Latest news with #MarALago
Daily Mail
15 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump pardons tax cheat weeks after his mother attended $1M fundraiser
President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for a man who defrauded millions of dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle after his MAGA donor mom attended a ritzy $1million-per-head Mar-a-Lago gala. Paul Walczak was due hand himself over to authorities to begin his 18 month sentence and pay $4.4million in restitution for his crimes when Trump issued the pardon. In an application to be shown mercy, Walczak claimed that prosecutors targeted him due his his mother, Elizabeth Fago's political activity. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Trump's campaigns and was involved in leaking Joe Biden's daughter Ashley's addiction diary ahead of the 2020 election in an effort to sabotage his chances. Initially, the pardon plea went ignored. Walczak (pictured right) was convicted of 13 counts of tax crimes, stealing more than $10million to fund his lavish lifestyle. But then Fago received an invitation to Trump's exclusive $1million-per-head fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago in April. The invitation promised unprecedented face-to-face access to the president as part of an intimate, candlelit dinner. Less than three weeks later, Trump issued Walczak a full and unconditional pardon, sparing him from paying the hefty restitution fee or turning himself over to authorities to be taken into custody. The White House told the New York Times that Walczak had been 'targeted by the Biden administration over his family's conservative politics' - echoing the same sentiment he himself had used in his pardon request. Walczak had joined his mother's nursing home business after dropping out of college, climbing the ranks to become chief executive. She sold the business in 2007 and the pair invested $18million into another healthcare venture in South Florida. But prosecutors said that by 2011, Walczak had stopped paying his own taxes, and then between 2016-2019 he withheld more than $10million from his employees' pay checks. He had insisted this money was being used for his employees' social secutity, Medicare and federal income taxes, when in reality it was funding the lavish lifestyle he had grown accustomed to. This money was used to purchase a $2million yacht, travel the world in luxury and go on shopping trips at Cartier and Bergdorf Goodman. By February 2023, he had been found and charged for his crimes. Walczak pleaded guilty in November 2024 - days after Trump was re-elected to the White House. Then, days after Trump's inauguration, he submitted his pardon request. His family had been in Trump's orbit for years prior. Fago and other relatives had spent the 2020 election night at a White House watch party. After Trump's defeat, they were invited back to the White House a month later to attend a Christmas party. Fago has been pictured alongside the president and attended his 2017 inauguration. Ms. Fago and other family members spent election night 2020 at a White House watch party. After Mr. Trump lost, they were invited back the next month to attend a White House Christmas party. Trump has been on a pardoning spree since returning to the White House. Most recently, he vowed to issue pardons for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were found guilty of defrauding banks out of $30 million. On Monday he issued a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges, averting prison time for the officer while also blasting Biden's 'corrupt' Justice Department. 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL,' Trump posted. 'He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.' Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who served an area about two hours outside Washington, D.C., was convicted by a jury in December 2024 for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointments as auxiliary deputy sheriffs. In March, Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Upon returning to the White House, Trump swiftly issued pardons for all January 6 rioters.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Palm Beach plastic surgeon reveals the unsettling secrets behind 'Mar-a-Lago face'... and who they ALL want to look like
There's a new status symbol in Palm Beach, and it's not a designer handbag, flashy watch or luxury car. It's a face. One glance around the local hotspots or President Donald Trump 's exclusive Mar-a-Lago resort and you'll be struck by just h ow similar everybody looks.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Trump tax cheat pardoned after his mom attended ritzy $1million dinner
