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Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- Politics
- Chicago Tribune
Apparently fake clemency letter for Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover sent to Gov. JB Pritzker
Weeks after President Donald Trump commuted the federal life sentence of Gangster Disciples founder Larry Hoover, a letter arrived at the offices of Gov. JB Pritzker that appeared to be Hoover's final push for freedom: asking for clemency in his state murder case. At first glance, the petition, which was stamped as received by the governor's office on June 16, would seem to be a legitimate plea from Hoover himself, using the same language about atonement and redemption that the imprisoned gang leader has used in numerous previous requests for parole and clemency from the courts. But a closer inspection revealed some tell-tale signs that the document, first obtained by the Tribune through a public records request, might be a fake. For one, it was purportedly sent June 5 from the 'supermax' prison in Florence, Colorado where Hoover, 74, had been housed for the past three decades. But Hoover had in fact been released from that facility days prior due to Trump's clearing of his federal sentence on May 29. Another clue: the stationery used in the three-page letter had a quote at the bottom often attributed to the medieval fraternal organization known as freemasons, along with one of the group's insignias depicting a square and compass. Hoover's attorneys say he never would have had access to such stationery in the high-security environment in Florence, where use of any insignias is banned. When the Tribune reached out to lead Hoover attorney Justin Moore on Wednesday, he said he had suspicions about the authenticity of the letter but could not say for certain that Hoover had not sent it. On Wednesday evening, Moore confirmed on social media that the petition was sent without the knowledge or consent of Hoover's legal team and is believed to be a forgery. 'I was just informed that there was a fake clemency petition sent to the Governor of Illinois with Larry Hoover's name forged on it,' Moore wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 'I've already had one media outlet contact me about this. No one from my office, nor any other retained attorney by Larry Hoover assisted with this.' Moore said Thursday he was still investigating its origins and hoped to talk to Hoover about it soon. A spokesman for Pritzker's office had no comment on the document Thursday. The apparently fake clemency request may be a blip in Hoover's ongoing legal saga, but it's also an indication of the lasting mystique that continues to follow one of Chicago's most notorious gang leaders even though he's been behind bars for more than 50 years. The letter obtained by the Tribune had been received Monday by the Illinois Prisoner Review Board, which reviews all requests for clemency and makes recommendations to the governor. Pritzker, who formally announced Thursday he will run for a third term, has previously commented that any clemency requests from Hoover would be treated the same as any other prisoner. 'We have a process in the state of Illinois,' Pritzker told reporters soon after Trump's commutation of Hoover's federal sentence. 'If you want to seek commutation or pardon, you go through a process. First you apply through the Prisoner Review Board, and then the Prisoner Review Board makes a recommendation to the governor.' Pritzker said it was important to make decisions based on a full record, after interviewing not only the prisoner but also their family, friends as well as victims or victims' relatives. 'I have, as you know, had pardons and commutations, hundreds of them during the course of my administration, and they all — every single one of them has involved that kind of a record,' Pritzker said. Hoover's other avenue to freedom would be the granting of parole, a decision made by the Prisoner Review Board. His most recent bid for parole fell short last year, though he's allowed to renew his request next year, records show. Once one of the nation's largest street gangs, the Gangster Disciples became a major criminal force under Hoover's leadership, with operations that spread to dozens of U.S. cities and were as sophisticated as many legitimate corporations, including a strict code of conduct for members and a franchise-style system for drug sales. Hoover was convicted in state court in 1973 of the murder of William Young, one of Hoover's gang underlings who was shot to death that same year after he and others had stolen from gang stash houses. He was sentenced to 200 years in prison. In the early 1990s, before Hoover was charged in federal court, former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer lobbied the IDOC parole board on his behalf, arguing that Hoover could help stem Chicago's street violence if he were allowed to return home, the Tribune reported at the time. Hoover was indicted in federal court in 1995 on charges he continued to oversee the murderous drug gang's reign of terror from prison. He was convicted on 40 criminal counts in 1997, and then-U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber sentenced him to the mandatory term of life. For years, Hoover had been housed in solitary confinement at the supermax prison in Colorado, which counts a number of high-profile and notorious detainees, including Sinaloa cartel boss Joaquín 'El Chapo' Guzmán, Sept. 11 terrorist attack plotter Zacarias Moussaoui, and Jeff Fort, the Chicago gang leader who founded the El Rukns. Federal prosecutors vehemently opposed any breaks for Hoover, arguing he did untold damage to communities across Chicago during his reign on the streets. They argued he has continued to hold sway over the gang's hierarchy while imprisoned, even promoting an underling he'd secretly communicated with through coded messages hidden in a dictionary. Hoover's attorneys, meanwhile, have claimed that decades behind bars have left him a changed man and that prosecutors have unfairly painted him as a puppet master to try to keep him locked up. At a hearing last year, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey asked Hoover's defense attorney point-blank: 'How many other murders is he responsible for?' 'I don't know what the methodology is for determining that,' attorney Bonjean replied, somewhat taken aback by the unusually blunt query. 'So many we can't count?' Blakey shot back. Days after Trump commuted his federal sentence, Hoover was transferred out of the supermax prison in Florence and is currently being housed in the Colorado state Department of Corrections system, though his exact whereabouts are not public.
