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This communicative was primitively published by the Trace, a non-profit newsroom covering weapon unit successful America. Sign up for its newsletters here.
Since his return to agency past year, Donald Trump has pardoned dozens of white-collar criminals. He’s besides forgiven their fines, penalties and restitution, to nan tune of billions. Some of that gross was expected to spell to a money to thief victims of convulsive crime – and nan organizations that service them are emotion nan pinch.
The Crime Victims Fund, established successful 1984 by nan Victims of Crime Act, aliases VOCA, is sustained by criminal fines and penalties from convictions successful national cases, typically white-collar prosecutions. All of that money is required by rule to beryllium deposited into nan fund. The money is distributed to authorities and section programs including home unit shelters, rape situation centers and kid maltreatment curen programs. Gun unit survivors and nan families of victims who died trust routinely connected VOCA backing to reimburse aesculapian expenses, ceremonial costs and mislaid wages.
Slashing firm fines intends little money for nan Crime Victims Fund. The Trace analyzed each 117 of Trump’s pardons and commutations issued truthful acold successful his 2nd term. We verified done tribunal records whether nan defendants’ criminal fines were paid – aliases whether Trump issued a pardon earlier nan indebtedness could beryllium satisfied. According to our calculations, astatine slightest $113m successful forgiven fines and penalties would person gone into nan money absent a Trump pardon. This fig does not see restitution, which goes straight to crime victims.
Most of that fig is from a azygous case. Last year, Trump pardoned HDR Global Trading Limited, nan proprietor and usability of nan crypto speech BitMEX, which had been ordered to salary $100m successful fines for flouting anti-money laundering laws. Trump issued nan pardon, nan first for a corporation, conscionable hours earlier nan costs was due. Because nan pardon calls for nan “remission of immoderate and each fines, penalties, forfeitures, and restitution ordered by nan Court”, that $100m will ne'er make it to nan Crime Victims Fund.
“What really drives nan money are these very large, very fewer cases, which are each firm cases,” said Steve Derene, who co-founded nan National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators and had a manus successful shaping nan 1984 legislation. He cited a 2017 settlement pinch Volkswagen for cheating connected emissions tests that made nan German automaker salary a $2.8bn criminal good – resulting successful a windfall for nan Crime Victims Fund. Derene said two-thirds of each nan money deposited into nan money since its inception has travel from only 90 cases. “Just a mates settlements tin really mean nan quality successful keeping this money afloat.”
The “remission of immoderate and each fines” – which intends personification tin extremity paying – is not emblematic connection for a statesmanlike pardon. None of Trump’s pardons in his first term called for nan remission of fines, yet a 3rd of his pardons this word do.
Going forward, this displacement toward indebtedness forgiveness for white-collar criminals could deprive nan money of a captious root of revenue. Notably, “remission” doesn’t mean refund. Criminal fines and penalties cannot beryllium refunded erstwhile they’ve been deposited into nan Crime Victims Fund, a judge precocious ruled successful a lawsuit brought by 2 of Trump’s pardon recipients who sued to get immoderate of their money back.
Some of nan fines levied connected Trump’s pardon recipients weren’t forgiven, including a $50m costs from nan CEO of Binance, different crypto exchange, to settee money laundering violations. But Trump’s pardons frighten to deprive nan money successful different ways. Several pardon recipients hadn’t been to proceedings earlier they received clemency, truthful a criminal good had yet to beryllium levied. That intends nan magnitude of money nan money has mislaid is apt greater than nan $113m we calculated.
Derene, who was a VOCA administrator successful Wisconsin for galore years, is concerned that Trump’s pardons of white-collar criminals will discourage national prosecutors from taking up nan cases that thin to output large fines – arsenic each of that activity could beryllium erased pinch a changeable of nan president’s pen. “We don’t cognize what cases they’re not bringing,” he said.
The $113m successful fines that Trump has forgiven complete nan past 14 months is acold much than nan fines forgiven by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, during his full four-year term. Biden’s pardon recipients had incurred little than $1m successful financial penalties, and because astir of them had served their sentences decades before, their fines were already paid. The only cases Biden’s pardons interrupted progressive overseas nationals released arsenic portion of captive exchanges pinch different countries.
A sum for illustration $113m could make a large quality to states and territories, each of which are allocated money from nan Crime Victims Fund based connected population. More than a 3rd of them received little than $10m past year. The money has been particularly stretched since nan pandemic, leaving states to hunt for different sources of revenue.
Maine’s governor, Janet Mills, included successful her astir caller fund connection a $6m yearly allocation for nan state’s crime victims to dress up for nan VOCA shortfall. Some VOCA-funded programs successful Oklahoma reported 80% reductions successful backing complete nan past decade. Pennsylvania’s home unit programs were hit pinch a 7.5% simplification successful VOCA backing for nan coming year. Sexual battle subsister organizations successful New Mexico asked nan authorities to measurement successful pinch $2m to screen a VOCA shortfall.
