Federal prosecutors are demanding that a man they call a "congenital liar and serial fraudster" serve 30 years in prison and pay a $60 million fine after a jury convicted him of defrauding actors Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte and others out of more than $35 million.
If U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer agrees to the sentence on Monday, it would represent one of the harshest penalties ever meted out in a white collar case. Not even Jeff Skilling, the architect of Enron Corp.'s criminal collapse, was sentenced to that much prison time. Skilling is currently serving a 24-year, four-month sentence.
Assistant U.S. attorneys W. Douglas Sprague and Hallie Mitchell argue in court papers that the harsh sentence is warranted because of the financial and emotional toll the fraud had on the victims, the extent Samuel "Mouli" Cohen went to cover up his scam and his refusal to accept responsibility.
"This unrepentant con man with a militant lack of responsibility has blamed everyone—the victims, the Court, his attorneys, the government, the Probation Officer, and the Court reporter—for his actions and their consequences except the person responsible for it," prosecutors write in a court filing.
Most notably, Cohen's fraud caused the collapse of the Vanguard Public Foundation, a nonprofit launched in 1972 that awarded grants to a vast array of social causes. Many of Cohen's victims, including Glover and Belafonte, were associated with the foundation, which supported anti-war causes, environmental groups and other politically liberal issues. Prosecutors said Cohen even preyed on his father-in-law, looting his retirement account.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/feds-demand-convicted-con-man-serve-30-years-16241222
Not till the last paragraph do we understand why the government is being hard nosed about the sentencing, he defrauded a liberal group out of their money. Obama hates competition.
If U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer agrees to the sentence on Monday, it would represent one of the harshest penalties ever meted out in a white collar case. Not even Jeff Skilling, the architect of Enron Corp.'s criminal collapse, was sentenced to that much prison time. Skilling is currently serving a 24-year, four-month sentence.
Assistant U.S. attorneys W. Douglas Sprague and Hallie Mitchell argue in court papers that the harsh sentence is warranted because of the financial and emotional toll the fraud had on the victims, the extent Samuel "Mouli" Cohen went to cover up his scam and his refusal to accept responsibility.
"This unrepentant con man with a militant lack of responsibility has blamed everyone—the victims, the Court, his attorneys, the government, the Probation Officer, and the Court reporter—for his actions and their consequences except the person responsible for it," prosecutors write in a court filing.
Most notably, Cohen's fraud caused the collapse of the Vanguard Public Foundation, a nonprofit launched in 1972 that awarded grants to a vast array of social causes. Many of Cohen's victims, including Glover and Belafonte, were associated with the foundation, which supported anti-war causes, environmental groups and other politically liberal issues. Prosecutors said Cohen even preyed on his father-in-law, looting his retirement account.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/feds-demand-convicted-con-man-serve-30-years-16241222
Not till the last paragraph do we understand why the government is being hard nosed about the sentencing, he defrauded a liberal group out of their money. Obama hates competition.
