Adam Kidan

Adam Kidan
Born
Adam Ronald Kidan

(1964-07-30) July 30, 1964
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
EducationGeorge Washington University
Brooklyn Law School (JD)
OccupationsBusiness executive, lawyer
Known forSunCruz Casinos fraud case
Jack Abramoff scandal
Criminal charge(s)
Conspiracy, wire fraud
Criminal penalty
70 months' imprisonment, US$21.7 million restitution
Criminal status
Pardoned (2026)
Spouse(s)Tracy Schneider
Cristiani De Fatima Pereira
​
​
(m. 2023)​

Adam Ronald Kidan (born 30 July 1964) is an American business executive, Republican political donor, and disbarred lawyer who serves as president of the staffing company Empire Workforce Solutions.[1][2] He is best known for his role in the fraudulent SunCruz Casinos sale of 2000, undertaken with Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff, which became entangled with the mob-style murder of SunCruz founder Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis and contributed to the wider Abramoff lobbying scandal.[3]

Kidan pleaded guilty to conspiracy and wire fraud in 2005 and was sentenced to 70 months in federal prison in 2006, which he served for 31 months before being released in 2009.[4][5] After his release, he built two staffing firms and became one of the largest Republican donors in Pennsylvania and at Mar-a-Lago.[6] On 3 July 2026, U.S. president Donald Trump granted him a full federal pardon.[7][8]

Early life and education

Kidan spent his early life in Brooklyn, New York into a Jewish family.[9] He attended John Dewey High School, where he served as president of the Social Science Club and editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The Gadfly.[10]

He attended George Washington University as an undergraduate and earned a Juris Doctor from Brooklyn Law School in 1989, where he was awarded the American Jurisprudence Award in legal writing and research.[10] During this period he was active in the national office of the College Republicans.[11]

Career

Early business ventures and law practice

Kidan was admitted to the New York bar in 1989 and joined a New York City law firm, later a partner in Duncan, Fish, Bergson and Kidan.[10][12] While practising law, he also ran a small chain of bagel stores in the New York area, "New York City's Best Bagels", which he later sold.[12] In 1994, he opened a Dial-A-Mattress franchise in Washington, D.C., where he became a locally recognizable figure through the company's "leave the last 'S' off for savings" advertising campaign.[13][14][15] The franchise expanded to several stores before contracting, and Kidan filed for personal bankruptcy in 1995 following a legal dispute with the parent company.[12][14] He sold the franchise back to Dial-A-Mattress in July 1999, and an associated online venture, eMattress.com, collapsed the same year.[13][12]

Kidan was disbarred by the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division in November 2000 in connection with an ethics matter, and was subsequently reciprocally disbarred in New Jersey.[12][16]

SunCruz Casinos and criminal case

In September 2000, Kidan and Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff acquired the SunCruz Casinos fleet of offshore gambling boats from Greek-American businessman Konstantinos "Gus" Boulis for a nominal purchase price of US$147.5 million.[11][17] Federal prosecutors later alleged that the two men had submitted a counterfeit wire transfer document to lenders to make it appear that they had made a US$23 million equity contribution to the deal, thereby inducing two lenders to provide approximately US$60 million in financing.[17][18] On December 15, 2005, he pleaded guilty to fraud and conspiracy charges; as part of a plea bargain, four other felony counts against him were dropped.[11][18]

Following the sale, Kidan and Boulis fell into a bitter dispute over the operation of SunCruz. Boulis was shot to death in a mob-style attack while driving in Fort Lauderdale on 6 February 2001. [19] Two of the three men later charged with the murder, Anthony "Big Tony" Moscatiello, a former bookkeeper for the Gambino crime family, and Anthony "Little Tony" Ferrari, had been hired as consultants by Kidan after his relationship with Boulis deteriorated.[19][20] Kidan denied any involvement in the killing.[18]

