Washington DC - President Donald Trump has freed former CPB Capital Holdings CEO David Gentile, who was convicted of fraud and operating a Ponzi scheme during the Biden administration.

A White House official on Sunday confirmed that Trump commuted Gentile's sentence only two weeks after he began a seven-year prison sentence.

Gentile was found guilty last year of using private equity funds controlled by his company to operate a $1.6 billion scheme that defrauded thousands of victims.

More than 1,000 people attested to the loss of huge amounts of money via the scheme. Many were characterized by prosecutors as "hardworking, everyday people" such as farmers, veterans, and teachers.

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"Contrary to defense counsel's repeated and improper refrain at trial, these are not wealthy people," prosecutors wrote."Many of the investors have families to support. Some are single parents. Others are parents to disabled children."

Trump did not pardon Gentile, which would erase all penalties associated with a criminal conviction. Instead, the president simply suspended his prison sentence and freed him.

A White House official defended the commutation by claiming that the Biden administration "was unable to tie any supposedly fraudulent representations to Mr. Gentile," per Reuters.

"Mr. Gentile also raised serious concerns that the government had elicited false testimony and failed to correct such testimony," the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said.

Adam Gana, a lawyer representing an assortment of scammed investors pursuing arbitration against Gentile's former company, told the New York Times that legal claims will continue to be pursued despite the commutation.

"The stories that we've heard are just heartbreaking, and it's just unbelievable that somebody like that would receive a commutation," Gana said. "This is not a case that should be political."