Money Grab/Pardon donors and drop cases against friends
Trump pardons Abramoff partner Adam Kidan, a $1.13M donor
Trump pardoned Adam Kidan on July 3, 2026. Kidan, a former partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was convicted of fraud in the purchase of a casino-boat fleet and owed $21.7 million plus interest in restitution. He had given more than $1.1 million to Trump’s campaign and helped host a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser months before the pardon.
What happened
Adam Kidan was Jack Abramoff’s partner in the 2000 purchase of SunCruz Casinos, a Florida casino-boat fleet. He pleaded guilty in 2005 to fraud and conspiracy and was sentenced in 2006 to 70 months in prison, and was released in 2009 after less than half.
He and Abramoff were ordered to pay $21.7 million in restitution, shared between them. Victims include the sons of SunCruz founder Gus Boulis, who was murdered in 2001 by a hitman tied to Kidan’s associate. His court file shows no payments.
Kidan became a Mar-a-Lago member and married there in February 2023 with the Trumps among 250 guests. Federal records show he gave more than $1.13 million to Trump’s campaign and supporting committees in the 2024 cycle, and millions to Republicans since 2017. In March 2026 he co-hosted a Mar-a-Lago fundraiser for a Long Island congressional candidate.
On July 3, 2026, Trump pardoned him alongside nine Clean Air Act violators, erasing the conviction and the restitution debt. The White House praised his staffing business in announcing the pardon. The Justice Department’s clemency list records the pardon under July 3, 2026.
Who benefited
Kidan’s fraud conviction was erased and his obligation to pay $21.7 million plus 20 years of interest ended. The court file shows he never paid. He had served less than half his sentence and had built a staffing business the White House praised in announcing the pardon.
Who wanted something
Kidan had a felony record and a restitution debt that had grown for two decades. He gave more than $1.13 million to Trump’s 2024 campaign operation, joined Trump’s club, married there with the president as a guest, and hosted a fundraiser there months before the pardon.
Who lost out
The victims owed $21.7 million plus interest, including the sons of a murdered man, will not be paid. Kidan was ordered to pay that sum jointly with Abramoff, and his court file shows no payments.
Why it matters
A convicted fraudster paid more than $1.13 million into the president’s political operation, paid the president’s club for membership and a wedding, and hosted a fundraiser there. He then received a pardon canceling $21.7 million he owed his victims. The record shows the sequence: the donations, the membership, the fundraiser, the pardon. It does not show who asked for the pardon or what was said.
Sources Fortune / Associated PressFlorida BulldogSpotlight PANOTUSU.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney (primary)