Trump continues to overlook SBF as president issues fresh pardons

Donald Trump is in the news again for quietly setting free David Gentile, a private equity executive who is responsible for defrauding thousands of regular people in a scheme that landed him seven years in jail, as well as fines and restitution.

That makes it yet another pardon that has not been granted to Sam Bankman-Fried, who continues to be courting the President’s attention for clemency.

On Polymarket, traders are pricing his pardon at a 2% chance, while traders from Kalshi only see a 4% chance that SBF is pardoned before the end of this year. The current level is proof that people think there is little chance he gets a pardon from the same man whose political rival he funded.

David Gentile will keep the cash he cheated people out of

Trump has used the presidential clemency power, such as pardons and sentence commutations, on several high-profile cases, including the January 6 Capitol rioters, former Rep. George Santos, who pleaded guilty to felony wire fraud and identity theft charges, Binance founder Changpeng Zhao convicted of money laundering, and even reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were also convicted of financial crimes.

Each pardon has raised eyebrows, but perhaps the one that has garnered the most reactions has been his commutation of Gentile’s sentence, even though the man had only served 12 days out of a seven-year prison sentence when he was released, according to the New York Times.

It should be noted that what Gentile got was not a full pardon, which usually forgives the crime and restores rights; it was a commutation that shortens or ends the sentence but leaves the conviction intact.

Of course, this specific commutation stands out because it also got rid of all remaining fines, restitution, and forfeiture obligations, which effectively means Gentile does not need to repay his victims or face any further financial penalties tied to the federal case.

Gentile was the founder and CEO of GPB Capital, a company prosecutors say raised about $1.6 billion from investors based on misrepresented success of the private equity fund.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, while addressing the matter on December 1, implied that the case had been revisited because the Biden-era Justice Department that oversaw the prosecution mischaracterized it as a Ponzi scheme, and Gentile had concerns about false testimony.

“In short, again this is another example that has been brought to the president’s attention of a weaponization of the justice of the previous administration,” she said, declining to answer questions about the victims in the case.

According to records from the Bureau of Prisons, Gentile was released on November 26, the day before Thanksgiving.

“I am also deeply grateful to see David Gentile heading home to his young children,” Trump’s “pardon czar” Alice Marie Johnson said on X. “These are miracles of mercy, and each one reminds us of the extraordinary power of second chances.”

SBF renews hopes for a pardon

Trump’s pardons have mostly been reserved for crypto-adjacent figures with lighter sentences and strong MAGA ties. SBF does not fit into either category with his billion-dollar fraud conviction and massive donation to support Biden. Still, SBF is not giving up hope.

His parents, Stanford Law professors Joseph Bankman and Barbara Fried, have been doing their best to lobby Trump allies, including a lawyer from his 2016/2020 campaigns, as well as figures like Tucker Carlson, who conducted an interview with SBF in prison in March 2025.

They’re framing the conviction as a “Democratic witch hunt,” in hopes that it will help paint a picture of him being targeted by the Biden administration, a move that worked well for the likes of David Gentile.

SBF himself has also ramped up his social media activity, arguing FTX was solvent at collapse. In a recent post, he claimed that global FTX creditors could have benefited more if the lawyers had approved the exchange’s sales.

There is also the fact that SBF shared a prison block with the former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, who had been serving a 45-year sentence in the U.S. for drug trafficking and firearms offenses.

When Trump pardoned Hernandez, calling it an act of “justice,” and claiming Hernández was “framed” by prosecutors, SBF reacted with enthusiasm, commenting via his X account, which is being run by a friend.

“I’m so glad Juan Orlando is free—few are more deserving than him.” SBF described Hernández as “one of the kindest and most dedicated people I’ve met” and an “honor” to befriend, even “under the worst possible circumstances.”

It was SBF’s second post praising a Trump pardon. Before that, he commented positively on the CZ commutation. Unfortunately, the convicted executive’s efforts have been insufficient in getting a look from President Trump, and bettors aren’t counting on it happening either.