I wonder why financial frauds are punished worse than murder

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pawelk1986
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27 Sep 2015, 5:13 am

Especially in America, like this guy get 110 years sentence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Stanford

Do not get me wrong, I'm not defending crooks, I believe that a prison sentence to them should be, but why 110 years of imprisonment, since most of the victims were those who anyway are very rich (and thus meanly and dishonest :D )

I understand the long sentence for someone who cheated the poor people, but why 110 years in prison, 20 would be fully sufficient :)



0_equals_true
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27 Sep 2015, 5:26 am

It doesn't makes sense at all.

However there a (mal) logic in it. The algorithms for fraud sentences tend to be more directly linked the number of people they affect or at least the financial fall out.

As these laws are created independently they have little influence on each other. It also tells you what preoccupies some lawmakers.

Another problem with fraud cases is they can be so complicated, many juries cannot understand the evidence. There is a famous case of Jubilee Line extension fraud, it had two mistrial then completely collapsed. It cost £60m of public money to do the trials, and it wasn't in the public interests to continue.



naturalplastic
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27 Sep 2015, 5:59 am

Most embezzlers do light time in white collar prisons that resemble resorts. And murderers generally do hard time in real penitentiaries.

As far as length of sentence- I don't know- but I suspect that the perps you read about on the front page are the extremes, and not a fair sample.

You would have to do research, and maybe your own number crunching to compare the average of length of sentences of murderers,to those of money finegglers.

But some individuals...w wow!

Bernie Madoff stole so many billions and ruined so many lives that I consider him on a par with Ted Bundy, or Jeffrey Daumer



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27 Sep 2015, 7:09 am

Probably because the money-to-number-of-living-people ratio is higher among the rich and powerful. Since they own most of the money and only a small fraction of the lives, it’s natural for them to push for crimes against money to be punished harder than crimes against human lives, most of which are lives of people poorer than them :idea:


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ASPartOfMe
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27 Sep 2015, 7:30 am

If you are a indivilvidual this is true. If you are a cooperation that takes down the economy and are deemed "to big to fail" not only will you not likely go to prison for it the government might well bail you out.

I definitely think lingering anger about this is a reason for the "outsider" candidates doing well so far in this election cycle. To the media
this is 7 year old news but not to segments of of the public that are still heavily effected by the new economy of temp and contract jobs. There was not in 2012 a candidate able to channel this anger into support.


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0_equals_true
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27 Sep 2015, 7:40 am

ASPartOfMe wrote:
If you are a indivilvidual this is true. If you are a cooperation that takes down the economy and are deemed "to big to fail" not only will you not likely go to prison for it the government might well bail you out


This is the flaw with incorporation. Legally a "person", but without the responsibilities.

I support the removal of limited liability and the reform of company law.

If there was competition, companies couldn't be too big to fail.

"too big" doesn't just refer to the sized of the company, it is the degree it is colluding with the state to have that much control over the economy.



blauSamstag
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27 Sep 2015, 10:00 am

Financial malfeasance absolutely kills people. It just does so indirectly.



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27 Sep 2015, 10:47 am

I always thought it was the other way around.


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27 Sep 2015, 5:22 pm

pawelk1986 wrote:
I Wonder Why Financial Frauds Are Punished Worse Than Murder.
Since when has a person who has committed financial fraud ever received the death penalty?

Or is this just another America-bashing thread?



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28 Sep 2015, 9:26 am

Fnord wrote:
pawelk1986 wrote:
I Wonder Why Financial Frauds Are Punished Worse Than Murder.
Since when has a person who has committed financial fraud ever received the death penalty?

Or is this just another America-bashing thread?


I never mentioned anything about the death penalty nor did it cross my mind. I don't believe in death penalties anymore. I just never hear much about a richbag committing financial fraud and then receiving any jail sentence.

All I hear is underwhelming fines and generous bailouts and then they try to rinse and repeat their crimes while rigging the system and the politicians got their backs. When you're in the financial state my family is currently in right now, you'll wish more richbags committing financial fraud would serve a life sentence and all their assets liquidated too.


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AspE
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28 Sep 2015, 2:26 pm

No one serves their full sentence. You might get 110 years and be out in 20.



pawelk1986
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28 Sep 2015, 2:29 pm

AspE wrote:
No one serves their full sentence. You might get 110 years and be out in 20.


So why such punished are served, why all that show?



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29 Sep 2015, 10:24 am

Aspiegaming wrote:
I just never hear much about a richbag committing financial fraud and then receiving any jail sentence.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kent_Hovind


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29 Sep 2015, 10:52 am

Aspiegaming wrote:
Fnord wrote:
pawelk1986 wrote:
I Wonder Why Financial Frauds Are Punished Worse Than Murder.
Since when has a person who has committed financial fraud ever received the death penalty?

Or is this just another America-bashing thread?


I never mentioned anything about the death penalty nor did it cross my mind. I don't believe in death penalties anymore. I just never hear much about a richbag committing financial fraud and then receiving any jail sentence.

All I hear is underwhelming fines and generous bailouts and then they try to rinse and repeat their crimes while rigging the system and the politicians got their backs. When you're in the financial state my family is currently in right now, you'll wish more richbags committing financial fraud would serve a life sentence and all their assets liquidated too.

Look up Michael Milken, the junk bond king.


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29 Sep 2015, 11:17 am

pawelk1986 wrote:
I understand the long sentence for someone who cheated the poor people, but why 110 years in prison, 20 would be fully sufficient :)

pawelk1986 wrote:
AspE wrote:
No one serves their full sentence. You might get 110 years and be out in 20.

So why such punished are served, why all that show?

It's not about "show". People get out, all-the-time, for good behavior----the high number of years makes it so people are not eligible for a release on "good behavior", too soon. If this person had been sentenced to 20 years, he might have been eligible for release in 5----and that, as you say, would not have been enough time.

It's the same as when a person receives a sentence of "life, plus 20 years"----it seems silly, because "life" seems to indicate the person will be in prison until they die; but, that's not what always happens.





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slave
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29 Sep 2015, 6:20 pm

pawelk1986 wrote:
Especially in America, like this guy get 110 years sentence

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Stanford

Do not get me wrong, I'm not defending crooks, I believe that a prison sentence to them should be, but why 110 years of imprisonment, since most of the victims were those who anyway are very rich (and thus meanly and dishonest :D )

I understand the long sentence for someone who cheated the poor people, but why 110 years in prison, 20 would be fully sufficient :)


Virtually all financial frauds are never prosecuted.

From time to time they'll throw the book at a 'fall guy', to give the appearance of accountability.

Financial fraud is ubiquitous. You and I are both victims of it.