Donald Trump is under fire following his decision to commute the sentence of David Gentile, a former investment manager convicted of a massive $1.6 billion fraud scheme. The controversial clemency has sparked criticism across various sectors.

At the age of 59, Gentile was handed a seven-year prison sentence in August 2024 for orchestrating a deceptive scheme that swindled over 10,000 investors. The scheme involved misrepresenting the financial performance of three private equity funds, leading to significant losses for those involved.

Alongside his partner, Jeffry Schneider, Gentile was found guilty of misleading more than 17,000 retail investors, who were falsely assured of an eight percent return on their investments. This misleading promise was a key element in their fraudulent activities.

Federal prosecutors revealed that GPB, the Manhattan-based firm at the center of the scandal, assured investors that returns would be financed through revenue generated by the firm’s holdings, which included a collection of car dealerships. However, a substantial portion of these returns was actually derived from funds contributed by new investors, highlighting the Ponzi-like nature of the scheme.

Gentile, known for his affiliation with Scientology, reportedly began serving his sentence on November 14. However, just days later, Trump used his presidential power to commute Gentile’s sentence, according to a White House official who spoke on condition of anonymity. This decision saw Gentile released after serving merely 12 days behind bars.

He was set free on Wednesday, spending only 12 total days in jail. 

Adam Gana, a lawyer representing those defrauded by GPB in arbitration, was irate and said Gentile’s case should be beyond politics.  

‘The stories that we’ve heard are just heartbreaking, and it’s just unbelievable that somebody like that would receive a commutation. This is not a case that should be political. This guy belongs in prison,’ he told The New York Times.

Donald Trump has faced backlash for commuting the prison sentence of former investment manager David Gentile, who was convicted of defrauding investors to the tune of $1.6billion

Gentile (pictured center in 2014), 59, had been sentenced to seven years in prison after an August 2024 conviction for his role in a scheme to defraud more than 10,000 investors by misrepresenting the performance of three private equity funds

There were over 1,000 victim statements submitted to the court at Gentile’s trial. 

‘I lost my whole life savings. I am living from check to check,’ wrote one.

Gentile and Schneider ‘raised approximately $1.6 billion from individual investors based on false promises of generating investment returns from the profits of portfolio companies,’ said the US attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Joseph Nocella Jr. 

‘All while using investor capital to pay distributions and create a false appearance of success.’ 

However, Gentile had a key Trump ally behind him in Alice Marie Johnson, a woman granted a pardon by the president during his first term who has since become known as the president’s ‘pardon czar.’

‘I am also deeply grateful to see David Gentile heading home to his young children,’ she wrote in a message celebrating many of the president’s pardons and commutations around Thanksgiving. 

The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.  

Gentile had been the CEO and co-founder of GPB Capital, which had raised $1.6 billion in capital to acquire companies in the auto, retail, health care and housing sectors.

Gentile, a Scientologist, reported to prison on November 14, just days before Trump commuted his sentence, according to a White House official who requested anonymity to provide details of the clemency action

Gentile had a key Trump ally behind him in Alice Marie Johnson, a woman granted a pardon by the president during his first term who has since become known as the president’s ‘pardon czar’

But the White House official said GPB Capital had disclosed to investors in 2015 that their capital might go to pay dividends to other investors. 

The official said this undercut claims that the company had engaged in a ‘Ponzi’ scheme in which new investments are used to reimburse previous investors.

The government has agreed to no restitution in the criminal case, though various civil cases are handling repayments and damages to investors.

The commutation, as opposed to a pardon, means that its possible the penalties associated with his conviction will remain. 

Schneider, who faces six years in prison, has received no pardon or commutation from the president.