Legal experts say a South Dakota criminal no longer has to pay his victims nearly $3 million in restitution after President Trump pardoned him and labeled his crimes “minor.”
That criminal, Paul Erickson, of Sioux Falls, is best known as the boyfriend of Russian operative Maria Butina. She was deported in 2019 after illegally working as a foreign agent in the United States.
Erickson was not prosecuted for the assistance he allegedly provided to Butina. Instead, in a separate case, authorities accused him of defrauding dozens of people in numerous business schemes. His pattern – which he repeated multiple times over many years – was to pitch an investment opportunity to friends and acquaintances, convince them to invest, and then pocket the money rather than putting it into the investment.
To resolve those allegations, Erickson pleaded guilty in 2019 to wire fraud and money laundering. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and ordered to pay more than 50 victims a total of about $3 million in restitution.
Erickson, who is 59 years old, was serving his sentence at a minimum-security federal prison camp in Duluth, Minnesota, when Trump signed his pardon on Jan. 13.
The Trump administration issued a statement about the pardon Wednesday (along with dozens of other 11th-hour pardons) and said it was supported by former Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway. The statement described Erickson as a victim of broader allegations that Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russia.
“Mr. Erickson’s conviction was based off the Russian collusion hoax,” the statement said. “After finding no grounds to charge him with any crimes with respect to connections with Russia, he was charged with a minor financial crime.
“Although the Department of Justice sought a lesser sentence, Mr. Erickson was sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment—nearly double the Department of Justice’s recommended maximum sentence. This pardon helps right the wrongs of what has been revealed to be perhaps the greatest witch hunt in American History.”
The Trump administration’s description of Erickson’s crimes as “minor” does not square with the facts of the case. One victim contacted Wednesday by SDPB, who asked to remain anonymous, described the pardon as a “slap in the face.”
The restitution list is a public document. The victims on the list range from everyday people to well-known figures, and the amounts owed to the victims range from $10,000 to $500,000. One of the recognizable names is Brent Bozell, a conservative writer, activist and Fox News contributor who was owed $190,000.
Experts say there’s no obligation for Erickson to even attempt to pay that money now.
Neil Fulton, dean of the University of South Dakota School of Law, said it’s his understanding that in the case of a full and unconditional pardon like the one granted to Erickson, “restitution is wiped out.”
Joyce Vance, a former U.S. attorney in Alabama, also said it appears that the full and unconditional pardon relieves Erickson of the obligation to pay restitution.
“It’s a get-out-of-jail-free card and a bank-account-restoration card,” Vance said.
Margaret Love, who served as U.S. pardon attorney during the 1990s, was unequivocal after looking at Erickson's pardon: He does not have to pay his restitution, she said.
A U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman, Nicole Navas Oxman, confirmed that opinion, saying when asked if Erickson is relieved of his restitution obligation, "Correct, he was pardoned without conditions. "
SDPB also left a message with Erickson's defense attorney, who did not immediately respond.
Fulton said victims could perhaps still try to recover money by suing Erickson. Several victims filed lawsuits in the years prior to Erickson's criminal charges, including Bozell, who won a civil judgment against Erickson but apparently never collected from him. Erickson became acquainted with Bozell and many other politicos during Erickson’s many years of activity in Republican politics, including serving as national political director for Pat Buchanan’s presidential campaign in 1992.
Besides Erickson, Trump also issued last-minute pardons for at least five other South Dakotans during his final days in office. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem issued a statement thanking Trump for those pardons.
As for Erickson, Noem spokesman Ian Fury said in an email, “Governor Noem’s gratitude extends to the five pardons directly referenced. She had nothing whatsoever to do with the Erickson pardon.”
The five other pardons were for:
- John Nystrom, who pleaded guilty in 2009 to knowing that a contractor was illegally double-billing for work on a tribal school building, but failing to report it;
- Gregory, Deborah and Martin Jorgenson, who were convicted in 1996 of selling beef they falsely branded as being hormone-free, grass-fed, and having other healthy qualities;
- And Jessica Jean Frease, who pleaded guilty in 2012 to stealing checks from mailboxes and cashing them at a bank where she worked.
-Contact reporter Seth Tupper by email.