The way it generally seems to play out in the USA, especially for white collar defendents who can afford plenty of lawyers, is something like this. They are cha

The way it generally seems to play out in the USA, especially for white collar defendents who can afford plenty of lawyers, is something like this. They are charged with crimes that carry a decade or two in prison, but are then offered a plea bargain. Going to trial is risky for both sides: conviction means a decade or two in prison, but acquittal is very public egg on the face of the lead prosecutor. In a case like this it mostly depends on who the jury feel sorrier for; the hard-working family men who overstepped an obscure rule, or the unfortunate addicts who were suckered into it by a bunch of unscrupulous bastards. So a plea deal is very likely, which means a sentence of under a year, quite possibly suspended, and a stonking big fine to the company (which hits the shareholders rather than the managers who made the decisions).