University of St. Thomas School of Law Professor Mark Osler recently spoke with ABC News on how lawyers say that President Trump’s pardons have shortchanged fraud victims of millions of dollars in restitution.
From the story:
In April, fresh off a presidential pardon that sprung him from prison, convicted fraudster Jason Galanis embarked on a new and audacious legal fight: an attempt to recover money that he had already paid back his victims.
As part of his 2017 sentence, a federal judge ordered Galanis to pay more than $80 million in restitution for his various fraudulent schemes. But when President Donald Trump commuted Galanis’ 189-month prison sentence in March as part of a flurry of pardons, Galanis’ pardon warrant stipulated that “no further fines (and) restitution” should be collected. ...
Legal experts ABC News spoke with said it’s unclear to what extent victims could seek to claim the restitution they’re still owed following Trump’s pardons. One option would be to file a civil lawsuit to reclaim damages, but that can be a lengthy and expensive proposition.
“Restitution makes it so easy – you don't have to pay a lawyer, you don’t have to go to court,” said Mark Osler, an expert on clemency at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. “You can see why that would be a victim’s first choice for how to be made whole.”
