Archegos Capital Management founder Bill Hwang is seeking a presidential pardon for his conviction in a high-profile Wall Street fraud case over the collapse of his US$36 billion family office, which scorched banks and helped topple Credit Suisse Group AG.

Hwang, who is free on bail while appealing against the verdict behind his 18-year sentence, submitted a pardon application to the US Justice Department last year, according to a notice on the DOJ’s website.

In 2024, a jury found him guilty of fraud and market manipulation after prosecutors accused him of deceiving lenders to ramp up stock bets that sent prices soaring – a scheme that spectacularly imploded in March 2021.

Hwang’s petition follows the Justice Department process for leniency used by thousands of people every year – a system US President Donald Trump has often sidestepped in his second term.

Beyond that channel is a supercharged pardon economy, in which some lawyers quote as much as US$1 million to put cases together and get them in front of the White House for consideration.

Hwang’s notice does not specify who filed his petition, and it is unclear whether anyone reached out to the White House on his behalf.