Biden Pardons
From Grok, among Joe Biden's pardons so far:
Mark Ciavarella: He was a judge involved in the "kids for cash" scandal, where he accepted bribes to send children to for-profit juvenile detention centers.
A Doctor Who Diluted Chemotherapy: Reports mention that Biden pardoned a doctor who was convicted of diluting chemotherapy drugs, thus potentially endangering cancer patients' lives.
A CEO Involved in Fraud: A CEO who led a $19 million fraud scheme was also among those pardoned.
A Local Official Who Embezzled Funds: A local official who stole $53 million from a small town was pardoned, highlighting issues of corruption at local government levels.
Hunter Biden: Joe Biden's son, Hunter, was pardoned for offenses including tax evasion, gun crimes, and his foreign business dealings.
Also, Rita Crundwell, who was the former comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, who was convicted of embezzling more than $53 million from the city. She used these funds to finance a lavish lifestyle and to support her championship Quarter Horse breeding operation, RC Quarter Horses. Her horses won 52 world championships, and she was named the leading owner by the American Quarter Horse Association for eight consecutive years before her arrest.
Crundwell's embezzlement scheme spanned over 22 years, starting in 1990. She managed to steal nearly $2.5 million annually, escalating to $5.8 million in 2008 from a city with an annual budget of $8-9 million. She covered up her actions by attributing budget shortfalls to late tax revenue payments from the state, leading to severe service cuts, including layoffs and delayed maintenance on public infrastructure.
In 2012, Crundwell pleaded guilty to wire fraud and admitted to money laundering. She was sentenced to 19 years and seven months in prison but served less than 8.5 years, spending the remainder of her sentence in home confinement at her brother's farm in Dixon. On December 12, 2024, President Joe Biden commuted her sentence as part of a larger clemency action