Casey Rafter

BREAKING: Trump pardons Russia-linked fraudster just 12 days into a 7-year-sentence for defrauding THOUSANDS of people of $1.6 billion! David Gentile, a New Yorker, was convicted of securities and wire fraud charges as part of a gigantic scam. The New York Times reports “used private equity funds controlled by Mr. Gentile’s company, GPB Capital, to defraud 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of the funds and the source of money used to make monthly distribution payments.” “More than 1,000 people submitted statements attesting to their losses, according to prosecutors, who characterized the victims as ‘hardworking, everyday people,’ including small business owners, farmers, veterans, teachers and nurses.” But he’s a white collar criminal, so of course Trump, the Michael Jordan of white collar crime, pardoned him. Oh, and Gentile just so happens to major have connections to the Russian mafia too. A previous lawsuit linked him to Russian organized crime figure and oligarch Michael Cherney, who helped provide the startup money that Gentile used to put this massive scam into action. Cherney has very close ties to Putin and even once shared a home with Putin’s cousin. This would be an earth-shattering scandal under any Democratic administration, but under Trump, it’s just another display of wanton criminality and the slow but steady erosion of the rule law. Money rules all in Trump world, and crime is legal as long as you’re rich. Someday, we’ll make all of them face justice.