In August 2005, a federal grand jury in Fort Lauderdale indicted Kidan and Abramoff on one count of conspiracy and five counts of wire fraud in connection with the SunCruz purchase.[17] On 15 December 2005, Kidan pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to conspiracy and wire fraud as part of a plea bargain in which four additional felony counts were dropped; he also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the ongoing investigation of Abramoff.[18][21] In March 2006, Kidan and Abramoff were each sentenced to 70 months in federal prison and jointly ordered to pay approximately US$21.7 million in restitution to the defrauded lenders.[4][2]

Kidan was released from federal custody in 2009 after serving 31 months.[5] In 2010, he was subpoenaed to testify in the conspiracy trial of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, for whom he had previously been a fundraiser, concerning DeLay's relationship with Abramoff.[22] In 2013, he testified for the prosecution at Ferrari's Broward County murder trial, stating that Ferrari and Moscatiello had confessed to him that they had orchestrated Boulis's killing and had threatened his life if he ever disclosed it; Ferrari was convicted, and Moscatiello was later convicted in a separate trial.[20][23]

Staffing companies

After his release, Kidan entered the staffing industry. In 2011, he cofounded Chartwell Staffing Services, Inc. (Chartwell Staffing Solutions), a temporary staffing company with operations in California, and served as its chairman and chief executive officer from around 2012 until 2018. Chartwell was later acquired by Partners Personnel in 2023.[1]

Around the time of his resignation from Chartwell, Kidan moved to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, settling in Manheim Township.[1] In March 2019, he co-founded Atlantic Solutions Group, a Delaware-based company that trades as Empire Workforce Solutions, and became its president.[2]

Political donations and 2026 pardon

Adam Kidan with former Vice President of the United States, Mike Pence

Kidan became a major donor to Republican candidates and committees after his release from prison. Since 2017, he has contributed at least US$350,000 in direct and in-kind contributions to political committees affiliated with U.S. Representative Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, making him one of Smucker's largest individual donors.[1][6] He also became a member of Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, where in February 2023 he married Cristiani De Fatima Pereira, and hosted fundraisers for Republican candidates including Pennsylvania state treasurer Stacy Garrity.[1][2] Between April 2023 and February 2024, he contributed a total of US$750,000 to the pro-Trump Super PAC Make America Great Again Inc.[2]

On 3 July 2026, President Donald Trump granted Kidan a full pardon for his 2006 fraud and conspiracy convictions, one of eleven pardons issued that day.[1][24] The pardon was expected to eliminate the remaining balance of his restitution obligation, which had been accumulating interest since 2006.[25]

Three days before the pardon, Kidan donated to the leadership political action committee of Ryan Mackenzie, a Republican member of Congress from Pennsylvania then facing a competitive re-election contest.[8][26] Mackenzie's office stated that the congressman had never advocated for the pardon.[7][26]

Personal life

Kidan has been married twice. His first marriage was to Tracy Schneider, with whom he has a daughter, Sloane.[6][9] Schneider was the sole shareholder of Chartwell Staffing Services, which the couple built together.[6] Kidan initiated divorce proceedings in Pennsylvania in 2017, and the separation gave rise to protracted litigation over control of Chartwell and related trade secrets claims filed in California federal court in 2019.[27][28]

In February 2023, Kidan married Brazilian-born Cristiani De Fatima Pereira, some 23 years his junior, in a ceremony at Mar-a-Lago attended by Donald Trump and Melania Trump, with a performance by tenor Andrea Bocelli.[2][29] He resides in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.[2]

