Yes, I think the "sentence" is very lenient, but rather than prison, it doesn't sound like it would have been too difficult to very accurately determine the financial price of their collective malfeasance, so in addition to requiring that payback, an additional financial penalty as well. I know, with a net worth of $21 mil it's a relative drop in the bucket, but for these 0.01%ers that the only penalty that matters, the one that hits them the only place they care about, their wallets.
49
"gifted to him"? What is that supposed to mean? In English "gifted" is an adjective, meaning blessed with unusual talents. Does the writer mean "given to him"?
26
They should have adjoining cells.........Martha Stewart wasn't able to cop a plea...why should these swindlers?
66
And, this, folks is what is so wrong in America today...a rich man's son gets justice different than a poor man's son...affluenza strikes again...
104
Wow, If I ever read a story about "white privilege", this one tops them all.
106
Behind every corrupt man is a woman still willing to marry him. Another fairy tale ending!
47
And how many young African-American men doing hard time for making a fraction of money for selling marijuana. These people are all thieves. They should be thrown in jail.
100
Poor Cameron, brought up to honor his father and not question his (or any) authority.
21
A Trump supporter's child need not be punished as a consequence of the parent's action. How rich. Tell that to children in cages separated from their parents at our border.
Are we approaching where the rich won't even pretend to adhere to that principle of equality before the Law? Some are more equal than others, I guess.
86
Insane. He was spared a proper sentence because daddy told him to do it. What’s the minimum net worth above which that argument works?
Our country is corrupted. Top to bottom. But mostly at the top.
82
I’m sorry, but the excuse of I’m not going to sentence you for your fathers sin, is a ludicrous statement to make. Collins is guilty of insider trading, he’s 27, and should be able to tell right from wrong. What the judge should have done was tell him, I’m not going to sentence you for the sins of your father, I’m sentencing you for YOUR sins, against society. By the way, since he was able to avoid huge losses, why should he be able to keep proceeds from what amounts to illegal trades, I didn’t see anything in the article that says he has to donate the 700K he made illegally.
Or does he get to keep the money, clearly with millions of dollars at 27, the odds of that felony hampering him like it does the average non-rich Americans. The fact is, crime pays, if you’re rich enough to convince a judge that you did nothing wrong, or that it was all daddy’s fault. And the decisions I made at 27 as a grown adult, who knows right from wrong, we’re really the fault of no you dad. That argument is as weak as the Twinkie defense used by the killer of SanFrancisco Mayer Harvey Milk, where his lawyer tried to assert that that his client shouldn’t be convicted of murder, because the sugar in Twinkie’s drove him to kill the mayor.
51
@James Dan White was the name of the murderer. Twinkies was just part of the defense. The jury just fell for his story.
2
Yes, he's dishonest. We all are, but I want to spend my life with him.
We're Republicans, you see....
59
And the beat goes on...
To me, the most amazing part of this saga, is that Collins was re-elected with full knowledge of his guilt by the voters. You don't get the government you want, you get the government you deserve.
60
Moral: don't get caught selling loose cigarettes on a street corner, or there could be REAL consequences.
96
I am clearly in the minority but I agreed with the judge
The son was 25 and was guided by an adult who should have known better
It happened fast and an inexperienced kid would make bad choices with guidance of his father
I also agree if this were middle class black family caught doing the same thing they would sent jail for years
The double standard is horrendous but the correction is to fix the unfairness to non rich people
Now if could lock up the Trump family including the in laws that would a good day for America
33
@John Boeger
Greed or not, the son committed a crime, regardless of where he got the information, he acted on that inside information. That his dad knew, because he sat on the board of directors, so he had to be notified when that drug failed clinical trials. Not to mention Collins while in congress, was getting congress people like Tom Price to buy shares. In Tom Prices, release of financial information, I saw that he too had thousands of shares, as a trader myself, I wondered why would a Senator have hundreds of thousands of shares of a company that was trading at .60 cents a share, I thought what do they know that no one else does.