Chicago Tribune
24-06-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Indicted on fraud charges, ex-Loretto Hospital exec wages bizarre PR campaign from Dubai
The press release over the weekend announcing the latest project by Dr. Anosh Ahmed touted him as a Chicago-based entrepreneur determined to break the cycle of poverty by bringing high-tech jobs to the city's historically underserved West Side. In a bio attached to the release, Ahmed is described as the former chief operating officer of an unnamed hospital, who expanded services and 'led initiatives in patient care and access' that boosted health care 'for those most in need.' There were, however, a few things the news release failed to cover — chief among them that Ahmed has been indicted in one of largest Chicago-area health care fraud cases in recent memory. Ahmed, a former executive at Loretto Hospital in the city's Austin neighborhood, was first hit with embezzlement charges last year alleging he and other hospital executives, including the then-CEO, stole more than $15 million from the small, safety net facility through a fraudulent billing scheme. Last week, prosecutors filed a new indictment alleging that after he left Loretto in 2021, Ahmed used his connections there to orchestrate a massive conspiracy to collect nearly $300 million for COVID-19 tests that were never performed. And while the news release, dated Sunday, claimed Ahmed is still based in Chicago, he actually fled to Dubai before the first charges were filed and has not returned to answer to either case. A warrant for his arrest remained active as of this week, court records show. The news release was the latest in a strange public relations campaign that appears aimed at rebuilding Ahmed's image and possibly courting the attention of President Donald Trump, who has recently granted executive clemency in a number of notable Chicago-area cases, from Gangster Disciples boss Larry Hoover to former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Distributed by Globe Newswire, an international online public relations service, the release included a media contact identified as Meghan Trump. The phone number listed turned out to be the main switchboard for the Trump International Hotel in Chicago, where Ahmed used to own a condo. A spokeswoman for the hotel said Monday there was no Meghan Trump who works there and she was unaware that someone had listed the hotel's number on a press release about an unrelated real estate project. Ahmed's lawyers could not immediately be reached for comment. The apparently phony media contact was hardly Trump-related overture in the release. The very first paragraph of the document describes Ahmed as a 'Republican leader,' and said he is 'progressing with plans to transform a vacant warehouse on Chicago's West Side into a cryptocurrency and blockchain innovation hub,' in coordination with the Trump administration's 'latest pro-crypto policy direction.' 'The project is designed to stimulate job creation, education, and long-term economic development in an area that has faced decades of underinvestment,' the release stated. 'This isn't just about crypto—it's about building a future economy right here in our community. We're bringing opportunity where it's long been denied.' The release does not specify the location of the purported 100,000-square-foot warehouse, saying only that it has been vacant for more than a decade. Peter Strazzabosco, the deputy commissioner of the city's Planning and Development Department, told the Tribune on Tuesday that department staff was 'not aware of this proposed project.' Other flattering news releases put out over the past year describe Ahmed as a 'billionaire agripreneur' based in Dubai and dedicated to philanthropic causes, including donating millions of pounds of food to the needy in Lebanon. 'I hope to inspire families and professionals worldwide to create a legacy that makes positive ripples in the world at large,' Ahmed was quoted as saying on his web site. The marketing blitz seems right in the wheelhouse for Ahmed, a native of Pakistan and consummate self-promoter who during the early days of the pandemic was hailed for his work on the front lines of the city's testing and vaccination efforts. That spotlight intensified in March 2021, after the hospital was chosen by the city as the first vaccination site in Chicago and hosted Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker as he signed a health care bill into law. But scandal soon erupted after officials at Loretto, including Ahmed, were accused of improperly doling out COVID-19 vaccinations soon after the shots became available. In 2021, following reporting by Block Club Chicago and WBEZ, Loretto admitted it had improperly vaccinated workers at Trump Tower and also improperly gave shots to Cook County judges at a time when the vaccines were still scarce. Ahmed, the then-chief operating officer of Loretto, also reportedly posed for photos with a smiling Eric