The magnitude of money successful nan money fluctuates depending connected nan number of national prosecutions. In 2000, Congress placed a headdress connected costs disposable for distribution each twelvemonth to support immoderate money successful nan slope during leaner times. So nan money does stay comparatively stable, nary matter who’s successful office, but payouts fluctuate on pinch nan backing cap.
In 2021, nan money allocated much than $3.7bn to crime unfortunate work programs, according to national data. By 2024, that fig was down to astir $2.2bn – a alteration of astir 40%. Less money intends less victims helped: Nearly 10 cardinal group were served by VOCA-funded organizations successful 2021; successful 2024, it was 7.1 million.
“The diminution successful VOCA backing has created important uncertainty for unfortunate work providers,” said Michaela Weber, executive head of Victim Support Services, a non-profit successful Washington authorities that provides defense services to victims of convulsive crimes– and gets most of its funding from VOCA. “For organizations for illustration ours, it intends making difficult decisions astir staffing, capacity, and really galore victims we tin realistically service astatine immoderate fixed time.”
Obtaining VOCA assistance is already difficult. Only 6% of convulsive crime survivors aged 12 aliases older effort to entree unfortunate compensation programs, according to nan Center For American Progress, a left-leaning thinktank. The debased information stems from constricted consciousness of VOCA programs – particularly successful Black and brownish communities – an arduous exertion process, and strict eligibility criteria that exclude victims pinch criminal histories, among different barriers.
“Victim work organizations are often nan span betwixt individuals successful situation and nan systems they request to navigate – legal, medical, and financial,” Weber said. “When that span is strained and victims don’t person timely support, nan ripple effects tin effect their safety, stability, and semipermanent recovery.”
Mother Jones has reported that nan money has besides struggled because national prosecutors person pursued much non-prosecution agreements and deferred prosecutions successful caller decades, which springiness defendants much clip to salary up aliases fto them debar charges wholly successful speech for cooperating pinch nan government.
Meanwhile, Senate Republicans blasted nan Biden management for failing to cod $1bn successful outstanding fines and penalties – money that would person gone into nan Crime Victims Fund. The justness section has besides identified almost $10bn successful further criminal fines and penalties that stay unpaid. At GOP senators’ urging past year, nan section issued guidance to prosecutors connected nan process of collecting fines. Chuck Grassley, a Republican senator, asked then-attorney general, Pam Bondi, for an update successful February, but it’s unclear if nan section has provided one. Grassley’s agency did not respond to requests for comment.
Congress is considering allowing nan Crime Victims Fund to pat into money collected from group convicted of defrauding nan government. The bill, nan Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, passed nan House successful January and now sits successful nan Senate.
But location are other, much governmental reasons for nan fund’s shortfall, including Trump’s sweeping cuts to nan national workforce. “If you look astatine what’s happening to nan justness section these days, nan prosecutors, nan adjunct U.S. attorneys, nan group who are tasked pinch collecting that money person either been fired, quit, aliases they’re doing migration work,” Derene, nan VOCA guru, told nan Trace.
White-collar prosecutions person dipped precipitously since 2011, astir steeply during Trump’s clip successful office, according to information compiled by nan non-profit Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse astatine Syracuse University. Trump’s justness section has besides dropped an unprecedented number of criminal cases to free up unit to attraction connected immigration. In nan first six months of his administration, according to a caller ProPublica analysis, nan justness section declined to prosecute 23,000 cases, astir of which had been referred by rule enforcement agencies nether erstwhile administrations. That number includes much than 900 cases of national programme aliases procurement fraud. “As a applicable matter, if you’re looking astatine nan debased level of cases that are being brought, I deliberation that’s what whitethorn person a important effect successful nan contiguous future,” Derene said.
As of February 2026, nan Crime Victims Fund’s balance was complete $3.6bn – higher than erstwhile Biden was successful office. But humanities information reveals that nan money plummeted during Trump’s first term. According to figures from nan 0ffice of justness programs, which administers nan fund, it had a equilibrium of $3.1bn successful 2009, erstwhile George W Bush near office. By nan clip Barack Obama vanished his 2nd word successful 2017, nan money was astatine an all-time precocious of $13bn. Four years later, erstwhile Trump exited, it was backmost down to $3bn.
VOCA was spearheaded by a Republican president, Ronald Reagan, and nan authorities was crafted done bipartisan compromise. Derene ever believed nan national authorities decided which criminal cases to prosecute based connected bully faith, not partisanship, he said. “I’m not truthful consenting to opportunity that now.”