My point is, Collins wasn’t before the judge because he was forced to commit a crime, or because of Daddy, Cameron at 27 knew better, he knew he was one, acting on inside information, and two, he knew acting on that information was a crime yet he did it anyway, isn’t that classic men’s re, and actus re’, guilty mind, guilty act. There was nothing in the sentencing that impounded the illegal gains he made by selling holdings illegally. The courts have ruled that even if you learn some inside information over the family dinner table it’s illegal to act on that inside information..so what’s different with him.
It also begs the question if someone of lesser means commits the same crime can they expect the same treatment, I doubt it, jails and prisons aren’t filled with rich greedy people, Collins is proof of that.
20
If Ms. Zarsky and the younger Mr. Collins have sensitivity/class at all, their wedding will be a small, family only affair. They’ve been given a huge present from the judicial system already.
17
greed is almost always as strong among people who already have a lot of money. the former congressman's son is a very lucky man. this is my opinion based on about 40 years years experience in Federal Courts as a defense lawyer.
i can not be critical of the sentencing Judge in this case as he had a lot of information about the defendant. i suspect the Judge hopes that he made the correct decision. good luck to all.
the politician father must feel like a snake. he is one.
15
Hasn't the judge in this matter ever heard that one of the purposes of punishment is deterrence? That is, send a message to the public that if you get caught doing with the defendant did in this case, the same punishment will happen to you.
It would seem that there was a lost opportunity for the judge in this matter to send a message to sons and daughters everywhere, that you have to stand up to your parents when your parents' counsel wrongdoing and illegality. And this puts aside the fact that the particular son here had more than 20 million dollars.
On another point, wasn't there someone to advise the future father-in-law that you don't invest more than, say 5%, of your retirement nest-egg in a start-up pharmaceutical company.
Greed is the only conclusion here.
43
How does one "amass a net worth of $21,000,000", and yet still seek unfair trading advantages AND get away with it? Didn't the Domestic Goddess, Martha Stewart, go down for the same offense? She served time, didn't she?
63
@Maclver
His dad, not only sat on the board of directors of the company, which is why he was entitled to get an email from the board to begin with, it’s my guess the board probably sold their holdings as well. But the dad also sat as chair of the very congressional committee that oversees healthcare.
16
Can this judge be recalled? This kind of judgement highlights what is worst in the US judicial system.
40
ain't it grand being a rich white male is this u.s. of a.
81
Wow. The first member of Congress to endorse Trump is a crook who conspires with his kids. Is there a Pulitzer for 'Most Expected News Story'?
94
There is so much wrong with this story, I don't know where to begin and I share the views of others commenting here.
I will add a comment on one aspect- Innate Immunotherapeutics should have handled the results from the clinical trial with the utmost of confidentiality. I have planned for the communication of clinical trial results from many clinical trials and the key is to limit the information to the smallest number of people (statisticians and clinicians and communications experts) who need to know. Board members should never be in the group 'unblinded' to the results. A press release with top line results should be issued with expediency (within an hour or two perhaps). None of this would have happened had Innate Immunotherapeutics handled their data properly.
43
@Karen
The dad, sat on the board of directors so that why he received an email PROIR to the public announcement of the drugs failure in clinical trials. It should also be noted, that Collins initial arrest and charging documents made this paper, when Collins was charged. I read the actual court papers, so I knew it was a family affair, I also know that Collins due to his standing within the company, was shopping the stock with his colleagues, like Tom Price. If you took the time to read their financial disclosure forms Tom Collins also had hundreds of thousands of shares, that were trading as penny stocks, .60 cents a share.
3
There is no mystery as to why the hyper wealthy in this country continue to increase and consolidate their power. If these were a father and son who were caught stealing a car and the father told the judge it was really all his idea, I sincerely doubt that the judge would show the same sort of leniency. Nowhere in this article is any mention of restitution to the other inventors who lost money. Somehow this 27-yr-old, who was handed $20 million from his father, walks away Scott free. 500 hours of community service- what a sham.
302
@Amy Flynn . The judge should be found liable for restitution for the others’ losses. Here’s a case where the wrongdoers have plenty of money and the judge let’s them keep their I’ll gotten gain!? Amazing and deeply disappointing in the justice system.
