President Joe Biden commuted close to 1,500 federal sentences and pardoned 39 people in a historic act aimed at individuals who had been convicted of non-violent crimes, many related to drugs. The majority of those who received clemency had already been released from prison under the CARES Act due to the pandemic. Some had completed their sentences but had their crimes wiped from their records.
One notable case was that of a former Cuyahoga County Commissioner, Jimmy Dimora, who orchestrated a pay-to-play scheme and was convicted on corruption charges, including accepting bribes that included gambling trips, prostitutes, and a stone-fired pizza oven. Another individual who received clemency was Anthony Le, who was sentenced to ten years for drug and gun charges at 21 years old.
A former law partner from Illinois, Paul Daugerdas, who was convicted of overseeing fraudulent tax shelters costing the government over $1.63 billion, also had his sentence commuted by Biden. Additionally, Elaine Lovett, a Detroit-area medicare billing company owner involved in a $26 million Medicare fraud scheme, had her sentence commuted.
Malcolm Hartzog, who had his life sentence commuted by former President Barack Obama in 2016, was also included in Biden’s clemency actions. Hartzog had been charged with drug-related offenses. Shaquan Hemingway, part of a drug trafficking ring in South Carolina that included individuals linked to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, was also among those who were granted clemency.
Photo credit
www.nbcnews.com