4 ms·
of course, but 7 years is a very long time. It could have been shorter, considering the lack of actual damages.
by gfosco 9y ago
of course, but 7 years is a very long time. It could have been shorter, considering the lack of actual damages.
- justinjlynn 9y agolesson one: don't play games with other people's money, unless they won't have any left when you're done. The second part is secret /s
- cowsandmilk 9y agoWhy do you believe there were no actual damages? Because investors eventually got their money back after years of fraud? (I would also argue the investors in Retrophin lost millions in returns due to Shkreli's paying off MSMB Capital investors, but that is not what he was convicted of)
- gfosco 9y agoThey actually had their money tripled. Tripled. Tripled.
- dragonwriter 9y agoWere this a civil case for damages, that would be more relevant. The criminality of getting other people to give up their property with false representations is not eliminated by paying them back plus extra later, however. Civil damages mostly addresses the harm caused, criminal punishment is less about the harm caused by a particular act and more about the risk to society of normalizing the behavior.
- s73v3r_ 9y agoYeah, they got lucky. Can you guarantee that the next set of investors he pulls this fraud with will be as lucky?
- oh_sigh 9y agoHow much longer than normal were investor funds locked up for?
- vernie 9y agoWell if it's any consolation he'll probably be out in 3.
- dragonwriter 9y ago> Well if it's any consolation he'll probably be out in 3. The US federal criminal justice system has no parole; other than Presidential pardon or commutation, or the sentence being overturned judicially, you stay in prison for the full term of your sentence, reduced by a maximum of 54 days per year of sentence by good conduct credits. So, best case for a seven year sentence is just under six years.
- jonnycomputer 9y agohow many people get 7 years for less. time the finance jerks get treated like ordinary people.
- DanBC 9y agoIt might be interesting to try to map this onto English law and see what he'd get over here. https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Fraud-bribery-and-money-laundering-offences-Definitive-guideline2.pdf https://www.sentencingcouncil.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Frau... Look at "Fraud by false representation", "fraud by failing to disclose information", "fraud by abuse of position", "Conspiracy to defraud", and "False accounting" (because some of these feel useful and the sentencing is similar). When looking at culpability I'd say he matches all of these except targeting vulnerable people: A – High culpability A leading role where offending is part of a group activity Involvement of others through pressure, influence Abuse of position of power or trust or responsibility Sophisticated nature of offence/significant planning Fraudulent activity conducted over sustained period of time Large number of victims Deliberately targeting victim on basis of vulnerability Even if these were not present he doesn't match the lower culpability section. When looking at harm there are 2 categories: he probably meets the highest level for the first category: Category 1 £500,000 or more Starting point based on £1 And if he repaid all the money he probably meets the lowest for the second. With culpability level A and harm level 1 you'd start with a 7 year sentence. Then you'd look at aggravating factors (did he try to hide the crime; did he try to prevent people reporting it) and mitigating factors (did he show remorse; was it a doomed enterprise; did he have a serious medical condition requiring intensive imminent treatment; etc) to increase or decrease.