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White Collar Crime Prison Sentences
White collar crimes used to have an image of short sentences where the accountants were sent to Club Fed to get in shape and work on their tan. Not so anymore. Since all of the enormous financial scams, starting with Enron and continuing to the biggest scammer of all time Bernie Manoff, the federal government and states have cracked down on white collar crime.
If You Can't Do The Time Don't Do The Crime
If you are unfortunate enough to be convicted in a federal court for a white collar crime you could be sentenced to longer than a drug dealer, a criminal who uses a gun in his crime and even certain classes of murder. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines leave little room for a Federal judge when assessing sentences. Depending on the crime, a white collar offender can get up to 30 years for each count. This is the government's response to the public outrage that has swept the nation.
Because white collar crime can rarely be successfully pulled off by a single individual, the heavy penalties are held over the heads of subordinates as an encouragement for them to testify against their superiors. If you are the top dog, like the CEO, and have nobody to snitch on, you are in for some major trouble.
Other Penalties
Jail time is nasty but there is also restitution and fines associated with a conviction and these can be ruinous. Even if a convicted white collar criminal can afford the financial drain, their reputation and the ability to hold professional licenses (think SEC and CPA) is shot. And the real problem is you may not even think of what you are doing as a crime.
If you totally misrepresent the performance of a company or its stock then you have clearly committed a crime. But if all you do is chat it up and try to promote it is that a crime? It depends but the safest route is a conservative one. People who bought into Manoff were basically buying into something that was too good to be true. Not just individuals but institutions, on the advice of their investment counsellors, wanted a share of the gold. When these people get taken they are very angry and some are very influential.
For informational purposes only, not for legal advice.
Contact Will & Will LLP at www.WillDefendU.com - Los Angeles, CA.
If You Can't Do The Time Don't Do The Crime
If you are unfortunate enough to be convicted in a federal court for a white collar crime you could be sentenced to longer than a drug dealer, a criminal who uses a gun in his crime and even certain classes of murder. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines leave little room for a Federal judge when assessing sentences. Depending on the crime, a white collar offender can get up to 30 years for each count. This is the government's response to the public outrage that has swept the nation.
Because white collar crime can rarely be successfully pulled off by a single individual, the heavy penalties are held over the heads of subordinates as an encouragement for them to testify against their superiors. If you are the top dog, like the CEO, and have nobody to snitch on, you are in for some major trouble.
Other Penalties
Jail time is nasty but there is also restitution and fines associated with a conviction and these can be ruinous. Even if a convicted white collar criminal can afford the financial drain, their reputation and the ability to hold professional licenses (think SEC and CPA) is shot. And the real problem is you may not even think of what you are doing as a crime.
If you totally misrepresent the performance of a company or its stock then you have clearly committed a crime. But if all you do is chat it up and try to promote it is that a crime? It depends but the safest route is a conservative one. People who bought into Manoff were basically buying into something that was too good to be true. Not just individuals but institutions, on the advice of their investment counsellors, wanted a share of the gold. When these people get taken they are very angry and some are very influential.
For informational purposes only, not for legal advice.
Contact Will & Will LLP at www.WillDefendU.com - Los Angeles, CA.
This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.goinglegal.com/white-collar-crime-prison-sentences-1491691.html
Source: http://www.goinglegal.com/white-collar-crime-prison-sentences-1491691.html
