President Donald Trump granted clemency to Marian Morgan, effectively ending her nearly 34-year federal prison sentence for her role in a massive Ponzi scheme. According to People, this decision by the president also wiped away all remaining restitution obligations, fines, and probation requirements that were originally placed on her by the courts.
John Long, an 80-year-old retired pig farmer from Colorado, was one of the many victims caught in the web spun by Morgan and her husband. Long and his son invested approximately $500,000 into Morgan European Holdings between 2005 and 2009. They were lured in by the promise of high returns in European markets with minimal risk, but the reality was a devastating financial loss.
Long testified at the original trial, which resulted in a conviction for Morgan in September 2011. During the trial, federal prosecutors revealed that the Morgans had collected over $28 million from investors, using the funds to bankroll a lifestyle of luxury cars and a waterfront mansion instead of investing the money as promised.
How Morgan tried to keep her victims quiet
Long recalled how Morgan tried to keep him quiet while the scheme was unraveling. She sent him emails claiming to be in Europe, even though the IP addresses proved she was actually in Florida. She even tried to intimidate investors by telling them that involving the authorities would guarantee they never saw their money again. Long ignored those threats and contacted the FBI, but the damage was already done.
After the couple fled the country, they were eventually caught in Sri Lanka in August 2009 and brought back to the United States. While her husband received a 10-year and one-month sentence, Marian Morgan was eventually handed a term of 33 years and nine months after an appeals court adjusted her initial sentence.
The decision to commute her sentence stands in stark contrast to earlier judicial findings. Just last year, U.S. District Judge Tom Barber denied Morgan a request for compassionate release, stating that she would continue to pose a danger to the public. Despite her 2021 court filing where she claimed she wanted to pay restitution and felt remorse, the vast majority of the nearly $20 million she was ordered to pay remained unpaid at the time of her release.
Long expressed his disbelief regarding the current state of affairs. “We had justice and now it’s kind of like … ‘we’re going to let these criminals go out and do it again,'” Long said. He remains concerned that Morgan will return to her old habits and find new targets for her schemes. A similar case drew attention when a woman pardoned by Trump committed a new crime soon after her release.
Even though Long is a supporter of President Trump, he did not hold back his criticism of this specific move. He characterized the choice to grant clemency to white collar criminals as bad judgment. Long argued that the issue is rooted in the structure of the system itself rather than just one individual. “Our justice system would be a much better system if we took the pardoning power out,” Long said.
“No matter who is in that power circle, it is just a corrupt system.”
Published: Aug 18, 2026 03:45 pm