The British billionaire Joe Lewis was spared jail time for his part in a “brazen” insider trading conspiracy on Thursday, and was instead fined $5m and given a three-year probation by a New York judge.
The 87-year-old, who heads the family that owns Tottenham Hotspur, had faced as much as 45 years in prison if convicted at trial. But in a court filing on Monday, prosecutors said Lewis deserved leniency given his age, health issues and the fact that he had voluntarily come to the US to face punishment.
When the news says something like “as much as 45 years in prison” that’s never the amount that even a poor person would have gotten.
To get to the maximum statutory sentence, the reporters had to completely ignore the sentencing guidelines.
This video is talking about Trump, but breaks down how the actual sentencing guidelines work.