Consumerist
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prison
At Least The Prison Economy Is Flourishing
We might be dealing with low inflation and even a falling cost of living, but not everyone in the United States is dealing with the same economic woes. Americans who are in prison have their own economy—one with rampant inflation, alleged price-fixing, and a fish packet-based economy. More » -
Bernie Madoff
Madoff Gives First Prison Interview To Victims' Lawyers
Bernie Madoff has given his first prison interview...to attorneys representing his victims. Highlights: He's quite candid now (what has he got to lose?), he can't believe that he got away with running an epic Ponzi scheme for as long as he did, and apparently he's been working out. More » -
prison
NY Lawmaker Wants Rich Convicts To Pay For Their Own Incarceration
New York State Assemblyman Jim Tedicsco sees an injustice. The upstate Republican saw wealthy scammer Bernie Madoff convicted and sent to federal prison for 150 years the rest of his life at taxpayer expense. How fair is that? Why can't rich criminals pay their own way? More » -
Bernie Madoff
Tell Your Great-Grandchildren To Protect Their Money In 2139
When Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison, they weren't kidding around. Here's a screencap of his profile in the U.S. federal prison system database. He's in the system as scheduled for release in 2139.
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crime and punishment
Spam Kings Plead Guilty, Are Headed To Prison
The war on spam is just as doomed as the war on drugs, but the FBI has won a battle, bringing down a bulk commercial e-mail ring that pimped Chinese penny stocks into unwilling inboxes. They also developed bot network that helped spam avoid detection. More » -
ponzi schemers
Madoff Asks Judge For 12-Year Sentence
CNN just reported that Bernie Madoff's lawyer has submitted a letter to the judge who will be sentencing him next week, asking for a 12-year sentence.
"Mr. Madoff is currently 71 years old and has an approximate life expectancy of 13 years," wrote Sorkin, whose letter was released on Tuesday. "A prison term of 12 years - just short of an effective life sentence - will sufficiently address the goals of deterrence, protecting the public and promoting respect for the law."
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punishments
Wendy's Employee Gets Prison Time For Putting Hair In Burger
Remember Thomas Bender? He was the Wendy's employee in West Virginia who garnished a police officer's sandwich with a ball of pubic hair earlier this year. He's just been sentenced to 6 months in prison and 2 years probation.
"Hair In Food Leads To Jail" [The Intelligencer] (Thanks to Chad!)
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tampering
Man Who Poisoned Children In Campbell's Soup Fraud Sentenced To 100 Years
In January 2006, William Cunningham laced soup with lighter fluid, peppers, and eventually Prozac and Amitriptyline, then fed it to his 18-month-old daughter and 3-year-old son. He then claimed the soup had been tampered with and threatened to sue Campbell Soup if they didn't pay up. Yesterday he was sentenced to 100 years in prison. More » -
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We suppose people in prison are consumers, too. The state of California's prison system has just been declared unconstitutional due to severe overcrowding. CNN says "California must reduce the number of inmates in its overcrowded prison system by up to 40 percent to stop a constitutional violation of prisoners' rights." Raise your hand if you want to go home. [CNN]
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spam
Court Changes Mind, Strikes Down Anti-Spam Law
The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to reconsider its original judgment on the state's anti-spam law, which made it illegal to send email using an anonymous email address or IP address. Their new decision: prohibiting anonymously sent emails is a violation of the First Amendement. More » -
enzyte
Who's Smiling Now? Enzyte Scammer Gets 25 Years In Prison
Steve Warshak, founder of the company responsible for "Enzyte," has been sentenced to 25 years in prison and ordered to pay a fine of $93,000, says the AP. U.S. District Judge S. Arthur Spiegel also ordered the company, along with other defendants, to forfeit more than $500 million that it bilked from consumers. More » -
consequences
Man Sentenced For $3.6 Million Credit Card Fraud
A Californian named Andrew Michael (not pictured at left) was sentenced to four years in federal prison last week for scamming Citibank and credit card companies by fraudulently applying for an $8.5 million commercial line of credit—some $2 million of which he spent on personal goods for himself, including "170 troy ounces of silver, 479 tubes of gold flakes, [and] a Rolex watch." More » -
stupidity
Prison Officials Lose Flash Drive With Data On 3,500 Volunteers And Visitors
The San Francisco Chronicle has reported that "a flash memory drive containing names, birth dates and driver's license numbers of more than 3,500 people who either volunteered or visited San Quentin State Prison in a group tour has been lost." Our reader Paul, who sent us the tip, adds, "When I read it my first thought was, "Gee, I wonder what the chances are of this personal data ending up in criminal hands? Mmm, maybe 100%." Our favorite part of the story: the data wasn't encrypted, but prison officials have said that now they're going to start encrypting it. More » -
fraud
Second Jersey Scammer Who Claimed To Cure Lou Gehrig's Disease Imprisoned
On December 12th, the U.S. District Court of New Jersey sentenced Elizabeth Lerner, a.k.a. Elizabeth Cooperman, to 33 months in prison for "falsely claiming that she could cure amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), commonly called 'Lou Gehrig's Disease.'" Her crime partner, former osteopath Charlene C. DeMarco, was sentenced to 57 months back in September. More » -
scams
More Warnings About The Increasingly Popular *72 Phone Scam
The *72 phone scam is growing in popularity, according to the Houston Chronicle, and Comcast is warning consumers about it. More »
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