marxisforbros: mohandasgandhi: azspot: why...

mohandasgandhi:

azspot:

why Occupy Wall Street exists, reason #1,734

I don’t know how many times I have to go over this.

While there is much room (obviously) to criticize our legal system, this screenshot is incredibly misleading. From the Huffington Post:

The convictions of company chairman Lee Farkas and Allen represent some of the most high-profile executives in the housing and financial industries to receive prison time in the aftermath of the housing sector meltdown.

Allen’s lawyer argued for leniency on the theory that Allen was CEO in name only. The real mastermind was Farkas, who kept Allen out of the loop on much of the company’s day-to-day operations, according to trial testimony.

“Mr. Allen was not treated as a CEO. He did not function as a CEO,” said defense lawyer Stephen Graeff. “Sentence Mr. Allen the man, not Mr. Allen the title.”

[…]

By the time Allen became CEO in 2003, the fraud was already under way, and Taylor Bean owed more than $100 million to Colonial. Allen’s part in the schemes, came later, especially in the commercial paper loans from Deutsche bank and BNP Paribas that eventually grew to become the largest part of the fraud.

Ragland and Allen are the fifth and sixth persons to be sent to prison as part of the Taylor Bean-Colonial fraud, and investigators say the investigation is continuing. Sentences have ranged from three months to eight years.

All six received credit on their sentences for cooperating with investigators and testifying at Farkas’ trial.

“Mr. Allen’s sentence reflects his ultimate cooperation with this investigation, but also sends the message that unless executives expose and stop fraud when they first learn of it, they will be punished,” said Neil MacBride, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Farkas is to be sentenced next week, and prosecutors have indicated they will seek a significantly longer sentence for Farkas than for his co-conspirators.

Lee Farkas received a 30 year sentence.

Furthermore, what Roy Brown did, on the other hand, potentially constitutes as a physical threat of violence, which can enhance criminal sentencing. I can’t find it now but I read he (allegedly) has quite a criminal record. Nonetheless, are these sentences still atrocious? Yes. 15 years in prison is excessive given the merits and hundreds, né, thousands of other cases can lead us to the conclusion that we do, indeed, have a two-tiered justice system but a little context paints a slightly different picture.

Wow, I’d seen this before but never known all the back-story. Good times.