Trump and sent text messages bragging that he had vaccinated the president's son, whom he touted as a 'cool guy.' Ahmed resigned from his position in 2021 after the hospital's board voted to terminate him. After leaving Loretto, Ahmed moved back to his hometown of Houston, where he started Anosh Inc., a global real estate and 'crypto' investment firm that claims to have more than $1.5 billion in assets around the world, according to court and online records. Its sister foundation sponsors charitable programs like Thanksgiving turkey giveaways and school supply drives for needy children, records show. Behind the veneer of philanthropy, however, prosecutors allege most of Ahmed's professional life was built on fraud. According to a superseding indictment filed last year, from 2018 to 2022, Ahmed and his associates, including then-Loretto CEO George Miller, Ahmed's good friend Sameer Suhail, and Heather Bergdahl, a former Loretto executive, caused the cash-strapped hospital to issue more than $15 million in payments to vendor companies for purported goods and services that they knew had not been provided. Many of the phony vendor companies were created by Ahmed under various names to conceal their association with the fraudulent payments, which were sent to bank accounts the defendants controlled, the indictment stated. Last week, Ahmed was charged in a new 24-count indictment with wire fraud, illegal kickbacks and other financial crimes. According to the new indictment, from April 2021 to June 2022, Ahmed and his co-conspirators used laboratories they opened in Illinois and Texas to submit false claims to the Health Resources and Services Administration for COVID testing of specimens 'purportedly collected from uninsured individuals, knowing that such testing had not occurred.' In all, the false claims sought reimbursement for nearly $895 million, of which more than $293 million was actually paid, the indictment stated. To further the scheme, after Ahmed left Loretto Hospital in April 2021, he had a hospital executive identified as Individual F to obtain a spreadsheet containing personal identifiers — including names, dates of birth, gender and addresses — collected from more than 150,000 Loretto patient visits between July 2014 and June 2020, the indictment alleged. Similar personal information was collected from patients who ordered COVID-19 antigen at-home test kits from an internet site run by his friend and co-defendant, Mahmood Sami Khan, as well as individuals who provided it 'for the purpose of receiving further information about COVID-19,' the indictment stated. The indictment alleged Ahmed used a variety of methods to try to conceal the scheme, including by having Individual F create a new email address with Loretto's domain name to 'create the false appearance that Ahmed was working on behalf of (Loretto)' and that the hospital was reporting test results to patients, the indictment alleged. Ahmed also created a number of false and backdated invoices to minimize his involvement with the various labs, communicated in encrypted messaging apps and ordered co-schemers to replace phones and destroy communications and other documents relating to the scheme, the indictment stated. While the indictment does not identify Individual F, information included in court records show it is Bergdahl. Prosecutors alleged Ahmed funded a lavish lifestyle with the fraud proceeds. The most recent indictment sought forfeiture in more than $100 million in cash and securities in various accounts controlled by Ahmed, as well as seizure of four luxury properties in Texas, and vehicles including two Rolls-Royces, a Lamborghini Huracan and a Mercedes Benz. Miller, who left the hospital amid the fallout in 2022, is cooperating and is expected to plead guilty. Suhail is also believed to be living in Dubai, where he traveled before his indictment. Bergdahl, meanwhile, was arrested after boarding a private jet in Houston that was bound for Dubai. She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial. Two of Ahmed's co-defendants in the case filed last week, Khan and Suhaib Ahmad Chaudhry, were arrested in Houston and released on bond pending appearances in U.S. District Court in Chicago, court records show. The third, Mohamed Sirajudeen, agreed to turn himself in. Cook County real estate records show Ahmed in 2022 had used his 43rd-floor condo at Trump Tower as collateral for a $14 million loan from Sirajudeen. Ahmed later sold the unit to Sirajudeen, who sold it again in December to another Chicago doctor for $2 million, records show. As the cases go forward, t's unclear if Ahmed will ever return to the U.S. to face the charges. While there is no formal extradition treaty between the U.S. and United Arab Emirates, the country's have coordinated on extradition matters on a case-by-case basis in the past. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office had no comment Monday on any possible negotiations to get Ahmed back to Chicago.