President Donald Trump has issued a pardon for a man who defrauded millions of dollars to fund his lavish lifestyle after his MAGA donor mom attended a ritzy $1million-per-head Mar-a-Lago gala. Paul Walczak was due turn himself over to authorities to begin his 18 month sentence and pay $4.4million in restitution for his crimes when Trump issued the pardon. In an application to be shown mercy, Walczak claimed that prosecutors targeted him due his his mother, Elizabeth Fago's political activity. Fago had raised millions of dollars for Trump's campaigns and was involved in leaking Joe Biden 's daughter Ashley's addiction diary ahead of the 2020 election in an effort to sabotage his chances. Initially, the pardon plea went ignored. Walczak was convicted of 13 counts of tax crimes, stealing more than $10million to fund his lavish lifestyle. But then Fago received an invitation to Trump's exclusive $1million-per-head fundraising event at Mar-a-Lago in April. The invitation promised unprecedented face-to-face access to the president as part of an intimate, candlelit dinner. Less than three weeks later, Trump issued Walczak a full and unconditional pardon, sparing him from paying the hefty restitution fee or turning himself over to authorities to be taken into custody. Paul Walczak was inching toward turning himself over to authorities to begin his 18 month sentence and pay $4.4million in restitution for his crimes when Trump issued the pardon The White House told the New York Times that Walczak had been 'targeted by the Biden administration over his family's conservative politics' - echoing the same sentiment he himself had used in his pardon request. Walczak had joined his mother's nursing home business after dropping out of college, climbing the ranks to become chief executive. She sold the business in 2007 and the pair invested $18million into another healthcare venture in South Florida. But prosecutors said that by 2011, Walczak had stopped paying his own taxes, and then between 2016-2019 he withheld more than $10million from his employees' pay checks. He had insisted this money was being used for his employees' social secutity, Medicare and federal income taxes, when in reality it was funding the lavish lifestyle he had grown accustomed to. This money was used to purchase a $2million yacht, travel the world in luxury and go on shopping trips at Cartier and Bergdorf Goodman. By February 2023, he had been found and charged for his crimes. Walczak pleaded guilty in November 2024 - days after Trump was re-elected to the White House. Then, days after Trump's inauguration, he submitted his pardon request. His family had been in Trump's orbit for years prior. Fago and other relatives had spent the 2020 election night at a White House watch party. After Trump's defeat, they were invited back to the White House a month later to attend a Christmas party. Fago has been pictured alongside the president and attended his 2017 inauguration. Ms. Fago and other family members spent election night 2020 at a White House watch party. After Mr. Trump lost, they were invited back the next month to attend a White House Christmas party. Trump has been on a pardoning spree since returning to the White House. Most recently, he vowed to issue pardons for reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, who were found guilty of defrauding banks out of $30 million. On Monday he issued a pardon for a former Virginia sheriff who was convicted last year of federal bribery charges, averting prison time for the officer while also blasting Biden's 'corrupt' Justice Department. 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL,' Trump posted. 'He will NOT be going to jail tomorrow, but instead will have a wonderful and productive life.' Jenkins, a former Virginia sheriff who served an area about two hours outside Washington, D.C., was convicted by a jury in December 2024 for accepting more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointments as auxiliary deputy sheriffs. In March, Jenkins was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
The Independent
a day ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump pardoned a tax cheat. But only after his mom attended president's $1 million dinner
A former nursing home executive who had pleaded guilty to tax crimes has been pardoned by President Donald Trump based on an application apparently focused not just on his offenses, but on the political activity of his mother. Paul Walczak submitted his application for a pardon days after Trump's inauguration. It noted that his mother, Elizabeth Fago, had raised millions of dollars for the president's campaigns, as well as those of other Republicans, The New York Times reports, citing a person who received the application but was not authorized to share it. It also claimed that Fago had connections to an effort to damage President Joe Biden 's 2020 campaign by publicizing the diary of his daughter, Ashley Biden. The application reportedly argued that Walczak's criminal prosecution had resulted from his mother's political advocacy, rather than the crimes to which he pleaded guilty — specifically, using money for employee taxes to fund his lifestyle, including the purchase of a yacht. Weeks after the application for clemency was submitted, there was no news, while other Trump allies received pardons. It was then that Fago was invited to a $1 million-per-person fundraising dinner at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, which promised face-to-face time with the president. Less than three weeks later, the pardon came through. Walczak was facing 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and would have to pay $4.4 million in restitution, according to a sentence handed down 12 days earlier. The judge justified ordering the jail time by saying that there 'is not a get-out-of-jail-free card' for the rich. A White House official echoed the application's argument, telling the Times that Walczak was 'targeted by the Biden administration over his family's conservative politics.' Walczak withheld taxes from employee paychecks, totaling $7.4 million between 2016 and 2019. Over the same period, he also didn't pay $3.4 million of his business's portion of employee Social Security and Medicare taxes, according to the Justice Department. During this time, $1 million was spent on a yacht, hundreds of thousands of dollars was transferred to personal accounts, and business accounts were used for shopping at Bergdorf Goodman, Cartier, and Saks. Furthermore, in 2018, he ceased filing personal tax returns, despite continuing to receive a salary and transferring funds from the business accounts to his own personal use. Other transfers were made to a family member and his wife. In total, he owed the IRS $10.9 million. He was charged in February 2023 with 13 counts of tax crimes, pleading guilty to two counts and agreeing to pay restitution on November 15, 2024, just 10 days after Trump won the presidential election. According to the Times, Fago had held three fundraisers for Trump campaigns and attended VIP events at both the 2017 and 2025 inaugurations alongside her son, Walczak's half-brother, Joey Fago, and his wife, social media posts show. They also attended a 2020 election night watch party at the White House and that year's Christmas party. She also reportedly played a role in the saga of Ashley Biden's diary, found at a house in Delray Beach, Florida, that the former president's daughter had been renting in the run-up to the 2020 election. The diary was apparently shown to Trump campaign officials at Fago's home before being flagged to Project Veritas by Stephanie Walczak, her daughter. In a subsequent probe during the Biden administration, investigators obtained a search warrant related to a Project Veritas official who sought information about 'potential co-conspirators,' including communications with Fago and her daughter, among others. After Trump re-entered the White House earlier this year, the Justice Department announced it was closing the investigation into the diary. Fago, her daughter, nor anyone at Project Veritas were ever charged. In seeking clemency for Walczak, the application for a presidential pardon claimed his prosecution arose because he was the son of a prominent Trump supporter and cited the pardon issued to Hunter Biden by his father in the final days of his presidency. Biden said in a statement at the time that Hunter 'was singled out only because he is my son.' While waiting for word on the pardon of her own son by Trump, Fago attended the fundraiser dinner at Mar-a-Lago. Although it was billed as having a $1 million price tag, it is unclear whether she donated to MAGA Inc., the political action committee sponsoring the event. The amount was far larger than any of her previous donations to political causes of Trump's campaigns, and the group has until July to disclose any information on donors. After his pardon came through, a social media post shows the family celebrating with Walczak wearing a red, Trump-style hat with 'Make Paul Great Again' written across the front.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump Media says investors will fund a company 'bitcoin reserve' through share purchases
President Donald Trump 's media company said Tuesday that institutional investors will buy $2.5 billion in the company's stock with the proceeds going to build up a bitcoin reserve. About 50 institutional investors will put up $1.5 billion in the private placement for common shares in the company and another $1 billion for convertible senior notes, according to Trump Media and Technology Group, the operator of Truth Social and other companies. Trump Media said it intends to use the proceeds for the creation of a 'bitcoin treasury.' Trump, who referred to cryptocurrencies in his first term as 'not money,' citing volatility and a value "based on thin air," has shifted his views on the technology. During an event at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida during his presidential campaign in May 2024, Trump received assurances that crypto industry backers would spend lavishly to get him reelected. Last week, Trump rewarded 220 of the top investors in one of his other cryptocurrency projects — the $Trump meme coin —with a swanky dinner luxury golf club in Northern Virginia, spurring accusations that the president was mixing his duties in the White House with personal profit.
