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> "And the examples tend to the arcane, like importing food, not activities most people engage in." Another common one is people borrowing parents from their p
by xiaoma 9y ago
> "And the examples tend to the arcane, like importing food, not activities most people engage in."
Another common one is people borrowing parents from their parents to make a down payment on a house. Lots of people do it, but the sentence for using such a loan and not disclosing it is 30 years.
This particular violation is referred to as a "head shot" by investigators looking for something with which to nail a suspect.
http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-another-head-shot/ http://davidsimon.com/kwame-brown-another-federal-case-anoth...
- tptacek 9y agoThe sentence isn't 30 years. The maximum sentence, assuming all the guideline accelerators are met, might be. In reality, the sentencing guidelines --- which if not followed make the sentence at least appealable --- for this probably result in probation for a first-time felon. This doesn't detract from your point! Any felony conviction is a nightmare for someone just trying to build up a down payment for a house! But the way we talk about sentencing needs to be more sophisticated.
- xiaoma 9y agoThat's true. To go a bit further, most people aren't even charged, let alone sentenced. There are two problems with the ongoing expansion of US criminal code. One is the world-leading incarceration rate. The second and often ignored issue is as common practices are criminalized but only selectively punished, the country inexorably moves from a rule of law society, towards a rule by law society.