CBS News
10-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
R. Kelly's attorneys ask Trump to set him free from prison, accuse feds of plotting to kill him
R. Kelly's attorneys on Tuesday asked President Trump to help them get him freed from federal custody, accusing authorities of plotting steal his mail in order to pressure witnesses to testify against him, and later recruited a white supremacist to kill him in prison. Kelly's attorneys filed an emergency motion on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago, claiming his life is in danger as he serves a 30-year prison sentence for various sex crimes. They also made a plea to President Trump, asking him to free Kelly immediately. "R. Kelly's life is now threatened, because of his willingness to fight and to expose the very kind of corruption that President Trump has been fighting and standing up to since the day he took that office," Kelly's attorney, Beau Brindley, said at a press conference Tuesday afternoon. "We will ask President Trump to help us." Last month, President Trump commuted the sentence of notorious Gangster Disciples co-founder Larry Hoover, and has said he might consider pardoning Sean "Diddy" Combs, who is currently on trial on sex trafficking and racketeering charges. In February, he pardoned former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, five years after commuting his sentence on corruption charges. Brindley said he does not plan to go through the normal clemency process to seek a pardon for Kelly from the president, but wants to ask the president directly. "We are seeking a conversation with the president, because R. Kelly does not have the time, with his life in danger, to go through the normal channels," Brindley said. "We are seeking talks with the White House. We are seeking talks with everybody who is willing to help us." The motion claims Kelly's former cellmate at the federal lockup in Chicago conspired with prison officials to steal his mail and turn them over to prosecutors before his trial on child pornography charges, in order to pit Kelly's former girlfriend against him. Kelly's attorneys also claim he recently received a call from a Bureau of Prison s official who told him he was not safe behind bars, and "should avoid the mess hall" du to the possibility of his food being poisoned. One fellow inmate at the prison where Kelly is being held in North Carolina, who is a member of the Aryan Brotherhood, claimed federal prison officials transferred him to that prison asked him to kill Kelly, according to the motion filed by Kelly's attorneys. Kelly's attorneys claim federal authorities told that inmate they would help him avoid a conviction for Kelly's murder by allowing him to escape from prison, as he had once before. Kelly's defense team also claims that inmate told federal authorities he was willing to kill Kelly, but instead told him the truth, and warned him that his life was in danger. Federal prosecutors moved to have Kelly's filing sealed after his attorneys revealed the name of one of his victims in their motion. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office in Chicago did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the filing from Kelly's attorneys. Kelly, 58, was convicted in 2022 in Chicago of child pornography charges, accused of making videos of himself sexually abusing three teenage girls, including his 14-year-old goddaughter. The same jury acquitted Kelly of seven other charges, including obstruction of justice, accusing him and two associates of rigging his 2008 child pornography trial in Cook County. Brindley represented Kelly's former manager, Derrel McDavid, during that trial, and is now working for Kelly. Meantime, a federal jury in New York convicted Kelly of racketeering and sex trafficking charges in 2021, finding him guilty of running a criminal enterprise to sexually exploit young women and children. Federal appeals courts have upheld both convictions. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison in the New York case, and most of his 20-year sentence in the Chicago case is running concurrently to that prison term. The singer is serving his prison sentence at a medium-security federal correctional center in Butner, North Carolina, and is expected to be released on Dec. 21, 2045, when he would be nearly 79 years old.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Yahoo
Feds offer $10K reward for info leading to arrest of cross-dressing Brooklyn gang member
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of a notorious Brooklyn gang member wanted for conspiracy to murder, who has previously eluded authorities by dressing as a woman, the agency announced. Cops have been looking for Joel Myrie, known on the street as 'Pookie,' since his alleged involvement in a drive-by shooting in Canarsie on Father's Day in June 2022 that left the 28-year-old victim severely wounded. According to authorities, Myrie is a member of No Love City (NLC), a Brooklyn-based offshoot of Gangster Disciples. In the 2022 shooting, Myrie and three associates got in a stolen orange Dodge Charger and drove into enemy-gang territory, where they opened fire into a group of rivals, striking the victim several times, according to court documents. As a part of the plan, three other alleged gang members drove two 'decoy cars' flanking the Dodge Charger, which were supposed to slow down authorities in case of a police chase. In August 2024, Myrie and the others were indicted on conspiracy to murder, racketeering