Jared Isaacman, President Donald Trump’s nominee for NASA administrator, faced legal issues in the past, including fraud charges in 2010. Court documents reveal that Isaacman was involved in writing $2 million in bad checks to casinos in two states.
Isaacman, a billionaire entrepreneur, pilot, and astronaut, founded Shift4 Payments in his teens. He also led the first all-civilian space mission aboard a SpaceX capsule in 2021. His nomination for NASA administrator is set for a vote by the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday.
In 2010, Isaacman was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border on a fraud warrant from Clark County, Nevada. U.S. Customs and Border Protection detained him for alleged fraudulent activity, though specific details were not provided. He was released the following day after being held in a Washington state jail.
In his nomination questionnaire, Isaacman explained that the arrest was due to a dispute with the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas over unpaid travel reimbursements. He claimed the matter was quickly resolved, leading to the dismissal of charges. Court records related to the case remain sealed.
Court documents from 2009 and 2010 show Isaacman was sued for failing to pay casino debts. The Trump Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City filed a lawsuit in 2009, claiming Isaacman wrote four bad checks totaling $1 million. The case was settled in 2011 for $650,000. In Connecticut, Mohegan Sun filed a similar suit, accusing Isaacman of writing $1 million in bad checks. That case was withdrawn.
Isaacman disclosed these civil cases in his nomination filings, revealing four lawsuits related to unpaid casino debts, including two from the Trump Plaza casino.
In response to a question from Democratic Senator Maria Cantwell, Isaacman addressed the legal matters, describing them as a result of his “immature hobby” of visiting casinos in his early 20s. He emphasized that the issues were quickly resolved and assured the committee that they were in the past.
Despite these past controversies, Isaacman made headlines in 2021 when he placed the first sports bet from space during his mission aboard the SpaceX capsule.
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