On top of being highly controversial, Trump’s pardons are extremely costly. According to a recent PolitiFact analysis, Trump’s pardons so far have wiped out perhaps as much as $1.34 billion in court-ordered restitution, fines, and penalties. In other words, money meant to make victims whole or replenish government funds has been eliminated. Nikola founder Trevor Milton owed about $676 million for securities and wire fraud before Trump pardoned him. The founders of BitMEX similarly faced a $100 million penalty in a crypto fraud case until Trump wiped it away.