and firearms charges. Authorities arrested six crew members in Brooklyn and Bridgeport, Conn. the day of the indictment. Myrie is the only one of the seven who hasn't been caught. Myrie may have evaded arrest by posing as a woman. On Sept. 10, he was seen wearing a dress and a 'long-haired wig,' according to the FBI. The FBI released two pictures of Myrie in the guise of a woman, one with long, straight hair held back by a pink checkered head band, and another of him posing demurely in a pattered blue cocktail dress and black boots, holding a white purse. It is unclear when those photographs were taken. The feds have built several cases aimed at taking down Gangster Disciples and No Love City in recent years. Also in 2024, four high-ranking members were sentenced to several decades in prison for a string of shootings in 2020 sparked by a stolen gold pendant and necklace. 'It is unknown if Myrie has maintained his altered appearance,' according to the FBI. Anyone with information is asked to call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or report their tip online at
Miami Herald
03-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Trump gives clemency to more than two dozen, including political allies
President Donald Trump issued a flurry of clemency actions Wednesday, according to a White House official familiar with the matter, wiping the convictions or cutting sentences for more than two dozen people, including political allies, a rapper and the co-founder of a Chicago gang who was serving multiple life sentences for violent crimes. A blitz of pardons and commutations this week benefited a hodgepodge of recipients, including Larry Hoover, the former leader of the Gangster Disciples, a highly organized gang that had nearly 30,000 members in Chicago alone and raked in $100 million a year trafficking drugs across the country. It also included those who have expressed political support or echoed the president in claiming they had been unfairly targeted because of their political affiliation. Trump also issued pardons for Michael Grimm, a former New York representative who pleaded guilty in 2014 to felony tax evasion. Trump's aides have compared Grimm's prosecution to Trump's own legal troubles, which he has described as a witch hunt. The White House did not immediately make public the list of the recent pardons and commutations on Wednesday. On Monday, Ed Martin, a Trump adviser helping lead efforts that include the pardon process, wrote on social media, 'No MAGA left behind.' The new slate of clemency actions was the latest sign of Trump's efforts to redefine the sweeping presidential act of forgiveness. Rather than following the formal and often lengthy Justice Department process to vet clemency applicants, Trump has preferred to hand out pardons to reward his supporters, incentivize loyalty to his administration or bolster supporters. He has also relied on Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life in prison in a drug conspiracy case and whose sentence was later commuted by Trump. He then named her 'pardon czar.' Here is a list of recipients of Trump's latest acts of clemency. Pardons Mark Bashaw: Bashaw, a former Army lieutenant, was convicted in 2022 by a military judge for disobeying lawful COVID-19 protocols, including refusing to work remotely, failing to submit required testing and not wearing a face mask indoors. James Callahan: Callahan was a New York labor union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report more than $300,000 in gifts. He admitted that the reports he filed for the engineers union he led omitted his receipt of goods and services from an advertising firm that the union used to place ads, including free tickets to nearly 100 sports, concert and theater events and hospitality packages valued at $315,000. Julie and Todd Chrisley: The Chrisleys, who are reality television stars, were convicted three years ago of evading taxes and defrauding banks of more than $30 million to support their luxurious lifestyle. Trump called their treatment 'pretty harsh.' The Chrisleys' daughter Savannah is a supporter of Trump. During the Republican National Convention last summer, she said her parents were 'persecuted by rogue prosecutors' because of their public profile and conservative beliefs. Kentrell Gaulden: Gaulden, a Louisiana rapper, is better known as YoungBoy Never Broke Again or NBA YoungBoy. He pleaded guilty in December to possessing weapons as a felon. During the presidential campaign, Trump occasionally appeared with hip-hop artists as a part of an effort to connect with Black male voters. 'I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building -- as a man, as a father and as an artist,' Gaulden, a father of 10, said in a statement Wednesday. Gaulden also credited Johnson, the president's so-called pardon czar. Michael Grimm: Grimm, a Republican, represented Staten Island and part of Brooklyn in the House of Representatives from 2011 until he resigned in 2015. He was indicted in 2014 after he failed to report nearly $1 million in gross receipts and hundreds of thousands of dollars in employee wages from a Manhattan restaurant he had owned, prosecutors said. In recent years, he has gone on television to defend Trump. But he has been off the air since a horseback riding accident at a polo tournament last September that left him paralyzed. Michael Harris: Harris is a music executive who co-founded Death Row Records. He served 33 years of a 25-year-to-life sentence after being convicted