudster-in-Chief: Donald Trump

DEFRAUDING THE UNITED STATES: Donald Trump was indicted in federal courtfor conspiracy to defraudthe United States in an alleged scheme to overturn the 2020 election; after he won re-election, the Justice Department moved to dismiss the case under its longstanding policy against prosecuting a sitting President.

FOUND LIABLE FOR FRAUD: New York courts found Donald Trump and Trump Organization entities liable for fraudin the state attorney general's civil enforcement case; in August 2025, a New York appellate court affirmed the fraud-liability finding but threw out the nearly $500 million monetary penalty as an excessive fine, and the state appealed.

TRUMP ORGANIZATION CONVICTED: A New York jury convicted two Trump Organizationentities for a years-long scheme to defraud, including criminal tax fraud and falsifying business records.

ENRICHING HIMSELF: Experts warn that Trump is enriching himselfand his businesses while using public office. It is estimated that Trump has made more than $800 million from crypto alone since the start of 2025.

Adriana Camberos

Adriana Camberos, whose sentence for a conspiracy conviction was commuted by Trump in 2021, just received a pardon by the President in January 2026 for a mail and wire fraud conviction.

In 2024, she and her brother were convicted in a completely separate case after lying to manufacturers to sell wholesale groceries and additional items at big discounts in Mexico when in fact they sold them for higher prices to U.S. distributors.

In 2021, Camberos had her sentence commuted by Trump, after she was convicted as part of an elaborate conspiracy to divert 5-Hour Energy drink bottles acquired for resale in Mexico and instead kept them in the U.S. She and multiple co-conspirators attached counterfeit labels and filled the bottles with fake liquid before selling them.

Guess the next two fraudsters on our list!

Here's a hint of what they've been upto since being pardoned by President Trump.

Julie and Todd Chrisley

Julie and Todd Chrisley, former reality TV stars, were convicted and sentenced for fraud-related offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, bank fraud, tax evasion, and wire fraud. Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon in May 2025.

The couple provided false information to banks and fabricated bank statements when applying for and receiving millions of dollars in loans before later declaring bankruptcy, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Both were releasedfrom prison May 28 after being sentenced in November 2022 to a combined 19 years in prison. The couple was also ordered to pay $17.8 million in restitution.

The President loves the Chrisleys and their fame so much that he doesn't think there should be consequences if they engage in federal tax evasion and defraud financial institutions.

Brian Kelsey

Brian Kelsey, a former Tennessee state senator, was convicted and sentenced for conspiracy to defraud the United States and of aiding and abetting the acceptance of excessive contributions, a campaign-finance offense. Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon in March 2025 just 15 days after this Republicanbegan serving a 21-month prison sentence.

It's scary to think that the tolerance for FRAUD is so extreme in Tennessee that three Republican congressmen wrote letters to their supreme leader begging for a pardon for somebody who engaged in a campaign finance FRAUD scheme.

Jason Galanis

Jason Galanis, a man once dubbed "Porn's New King,"pled guilty and was sentenced for securities fraud and investment adviser fraud. Trump commuted his federal sentence in March 2025.

Galanis defrauded the Oglala Sioux Nation of $60 million,engaged in a scheme to manipulate the market, and defrauded clients of an investment advisory firm. But stealing money from people's pensions doesn't matter to the president as long as you support MAGA.

Trump doesn't care about fraud committed by his friends and supporters. That's probably why he allowed Galanis to not pay his multi-million-dollar fines and didn't publicly announce the commutation.

Glen Casada

Former Tennessee House Speaker Glen Casada was convicted by a jury in a federal public-corruption case of 14 criminal counts, including honest services fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States. Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon in November 2025.

The corruption trial involved activities that occurred while Casada was a lawmaker but after he had resigned as speaker in 2019 following a no-confidence vote by fellow Republicans due to swirling scandals. Casada's former chief of staff, Cade Cothren,stepped down in 2019 from his jobamid allegations.

Thanks to Trump, Casada and Cothren are cleared for texting about cocaine use inside Tennessee state office buildings, racist and sexist messages, and whatever else they apparently thought was acceptable conduct.

Cade Cothren

Cade Cothren, former chief of staff to the Tennessee House speaker, was convicted alongside Glen Casadain the same public-corruption case and sentenced in federal court. Trump issued a full and unconditional pardon in November 2025.

