Health care fraudster Philip Esformes is latest Trump clemency recipient to be arrested

Philip Esformes, whose 20-year situation condemnation for a massive, $1.3 cardinal Medicare fraud strategy was commuted successful 2020 by then-President Donald Trump, was arrested implicit the play successful Florida connected domestic-violence related charges.

Esformes is astatine slightest the seventh idiosyncratic who received enforcement clemency from Trump, and has since been charged with caller crimes, according to The New York Times, which archetypal reported this latest arrest.

In August, a convicted New York cause trader and predatory lender named Jonathan Braun, whose 10-year situation word Trump commuted successful 2021, was charged with assaulting his father-in-law and his woman successful abstracted incidents.

Court records amusement that Esformes was arrested Saturday and past charged with tampering with a unfortunate oregon witness, and with transgression mischief involving spot damage.

He was booked into the Miami-Dade County jailhouse connected Sunday, his 56th birthday.

Esformes was released connected Monday aft posting 2 abstracted bonds totaling $1,650, according to a jailhouse spokeswoman.

A lawyer for Esformes had nary contiguous remark connected the arrest.

CNBC has requested remark from Trump's statesmanlike run spokesman.

CNBC besides has requested remark from a lawyer for Esformes' ex-wife, Sherri Beth Esformes, whose divorcement from him was finalized successful July 2020.

Sherri Beth Esformes filed a petition successful her ex-husband's national wellness attraction fraud lawsuit successful August, asserting a 50% spot involvement successful a slew of companies and properties that were deemed forfeitable by Philip Esformes to settee a $38.7 cardinal forfeiture judgement successful that case.

A lawyer for Sherri Beth wrote that helium ineligible close to the properties is superior to the involvement of the U.S. authorities successful the assets, and that it renders the forfeiture bid invalid.

The filing says that by not including Sherri Beth arsenic the grounds proprietor of the properties, her ex-husband "obtained these properties by a breach of spot of Ms. Esformes' assurance and done fraudulent oregon unlawful means."

On Tuesday, a justice successful Miami national tribunal acceptable a deadline of Nov. 4 for Philip Esformes to respond to his ex-wife's filing.

Philip Esformes, who had owned Florida nursing homes, was convicted astatine proceedings successful 2019 of 20 transgression counts related to what the Department of Justice astatine the clip said was the largest health-care fraud strategy ever prosecuted by the department.

The DOJ said that Esformes and co-conspirators for much than 2 decades cycled thousands of Medicare and Medicaid patients done a web of nursing and assisted surviving facilities contempt the information they did not suffice for specified care.

Trump commuted Esformes' situation condemnation successful precocious 2020, which led to his contiguous merchandise from custody.

The White House, successful announcing the commutation, astatine the clip said, "This commutation is supported by erstwhile Attorneys General Edwin Meese and Michael Mukasey, arsenic good arsenic erstwhile Deputy Attorney General Larry Thompson."

"In addition, erstwhile Attorneys General Edwin Meese, John Ashcroft, and Alberto Gonzalez, arsenic good arsenic different notable ineligible figures specified arsenic Ken Starr, person filed successful enactment of his entreaty challenging his condemnation connected the ground of prosecutorial misconduct related to violating attorney-client privilege."

"While successful prison, Mr. Esformes, who is 52, has been devoted to supplication and repentance and is successful declining health," the White House added.

But the DOJ past moved to retry Esforms connected six transgression charges that jurors astatine his archetypal proceedings had deadlocked on.

Esformes fought those efforts for respective years, but this past February agreed to plead blameworthy to 1 number of conspiracy to perpetrate wellness attraction fraud. He was sentenced to clip served.

The New York Times successful September elaborate however six different transgression convicts, including Braun, had been arrested aft receiving enforcement clemency from Trump. Executive clemency tin beryllium a pardon, which voids a person's national transgression conviction, oregon commutation, which terminates immoderate situation oregon jailhouse sentence.

The clemency recipients elaborate successful the nonfiction included erstwhile White House advisor Steve Bannon, the rapper Kodak Black, concern fraudster Eliyahu Weinstein, the robber Jamie Davidson, and counterfeit vigor portion scammer Adriana Camberos.