Brookfield Man Convicted of Fraud Pardoned by Trump
As the clock ran down on Trump's final hours as President, the whirlwind of pardons continued.
In all, Trump pardoned 73 people and commuted the sentences of another 70 before he left the White House on Inauguration Day, according to the Hartford Courant. One of those pardoned was Brookfield resident Glenn Moss, who admitted to paying kickbacks to an undercover business to secure referrals.
The investigation into Moss's financial dealings was called "Operation Overdraw", where the feds posed as operators of a medical business. The three-year investigation detailed kickbacks and overbilling of about $500,000. In 1992, Moss claimed an income of $2,227 when he earned $498,637. According to the White House, the following statement was released concerning Moss's pardon.
After pleading guilty in 1998, Mr. Moss has been a vital member of his community and has contributed to numerous philanthropic efforts at the national level.
Trump ended up not pardoning himself, his family, or his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. An analysis was completed by the Washington Post of the 144 people who were granted clemency by Trump. They found that out of the 144 pardoned, 45 had some link to Trump.
The Washington Post discovered that in 2011, Moss was a member of the Trump National Golf Club in Westchester County and had donated $10,000 to the Trump Foundation in 2008. Moss believed the donation and golf membership were "not a factor" in the pardon.
The pardon of White House chief strategist Steve Bannon surprised government officials. Bannon was charged with duping donors to an online fundraising campaign called "We Build the Wall" to finance Trump's border wall. Wait a second, I almost forgot this one. Trump also pardoned his favorite hip hop artist, Lil' "Make It Rain" Wayne!