Cothren launched a company called Phoenix Solutionswith the knowledge and support of Casada and an associate. They claimed the company was run by a "Matthew Phoenix," but the companies were controlled by Casada and the associate and received roughly $52,000 in taxpayer money in 2020 from a program used by lawmakers to send mailings to constituents.

Cothren received a 30-month sentence. Along with his boss, he was indicted in August 2022 and convicted May 2025.

Dinesh D'Souza

Dinesh D'Souza, conservative mouthpiece, was convicted and sentenced for campaign contribution fraud. Trump issued a pardon in 2018.

He pled guilty and was convicted in 2014 of an illegal $20,000 campaign contribution to a New York politician. He was sentenced to five years of probation after admitting to the crime.

D'Souza has spread misinformation to the masses - going after former President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and survivors of the Parkland mass school shooting, among others, and spreading the debunked 2000 Mules election conspiracy.

Paul J. Manafort

Paul Manafort, former Trump campaign chairman, was convicted by a jury and sentenced for bank fraud and other federal crimes. Trump issued a pardon in December 2020.

Manafort, who led Trump's campaign in 2016 before beingousted over his ties to Ukraine, had been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for financial crimes related to his work in Ukraine.

Manafort had a close relationship to a man U.S. officials have linked to Russian intelligence and with whom he shared internal campaign polling data.

Charles Kushner

Charles Kushner, ambassador to France and father of Jared Kushner, pled guilty and was convicted of 18 criminal counts, including assisting in the filing of false tax returns, retaliating against a cooperating witness and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Trump issued a pardon in December 2020.

The real estate developerwas sentenced to two years in prison. He served 14 months at a federal prison in Alabama and completed his sentence at a halfway house in Newark, N.J., until his release in August 2006.

Kushner's eldest son, Jared, is married to Ivanka Trump, Trump's daughter. He served as a senior White House adviser during Trump's first term.

John Duncan Fordham

John Duncan Fordham, a former Augusta pharmacist, was convicted and sentencedfor federal health care fraud. Trump issued a pardon in 2020, on his last day in office.

Fordham made an arrangement with former state Rep. Robin Williams in which Fordham would get contracts to run the Community Mental Health Center of East Central Georgia's pharmacy. The contracts included extravagant bonuses for Fordham, who gave Williams about a third of that money in kickbacks.

John Duncan Fordham was convicted in 2005 and sentenced to 52 months in federal prison. He was released in 2009.

Philip Esformes

Philip Esformes, a former Florida health care executive, was convicted and sentencedin a federal health-care fraud case that included conspiracy to defraud the United States and charges related to kickbacks and bribery. Trump commuted his sentence in December 2020.

He was convicted in 2019 of a $1.3 billion Medicare and Medicaid fraudscheme, what the Justice Department at that time called the largest health care fraud ever charged, and scheduled to spend 20 years in prison when Trump freed him just 14 months later.

Judith Negron

Judith Negron, who was part of a $205 million Medicare fraud scheme, was convicted and sentenced for health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States, among other listed counts. Trump commuted her sentence in February 2020.

Negron, along with two other owners and executives with the company she owned, American Therapeutic Corporation, were arrested in October 2010for a scheme that prosecutors said billed Medicare for mental health treatments that patients didn't need.

She only served 8 years of her 35-year sentence.

Eliyahu Weinstein

Eliyahu Weinstein, the mastermind behind a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme, was convicted and sentenced in wire-fraud-conspiracy cases. He was sentenced to prison for 24 years, only for Trump to commute his sentence in January 2021.

While Trump commuted his sentence, this con man is actually heading back to federal prison for 37 years for running a new Ponzi scheme. He has been ordered to pay $44 million in restitution, due immediately, related to the new conviction.

Here's a few more individuals with criminal records, corruption cases, and extremist ties that Donald Trump elevates, protects, pardons, and surrounds himself with.

Criminal in Chief: Donald Trump

34 REASONS:A New York court convicted the President of 34 felony countsof falsified business records - the first time a former or sitting President has been convicted of criminal charges.

TRUMP PROTECTS PEDOPHILES:Trump cozies up to pedophiles like Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Trump Faith Advisor Robert Morris.

