Sentencing Commission changes fraud guidelines; minor players may benefit
A vote on Thursday by the U.S. Sentencing Commission may lead to lower sentences for minor participants in fraud.
The changes in the guidelines place more emphasis on the offender’s intent, which could help those who play a minor role in such crimes, report the Wall Street Journal Law Blog and Reuters. A press release is here.
The changes, which take effect on Nov. 1 unless Congress intervenes, also require tougher sentences when even one victim has significant financial harm.
Commission chair Patti Saris, chief judge of the federal court in Massachusetts, said in the press release that the changes address problem areas in the fraud guidelines. “These amendments emphasize substantial financial harms to victims rather than simply the mere number of victims and recognize concerns regarding double-counting and over-emphasis on loss,” Saris said.
Writing at the Sentencing Law and Policy Blog, Ohio State University law professor Douglas Berman says Congress should vote to make the amendments retroactive or to at least ask the commission to consider the issue.