Kidan was portrayed by Jon Lovitz in the 2010 biographical satire Casino Jack, directed by George Hickenlooper and starring Kevin Spacey as Abramoff.[30]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Walker, Russ (July 5, 2026). "Major Pa. GOP campaign donor pardoned by Trump". LancasterOnline.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Christensen, Dan (October 6, 2024). "GOP bigshot Adam Kidan: A life of luxury despite owing millions in restitution". Florida Bulldog.
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Susan; Grimaldi, James V. (May 1, 2005). "Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet". The Washington Post.
  4. 1 2 Whoriskey, Peter; Branigin, William (March 29, 2006). "Abramoff Gets Minimum Sentence". The Washington Post.
  5. 1 2 Resnick, Gideon (April 6, 2018). "Disgraced Ex-Jack Abramoff Associate Inches Back Into National Politics". The Daily Beast.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Sholtis, Brett (September 24, 2023). "Smucker & the ex-con: Relationship includes travel, nearly $250,000 in campaign cash and donations". WITF.
  7. 1 2 Neal, Will (July 29, 2026). "Trump Pardons Megadonor Adam Kidan Days After Gift to MAGA Rep. Ryan Mackenzie". The Daily Beast.
  8. 1 2 Kalra, Avani (July 29, 2026). "Megadonor Received Trump Pardon Three Days After Donation to Pennsylvania Congressman". NOTUS.
  9. 1 2 Brown, Jill; Fenniger, Robert (February 22, 2017). "A Bat Mitzvah – Beyond!". Lancaster County. Archived from the original on March 19, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 Shields, Jeff (February 9, 2001). "BOULIS ADVERSARY'S LIFE TORN BY MOTHER'S KILLING". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
  11. 1 2 3 Schmidt, Susan; Grimaldi, James V. (May 1, 2005). "Untangling a Lobbyist's Stake in a Casino Fleet". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved July 7, 2021.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Gardiner, Sean (October 17, 2006). "In the Beginning There Was Adam". The Village Voice. Archived from the original on November 17, 2017.
  13. 1 2 Harris, Pat Lopes (July 5, 1999). "Mattress king puts it to bed". Washington Business Journal.
  14. 1 2 "TechThursday: .com". The Washington Post. April 1, 1999.
  15. ↑ McCaslin, John (February 17, 1995). "Part A; NATION; INSIDE THE BELTWAY; Pg. A5". The Washington Times.
  16. ↑ Mcgraw, Seamus (December 16, 2005). "Lobbyist's Pal Set to Testify in Florida Fraud Case". The Forward.
  17. 1 2 3 Overby, Peter (August 12, 2005). "Lobbyist Abramoff Indicted on Fraud Charges". NPR.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Forsythe, Michael; Salant, Jonathan D. (December 15, 2005). "Ex-Abramoff associate pleads guilty to fraud". NBC News. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  19. 1 2 "3 Charged in Killing of Fla. Businessman". The Washington Post. September 28, 2005.
  20. 1 2 "Gus Boulis Murder Trial Goes to the Jury". CBS Miami. October 24, 2013.
  21. ↑ Overby, Peter (December 16, 2005). "Abramoff Co-Defendant Agrees to Help Prosecutors". NPR.
  22. ↑ Postman, David; Bernton, Hal (February 7, 2006). "How scheming lobbyist operated in Seattle firm". The Seattle Times.
  23. ↑ "Gus Boulis Witness: 'Little Tony' Admitted Slaying". NBC 6 South Florida. October 18, 2013.
  24. ↑ Mason, Jeff (July 4, 2026). "Trump Pardons Abramoff partner Adam Kidan, Texan Jack Harvard". The Spokesman-Review.
  25. ↑ Christensen, Dan (July 5, 2026). "SunCruz fraudster Adam Kidan who paid Trump millions draws pardon". Florida Bulldog.
  26. 1 2 "Trump pardoned megadonor who supported PA congressman". Spotlight PA. July 30, 2026.
  27. ↑ "Ex-Abramoff Partner, Wife Trade Blows In Trade Secrets Row".
  28. ↑ "Kidan v. Chartwell Staffing Servs". vLex. Retrieved August 4, 2026.
  29. ↑ Christensen, Dan (September 30, 2024). "Adam Kidan's Long Strange Trip From SunCruz Scandal To Big Time Republican Donor".
  30. ↑ Fenster, Jordan (January 6, 2011). "Jon Lovitz on Abramoff: Comedian talks about "Casino Jack," a comedy about real-life political greed". New Haven Register. Retrieved December 20, 2021.
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