DO FEDERAL MONEY LAUNDERING SENTENCES NOW FINALLY FIT THE CRIME?

                

Today's news included a story detailing how DHRUV JANI, a citizen of India, received a ten (10) year sentence in US District Court in Colorado, after entering a plea of guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering. Jani, who was part of a despicable group of criminals who impersonated Federal law enforcement officials, and extorted money from individuals who were told they would be deported if they failed to pay "The Government" a large sum of money. They took over a million dollars from their frightened victims, while claiming to be active duty FBI, DHS, FBI and SSA agents. 

Are money laundering sentences, which could be for twenty years' imprisonment, but rarely, if ever, are handed down in that figure, finally going to fit the seriousness of the crime? We certainly  hope so. Our readers just saw us tell a Miami story of a laundryman who, having served a relatively short sentence, committed a new laundering offense while on Supervised Release! These short sentences do NOT serve as a deterrent to other who might be tempted to commit the offense.  We ask only this of the Federal Bench: let the punishment fit the crime . To do otherwise only causes new laundrymen to be born each day, and AML/CFT compliance is hard enough now, without having more on the street, moving cash.