Former US President Donald Trump has commuted the seven-year prison sentence of investment executive David Gentile, who was convicted of orchestrating a massive fraud, freeing him just 12 days after he reported to prison.

The move, the latest in a series of clemency actions for white-collar criminals, raises urgent questions for Kenyans about justice, impunity, and whether the powerful can operate beyond the reach of the law—a debate that resonates deeply with local struggles against corruption.

Gentile, the founder of GPB Capital, was convicted in August 2024 of securities and wire fraud for his central role in a scheme that raised over $1.6 billion (approx. KES 208 billion) from more than 10,000 investors. Prosecutors successfully argued that GPB Capital was built on a “foundation of lies.”

A Foundation of Lies

The case against Gentile detailed a multi-year deception where he and his co-defendants falsely promised investors steady 8% annual returns, supposedly generated from profits of companies GPB owned. However, when the investments underperformed, Gentile authorised the use of new investor money to pay distributions to earlier investors—a hallmark of a Ponzi-like scheme. Over $100 million in investor capital was used to cover these payments and create a false appearance of success.

At the sentencing in May 2025, U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. emphasized the severity of the crime. "The sentences imposed today are well deserved and should serve as a warning to would-be fraudsters that seeking to get rich by taking advantage of investors gets you only a one-way ticket to jail," he noted.

White House Defends Commutation

A presidential commutation reduces a sentence but does not erase the conviction. The White House defended the decision, alleging the Department of Justice under the previous administration had mishandled the case. An official claimed that investors were informed in 2015 that their own capital might be used to pay dividends, supposedly undercutting the prosecution's claims. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described the case as “another example… of the weaponization of justice from the previous administration.”

Key facts of the case include:

• Scale of Fraud: Approximately $1.6 billion raised from over 10,000 investors.
• Charges: Gentile was convicted of securities fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy.
• Sentence: Seven years in federal prison, which began on November 14, 2025.
• Release: Gentile was released on November 26, 2025, after Trump commuted the sentence.

Gentile's co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, was sentenced to six years on the same charges and is due to report to prison in January; his sentence does not appear to have been commuted.

This action is part of a broader pattern, with critics alleging that Trump's pardons have erased over a billion dollars in restitution and fines owed to victims of financial crimes. The commutation leaves Gentile's conviction on record but ends his prison term, leaving many of his victims without the justice prosecutors had promised.