A Florida man has been arrested once again after he was commuted by former President Donald Trump for a previous fraud conviction.
Philip Esformes was arrested Saturday and was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence-related charges — tampering with a witness and criminal mischief involving property damage, as reported by CNBC. A jail spokesperson told the outlet he was released from jail after posting two separate bonds.
Esformes was previously convicted in 2019 in connection with a $1.3 billion Medicare fraud scandal, which landed him a 20-year prison sentence. At the time, the Department of Justice said it was the largest healthcare fraud scheme they had ever prosecuted.
The now 56-year-old's sentence was commuted by Trump in December 2020. The White House had claimed that Esformes' health was declining and that he "had been devoted to prayer and repentance," as reported by the New York Times.
Esformes marks the seventh person in the list of people whose sentences were commuted by Trump and have since been arrested for additional crimes.
Others include Jonathan Braun, whose 10-year sentence for conspiracy to import marijuana and commit money laundering was commuted in January 2021, CNBC reported. He was arrested in August and pleaded not guilty to assaulting his wife and father-in-law.
Eliyahu Weinstein's 24-year sentence for Ponzi schemes was also commuted in January 2021. He was arrested in July for allegedly bilking investors out of millions of dollars in fake deals, the Times reported.
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