TRUMP'S CRYPTO CORRUPTION:Trump used to call crypto a "scam," then he cashed in. The Trump family has raked inat least $800 million dollars in crypto since the start of 2025 alone. He also pardonedBinance's co-founder after Binance helped set up Trump's own crypto holdings company and suspended an SEC fraud investigationinto a crypto billionaire Justin Sun just weeks after Sun invested $75 million into Trump's crypto company World Liberty Financial. Trump is cashing in on his presidential power, bumping up the value of his $TRUMP memecoin by 60% by offering a White House tourto top investors.

TRUMP'S BIG, DUMB, CORRUPT PLANE: He received a jumbo jet from Qatar, then signed a highly unusual, NATO-likesecurity guarantee with them via executive order, vowing to defend the country if they are attacked by a foreign power. Because Trump wanted a new toy, Americans will have to foot an at least $400 million dollarbill to retrofit the plane. Just three days later, Trump offered Qatara multi-billion-dollar defense and technology deal, including MQ-9B drones, counter-drone systems, advanced radar, satellite communications, and a $1 billion joint venture in quantum technologies. A few months later, Trump committed to new security guaranteeswith Qatar rivaling those offered by NATO allies. Surely none of this has anything to do with the Trump family's planned multi-billion dollar resort in Qatar, right?

January 6 Insurrectionists

The President's first act in office was to grant clemency to about 1,500 people - every person charged or convicted for their role in the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The pardons and commutations for these "patriots" do not clear their previous extensive criminal records, including those charged with rape and domestic violence.

After their pardons, several Jan 6erswent on to be convicted of possessing child pornography, sexually assaulting a child, driving under the influence and reckless homicide, burglary, grand theft, home invasion, and resisting arrest, among other crimes.

President Trump unleashed his loyal, violent and sexual predatorcronies onto the streets of America, endangering all of us while he jets off across the globe.

Former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández

The former Honduran President and convicted top drug boss received a Trump pardon. The former President had been sentenced to a 45-year prison sentence after being convicted for using his position to smuggle 400 tons of cocaine into the U.S. in 2024. Honduras, for its part, has issued a warrant for his arrest.

He is just one of more than 100 unrepentant and unreformed peopleconvicted of weapons and drug-related crimes that Trump has pardoned - a roster that includes other high-profile drug trafficking and kingpin cases.

Changpeng Zhao

Governor Newsom supportsresponsible crypto and blockchain innovation while prioritizing consumer protection, not fraud. Meanwhile Trump handed Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao - who pleaded guiltyto failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering program - a full and unconditional pardon. As part of his guilty plea, Zhao acknowledged publicly that Binance identified users who appear to be involved in illicit activity but allowed the users to continue to use the exchange because they were VIPs. Binance's willful failures allowed money to flow to terrorist, cybercriminals, and child abusersthrough its platform.

In addition, Binance Holdings Limited pleaded guiltyto violations related to the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA), failure to register as a money transmitting business, and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

All of this while Trump said publiclyhe doesn't know who Zhao is. Maybe Sneaky Pete used the autopen while Trumpslept

Trump's family has pursued crypto ventures through World Liberty Financial. Binance helped developthe code for USD1, a digital currency issued by World Liberty Financial, which was later used by a UAE firm to make a $2 billion investmentin Binance. Days after Trump pardoned the Binance founder, Binance began promoting USD1 to U.S. investors, increasing its accessibilityand potential value.

Ross Ulbricht

The former Silk Road founder helped facilitate the sale of more than $214 millionin illegal drugs through a dark web marketplace, with some of those who bought drugs dying. He was sentenced to life in prison.

Trump pardoned him for his 2015 conviction for a narcotics and money-laundering conspiracy.

Rod Blagojevich

The former Illinois Governor was convicted of multiple political corruption charges,including holding up funding for state hospitals while trying to sell an appointment to an Illinois Senate seat.

Trump originally had commuted his 14-year sentence, then pardoned him entirely earlier this year, which cleared his record.

Devon Archer

The former businessman and private-equity investorreceived a Trump pardon for his conviction in 2022 of defrauding the Oglala Sioux Nationin a $60 million bond scheme.

BitMEX Bros

California's support of responsible crypto and blockchain innovation is in stark contrast to the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange co-founders Benjamin Delo, Arthur Hayes, Gregory Dwyer, and Samuel Reed who received a Trump pardon. They had pleaded guilty to violating the Bank Secrecy Act.

