White-Collar Crime Punishment

What factors should be considered in determining the length and terms of a sentence? Should a crime’s violent or non-violent classification carry the most weight? Frank S. Perri offers that focusing too much on a crime’s violent or non-violent nature can lead to a punishment too severe – or not severe enough – for the crime committed.

“I certainly knew it was nefarious, a little wormy, unethical, make no mistake about that … but criminal? Fraud?” - Jay Jones, convicted white-collar criminal,  as quoted in The New York Times Magazine 

Jay Jones lived the good life; unfortunately, he bought it fraudulently. As a result of his behavior, he left at least 4,000 people jobless when the debt collection business he helped co-found went bankrupt, according to a June 6, 2004, article in The New York Times Magazine.¹ He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud investors and was sentenced to five years in prison. He also owes about $1 billion in restitution to the victims of his fraud, according to the article. Was his sentence too light?