of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Harris, known as Harry-O, began working as a social activist while in prison. He endorsed Trump in October. Jeremy Hutchinson: A former Arkansas state senator, Hutchinson was sentenced to more than four years in prison in 2023 for tax fraud and accepting bribes. Hutchinson, a Republican, is the son of Tim Hutchinson, a former U.S. senator, and the nephew of Asa Hutchinson, the former governor of Arkansas. In a letter to the president advocating a pardon, Hutchinson's lawyers wrote that 'it is absolutely clear that Democrats at the Department of Justice and within the FBI chose to prosecute the case because he was a high-profile conservative legislator from a Republican family.' David Leavitt, a lawyer who represented Hutchinson in his appeal, said in an interview that 'the reason why this pardon occurred is because it's a statement to prosecutors everywhere: 'Stop forcing people to plead guilty.'' Marlene and James Kernan: The Kernans, of New York, were sentenced to probation in 2010 in connection with employing a felon at their businesses. Tanner Mansell and John Moore: Mansell and Moore, Florida commercial divers, were convicted of theft in 2022 for removing sharks from a government-sanctioned fishing line in federal waters, according to a White House official and their attorneys. They argued they were rescuing the sharks from an illegal poaching operation, but prosecutors said the line was legally set and not theirs to disturb. John Rowland: Rowland served as the governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004, when he resigned to avoid impeachment during an investigation into corrupt government practices. He pleaded guilty later that year and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. Ten years later, Rowland was convicted again of public corruption, including obstructing justice, conspiracy, falsifying documents relied on by federal regulators and other violations of campaign finance laws. Earl Smith: Smith was an Army reserve sergeant in 2010 when he was caught stealing thousands of government computers and selling them for profit. Smith pleaded guilty at the time and waived his right to a trial. Alexander Sittenfeld: Sittenfeld, a former Cincinnati City Council member, was sentenced to 16 months in prison for bribery and attempted extortion by a government official. Charles Tanner: Tanner was a professional boxer from Gary, Indiana, until his arrest in 2004 and later conviction for possessing and conspiring to distribute cocaine. His life sentence was earlier commuted by Trump in 2020. Charles Scott: Scott, of Virginia, helped the CEO of an Ohio-based lighting company manipulate the corporation's stock value, make coordinated trades and defraud investors. He was sentenced this year to more than three years in prison for securities fraud. Kevin Eric Baisden: Baisden was convicted in Washington, D.C., of shoplifting and second-degree theft. Commutations Larry Hoover: Hoover, known as 'King Larry,' has been imprisoned in Illinois since the 1970s for the murder of a rival drug dealer when federal prosecutors dragged him back to court in 1997. His full commutation is not expected to put him back on the streets of Chicago. He has over 100 years left to serve on state murder charges in Illinois that presidential clemency does not erase. But it may lead to his transfer out of the supermax prison in Colorado where he is held. Imaad Zuberi: Zuberi, a venture capitalist and major political donor, was sentenced to 12 years in prison for violating lobbying, campaign finance and tax laws, and obstructing an investigation into Trump's 2017 inaugural committee. In the three months after the 2016 presidential election, Zuberi donated more than $1.1 million to committees associated with Trump and the Republican Party, scoring coveted invitations to black-tie dinners celebrating Trump's inauguration. In 2020, Zuberi pleaded guilty to obstructing a federal investigation into the source of a $900,000 donation he made through his company to Trump's inaugural committee in late December 2016. Marian Morgan: Morgan, of Sarasota, Florida, was sentenced to 35 years in prison in 2012 for wire fraud, money laundering and other charges. She and her husband, John Morgan, were found to have defrauded investors of more than $28 million by selling fictitious investment opportunities. She was ordered to pay more than $19 million in restitution to nearly 90 people and organizations, as well as the IRS. Morgan, who originally pleaded not guilty, was resentenced in 2013 to roughly 33 years in prison. Her husband, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced in 2011 to about 10 years in prison and was released in 2017, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Garnett Smith: Smith was convicted in Maryland of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Edward Sotelo: Sotelo was convicted in Texas of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram of cocaine. Joe Sotelo: Sotelo was convicted in Texas of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute 1 kilogram of cocaine. Anabel Valenzuela: Valenzuela was convicted in Hawaii of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Lawrence Duran: Duran was convicted in Florida of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and related crimes, including conspiracy to defraud the United States and to receive and pay health care kickbacks. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Copyright 2025
