White-Collar Enforcement Erosion

The Trump administration has systematically weakened white-collar criminal enforcement, allowing well-connected defendants to avoid prosecution or prison through 'Friends of Trump' attorneys with direct access to DOJ political appointees.

Ranked by appearances across this topic's actions.

• 
  Roger Ver

  Avoided criminal conviction, prison, and extradition; paid $49.9 million — roughly the amount he allegedly owed in taxes in the first place — and was not required to appear in a U.S. court or admit to fraud.
  3 actions
• Chris Kise

  As Ver's lead attorney, negotiated directly with former Trump co-counsel Blanche and Bhirud, dictated key terms of the agreement including exclusion of the word 'fraud,' and was the only Ver attorney to sign the final deal.
  2 actions
• 
  Cameron Winklevoss

  Co-founder and co-CEO of Gemini Trust; later joined the Trump-orbit Executive Branch private club in Washington as a founding member.
  1 action
• 
  Ketan Bhirud

  As Associate Deputy Attorney General overseeing the criminal tax division, negotiated the deferred prosecution agreement line by line with Ver's team, excluded career prosecutors from key meetings, and publicly announced the resolution as a DOJ success.
  1 action
• 
  Paul Atkins

  Trump-appointed SEC chairman; under his leadership the agency paused the Gemini Trust enforcement action shortly after he took office.
  1 action
• 
  Roger Stone

  Received $600,000 from Ver to lobby Congress on the expatriation exit tax provision, leveraging his status as a Trump insider.
  1 action
• 
  Todd Blanche

  As Deputy Attorney General running day-to-day DOJ operations, gave his blessing to the deferred prosecution deal and directed the department's departure from its prior insistence on a guilty plea or trial.
  1 action
• 
  Tyler Winklevoss

  Co-founder and co-CEO of Gemini Trust; later joined the Trump-orbit Executive Branch private club in Washington as a founding member.
  1 action

Ranked by appearances across this topic's actions.

• Gemini

  Cryptocurrency exchange whose long-running SEC enforcement case was placed on hold by Trump-installed agency leadership.
  1 action
• 
  Securities and Exchange Commission

  Federal regulator that placed its enforcement lawsuit against Gemini Trust on hold in April 2025 under chairman Paul Atkins, who was appointed by President Trump.
  1 action
• 
  U.S. Department of Justice

  Executed the deferred prosecution agreement, abandoning an eight-year criminal tax indictment and accepting a monetary payment in lieu of a guilty plea or prison sentence — the only tax prosecution the administration killed outright.
  1 action

Derived from the organizations and individuals involved.

• Cryptocurrency
• Federal Government
• Financial Services