The US has the Office for Research Integrity which can prosecute scientific fraud cases, but it only does a handful of cases per year. To put the scale of this

The US has the Office for Research Integrity which can prosecute scientific fraud cases, but it only does a handful of cases per year. To put the scale of this problem in perspective, the ORI was set up in the 1970s after Congress became concerned at widespread reports of scientific fraud. It clearly didn't work, but hangs around regardless. It's ultimately a culture problem. Until academics have the same level of respect as ordinary corporate employees, you're going to get judges and juries who let them off scott free.