Wirefraud could be 20 years in federal prison. This guy is worse than a rapist? Wire fraud that destroys someone's life savings (i.e. on the Madoff scale) can

Wirefraud could be 20 years in federal prison. This guy is worse than a rapist? Wire fraud that destroys someone's life savings (i.e. on the Madoff scale) can be arguably put in the same ball park as a sexual assault, in terms of net damage inflicted. Plus wire fraud has the potential to inflict damage on large numbers of people. So that's probably what the maximum penalty is motivated by. (Whether the maximum applies in this case is a separate matter). Being attacked by hackers, then getting scared, playing along, paying out blackmailers, then going to federal prison? What you're allegedly paid for as a CSO, or chief-anything of a large publicly traded company (and at a level astronomically higher than that of your rank-and-file muscle workers who you won't even dignify as "employees") is your awareness of the law (or at least the minimal sense to ask a lawyer), and your ability to not shit your pants in these situations -- but to act rationally. "Can't do the time, don't do the C-level".