John Oliver Expertly Rips Family Of Man Pardoned By Trump After Defrauding Nursing Home

Last Week Tonight host John Oliver tore into the family of nursing home executive Paul Walczak—who went to prison after defrauding his own business—after President Donald Trump conveniently issued a pardon once Walczak's mother attended a $1 million-per-person political fundraiser at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate.

Walczak submitted a pardon request to Trump around Inauguration Day, emphasizing not only his own legal troubles but also the political prominence of his mother, Elizabeth Fago. The application noted that Fago had raised millions for Trump and other Republican candidates.

Walczak’s petition argued that his prosecution was politically motivated, pointing to his mother’s high-profile support for Trump rather than focusing solely on his decision to withhold funds designated for employee taxes to bankroll a lavish lifestyle.

Then Fago attended a $1 million-per-person fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, which offered direct access to Trump. Less than three weeks later, Trump granted Walczak a full and unconditional pardon, sparing him from an 18-month prison sentence and roughly $4.4 million in restitution.

The news quickly attracted Oliver's attention—and he ripped the family in a segment of his popular HBO program.

He said:

"Trump's pardons have also extended to his financial supporters. Last month, he pardoned Paul Walczak, a nursing home executive who was convicted of withholding more than $10 million from the paychecks of the nurses, doctors, and others who worked at his facilities. He used the money to buy, among other things, a $2 million yacht."

"It's an almost cartoonishly evil crime, making him an odd person to single out for a pardon, although this week we learned there was an extenuating circumstance. ... It's true—[Fago] paid $1 million for a dinner and suddenly her son got pardoned and got out of paying $4 million from the people he stole from."

At this point, Oliver noted that the Walczaks "appear to have acknowledged the quid pro quo" by sharing a photo of Fago and her son in MAGA hats captioned with a verse from Psalms about the Lord "rescuing" the "righteous."

He quipped:

"Fun fact: If you keep reading that chapter, Psalm 34:20 says, 'By the way, when I say 'righteous,' I obviously don't mean people who steal money from nursing home staff and blow it on party boats, just so we're f**king clear.' It's oddly specific but that's what you get when you read the King James version."

You can hear what Oliver said in the video below.

Many concurred with Oliver's assessment and shared their own thoughts on the matter.

According to The New York Times, Fago hosted three fundraisers for Trump’s campaigns and was a regular presence at high-profile political events, including the 2017 and 2025 inaugurations, where she appeared alongside her son, Joey Fago, and his wife, based on social media posts.

Fago was also reportedly involved in the controversy surrounding Ashley Biden’s diary, which surfaced at a residence in Delray Beach, Florida, that Biden had been renting prior to the 2020 election. The diary was allegedly shown to Trump campaign officials at Fago’s home before it was brought to the attention of Project Veritas by her daughter, Stephanie Walczak.

It seems her efforts have largely paid off. And when asked about Walczak's pardon, a White House official was dismissive, alleging that Walczak was “targeted by the Biden administration over his family’s conservative politics.”