In one of his final acts in office, President Donald Trump granted clemency to 143 people — including a full pardon for prominent D.C. developer Douglas Jemal, who was convicted of wire fraud in 2006.

Jemal is a well-known and influential local developer, having helped fuel the redevelopment of portions of downtown D.C., Chinatown, H Street NE, Shaw, and, more recently, Ivy City. But in the mid-2000s he was accused of showering a D.C. official responsible for city property with gifts. Jemal admitted no wrongdoing, and jurors largely believed him, acquitting him of six of seven charges — but convicting him of wire fraud. Jemal was ultimately fined $175,000 and given probation.

In 2016, Jemal told a Buffalo newspaper that he was innocent. “I didn’t do a damn thing wrong,” Jemal said. “I don’t think the jury understood it. The judge did. He was swayed by what he heard as far as testimony. There’s some things that people just don’t understand, and real estate is a complicated business.”

The White House praised Jemal. “Mr. Jemal is an American businessman and philanthropist credited with rebuilding many urban inner cities in the United States,” said a press release from the White House on the grants of clemency, which were issued just past midnight. “Mr. Jemal was convicted of fraud. In addition, Mr. Jemal was instrumental to various other charitable causes, including the rebuilding of churches prior to his conviction. Notably, at his trial the presiding judge told prosecutors that he thought it ‘inconceivable’ to send Mr. Jemal to prison.”

Jemal may have had some support from inside the White House — The Washington Post reported that Jemal is close to the family of Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Jemal reportedly owns a Jersey Shore home next to Charles Kushner, Jared’s father.

Jemal told the Post on Wednesday that he was not sure why Trump decided to pardon him, and that he had not spoken about the pardon with Trump—but he was “certainly glad” that it happened.

“I assume he felt I deserved to be pardoned,” Jemal said. “I’m still the same person I was a day ago or a month ago or a year ago.”

Mark Dubester, the lead prosecutor who worked on the case against Jemal, told the Post he thought the pardon sent the wrong kind of message: “that there are two standards of accountability … one for the wealthy and well-connected, and one for everyone else.”

This isn’t the first local pardon from the White House — in December, Trump pardoned former Prince George’s County Police Officer Stephanie Mohr. In 1995, Mohr released her dog on Ricardo G. Mendez, a Mexican immigrant who had been sleeping on a roof in Takoma Park and was not resisting arrest.

Jenny Gathright contributed reporting.