NBA YoungBoy’s Trump pardon left Utah pharmacist Phil Cowley worried the rapper’s crew might return to crime after devastating his business.
NBA YoungBoy walked free after President Trump pardoned the rapper for his role in a Utah drug fraud ring and now a local pharmacist whose store was hit in the scheme says he’s bracing for more trouble.
Phil Cowley, a pharmacist in Cache Valley, Utah, says he’s still recovering from the financial damage caused by the break-ins tied to the rapper’s crew and is worried history could repeat itself.
“As soon as they caught him, everything stopped,” Cowley told East Idaho News. “And so now, is he going to do it again?”
Cowley’s pharmacy was one of several targeted in a prescription drug fraud operation that led to losses ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 per store.
“The windows I had to replace took my whole month’s worth of earnings from me,” Cowley said.
The man behind the crimes, Kentrell Gaulden — better known as NBA YoungBoy — had pleaded guilty to 46 counts of prescription fraud and was serving a 23-month sentence for federal gun charges when former President Donald Trump granted him clemency on Tuesday (May 28).
President Trump’s decision was part of a broader wave of pardons aimed at what the White House called a “politicized and weaponized justice system,” according to reports.
Local prosecutors in Utah pushed back, defending their investigation and the charges against Gaulden.
Cache County officials said they stood by the integrity of their case and the professionalism of their law enforcement agencies.
“We are extremely proud of the work our investigator and prosecutors did on this case as well as grateful for all the help we received from other local and federal agencies,” said Sheriff D. Chad Jensen and Cache County Attorney Taylor Sorensen in a joint statement. “Mr. Gaulden pled guilty to the charges in this investigation, and we feel strongly the Justice System in Cache County is far from a ‘weaponized system of justice.’”
Cowley, however, said the pardon sends the wrong message.
“My very first gut reaction to hearing that pardon was what a terrible lesson to teach your boys,” he said.
Gaulden, who had already paid a $25,000 fine in connection with the fraud case, thanked President Trump in an Instagram post, saying the pardon would help him “continue growing as a man, father, and artist.”
The Baton Rouge rapper is now preparing for a 32-city MASA Tour kicking off in September 2025.
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