Trump also pardoned the corporation that owns the cryptocurrency exchange, HDR Global Trading Limited.

Michele Fiore

The former Las Vegas city councilmember and state lawmaker was convicted of seven counts relating to wire fraud.

She had raised more than $70,000 for the statue of a slain police officer, but instead spent it on cosmetic surgery, rent and other outlandish personal expenses.

George Santos

Serial fraudster and Congressmember who lied about his identity and committed wire fraud had their sentence commuted by President Trump after serving only three months of his sentence.

Trump doesn't care if you lie about your mom dying on 9/11, steal personal identity information from elderly donors and use your campaign apparatus for personal gain, as long as you can out MAGA your way through a republican primary you may be eligible for clemency and maybe a new Louis Vuitton bag too.

For more information on Trump's pardons, visit the federal Department of Justice website.

Nobody's safe from Trump

Former MAGA Megaphone Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the most recent people to feel the wrath of the President's daily violent rhetoric. After she broke with the President in his quest to protect Epstein affiliates and jack-up prices for people's healthcare, Trump called her a traitor. Trump's acts have threatened his opponents' personal safety - Marjorie and her family received death threatsthat were fueled by the President.

Trump doesn't care about public safety

The Trump Administration has made cuts to public safety, including canceling more than $800 million in federal grant moneythat would have funded school violence programs, training for police officers, resources for domestic violence survivors and hate crime prevention.

All of this as there's been a reported 2,000 agentsreassigned from anti-trafficking task forces to immigration and border missions, leaving longstanding federal-state initiatives under-resourced and federal drug prosecutions fallingto their lowest levels in decades.

Other cuts include:

• High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area program funding was cut by 35% ($102 million), shrinking federal support for multi-agency teams targeting drug/human trafficking.
• The State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons was cut by one-third, reducing global coordination and survivor assistance.​
• The Department of Labor eliminated over $500 million in grants for child labor and trafficking prevention, with ripple effects in vulnerable countries tied to U.S. trade.
• The USAID Counter Trafficking in Persons (C-TIP) program was closed, and anti-trafficking responsibilities shifted to the State Department with reduced funding.​
• Major victim support and prevention grants were canceled or cut, with advocates and local law enforcement warning of weakened response capacity.​
• Cutting funding to the Multi-state Information Sharing and Analysis Center, a key vehicle for sharing cybersecurity threat intelligence and collaborating on incident response.

New data shows violent crime is down

As new data shows that crime continues to drop in California, Governor Newsom launched this page to track Trump's criminal compatriots. According to new datafrom the Major Cities Chiefs Association, crime is down nearly across the board in California year-over-year.

Homicides: ↓ 18%

Robberies: ↓ 18%

Aggravated Assaults: ↓ 9%

Violent crime: Down in every major city reporting data

Largest drops: Oakland (↓25%) and San Francisco (↓21%)

According to the independent data, there's been an 18% drop in homicides, an 18% drop in robberies and a 9% drop in aggravated assaults. Overall violent crime was down in each jurisdiction reporting data, with the overall largest declines in violent crimes being reported by law enforcement officials in Oakland (25%) and San Francisco (21%). Not every major city is seeing California's same results: violent crime increased in Atlanta (+19%) and Omaha (+4%), and homicides rose in El Paso (+26%) and Arlington (+20%).

California's significant public safety investments

California has invested $2.1 billionsince 2019 to fight crime, help local governments hire more police, and improve public safety. In 2023, as part of California's Public Safety Plan, the Governor announced the largest-everinvestment to combat organized retail crime in state history, an annual 310%increase in proactive operations targeting organized retail crime, and special operations acrossthe state to fight crime and improve public safety.

Last year, Governor Newsom signed into law the most significant bipartisan legislation to crack down on property crime in modern California history.Building on the state's robust laws and record public safety funding, these bipartisan bills offer new tools to bolster ongoing efforts to hold criminals accountable for smash-and-grab robberies, property crime, retail theft, and auto burglaries. While California's crime rate remains at near-historic lows, these laws help California adapt to evolving criminal tactics to ensure perpetrators are effectively held accountable.

As part of the largest-ever state investment to fight organized retail crime, Governor Newsom announced in 2023 that the stateallocated$267 million to 55 communities to help them combat this issue. These funds have allowed cities and counties to hire more police officers, make more arrests, and pursue more felony charges against suspects.