Bombshell Report Reveals Trump Pardoned Tax Fraudster Whose Mother Raised Millions For President’s Campaign

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump during a town hall event at the Dort Financial Center in Flint, Mich., Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

A Tuesday report revealed that President Donald Trump’s pardon of a tax fraudster coincided with his mother’s contributions to Trump’s campaign.

Former nursing home executive Paul Walczak pleaded guilty to using his employees’ taxes for his own personal use. He was ordered to pay $4.4 million in restitution and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Just 12 days later, however, Trump signed a pardon allowing Walczak to avoid punishment.

A new report from The New York Times explained how Elizabeth Fago — Walczak’s mother — helped put his case onto Trump’s radar:

Ms. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Mr. Trump’s campaigns and those of other Republicans, the application said. It also highlighted her connections to an effort to sabotage Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s 2020 campaign by publicizing the addiction diary of his daughter Ashley Biden — an episode that drew law enforcement scrutiny.

Mr. Walczak’s pardon application argued that his criminal prosecution was motivated more by his mother’s efforts for Mr. Trump than by his admitted use of money earmarked for employees’ taxes to fund an extravagant lifestyle.

The report added that Fago was later invited to a fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Priced at $1 million per person, the dinner offered face-to-face access with Trump. The pardon was signed three weeks after that dinner.

Walczak wasn’t the only fraudster given clemency by Trump. During his first term, Trump commuted the 20-year sentence of Philip Esformes — the man responsible for what the Justice Department called the “largest health care fraud scheme ever.” In October 2024, Esformes was arrested on domestic violence-related charges.