United States v. Morawski, No. 13-2046 (7th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant pleaded guilty to using the mail to implement a fraud consisting mainly of a Ponzi scheme involving real estate, 18 U.S.C. 1341. Between 2006 and 2011 the scheme raised more than $21 million from 267 investors; $2.4 million was raised after the Illinois Department of Securities ordered the defendants to stop selling investment contracts in 2009. Investors recovered only about $3.2 million. He was sentenced to 120 months in prison and to pay restitution of more than $18 million and appealed the prison sentence, arguing that part of the loss to investors, for which he was held responsible, occurred as a result of market conditions. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, noting that “federal prisons should not be made to double as old-age homes,” but stating that any errors made by the sentencing judge were minimal.
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