34
Not sure why the son was let off easy. They were both guilty and the son is a grown man.
62
@gavin
Seems the judge would differ with our opinion, the judge seemed to think that sentencing him harsher would be doing so based on the sins of the father. Apparently the judge seems to think that at 27 he’s unable to think for himself. The judge said the words, sins of your father. Clearly, if Cameron went out and shot someone because his dad told him too, the judge would say, well I can’t send you to prison for murder Mr. Collins, because I’d be sentencing you because of your fathers sin.. but a murder felony shouldn’t define you, and by the way, let me know when your going to get married, so you can do your home detention AFTER your married, just let me know...what the...Ask any poor person in prison right now, if the judge offered them that kind of a deal...
12
IMHO, the greed is the foundation of the Republican party and all of their followers. If the son had been a black male, God knows how long he would be in jail.
62
He should have have gone to jail!
This rich kid could have easily reimbursed his to be father in law, as the article states he has MILLIONS of dollars. A lousy $147K is nothing to him.
Pure GREED and you know that as he also told everyone else to sell.
Another example of white color crime going unpunished
50
White Privilege, White Collar Crime.
52
It's hard to feel sorry for any of these people. They all lied, cheated and stole. The Collinses, who still have millions, would hardly have felt the loss, and could have easily reimbursed the Zarskys for their imprudent investment to preserve family harmony. Consistent with their adherence to the guiding principles of the Republican party, they thought only of themselves and showed contempt for the rule of law. Cameron Collins still doesn't realize his dad is a greedy crook, and excuses his own illegal acts because he was trying to protect his future in-laws. These are people who think they should be immune from consequences they wouldn't hesitate to impose on the rest of us little people. I'll save my compassion for people harmed by Collins and his demigod in the WH.
127
@BKB Also apt to lie to create a springboard for the judges corruption. Like the GOP in general.
8
Sound like real “Eagle scouts”
14
Rich people.
The only person I feel bad for is the father-in-law. He put his life saving into a business based on the advice of a millionaire. He sold based on a tip from that millionaire.
Apparently, no one thought that maybe HE should not go to jail?
Or that he wasn't even worth mentioning?
A rich congressman is a crook. Noted.
His crooked son got off with a slap on the wrist. Noted.
He's already so rich it won't do him any harm.
The father-in-law is not only a felon, he's RUINED.
NOTED.
But oh, a wedding!
49
@Dejah And apparently the daughter was marrying up if Cameron could have covered the whole loss himself.
Also, who puts most of their retirement savings in one stock?
11
Talk about white privilege! Any notion that this is a "good family" should have been shattered by their criminal behavior. The call itself is evidence of a criminal conspiracy as well as their lying to investigators. What is wrong with that judge? White privilege, that's what's wrong. Add to this the sorry history of Trump supporters or associates in jail and even our own government prosecutors asking for barely any jail time at all for Flynn and it all just makes me sick. The judge in Flynn's case may not buy the federal prosecutors light slap on the wrist. One can only hope. He certainly expressed shock at his crimes, even suggesting "treason" should be discussed. We don't get justice for ALL in this country, just for the poor and people of color. Rich white people for the win, again....
48
@Joseph
Republicans only feel that prison is a deterrent to crime, only if your of color. If your white, the judge: well I don’t want to saddle you with a prison sentence because of your fathers sin. And you let me know when you want to do your home detainment. Spare me....
10
Good Republican, Roman Catholic family? With most Republicans Greed is their real religion, their true god. Or as good old St. Paul put it, "Greed is idolatry!" You could look it up.
I would be newly sick to my stomach, except I'm already sick at heart, sick through and through. And God won't help us, because God generally lets nations reap what they sow.
40
If you are a felon, but white, you get away with a slap on the wrist in court, despite the extent of your participation in a crime.
30
How much leniency would the judge show to a 30-something black man with little money and no connections to the rich and powerful?
Welcome to America, 2020.
69
Neither deserve a break lying to FBI agents ,denying all, wasting peoples time, the arrogance is unbelievable
46
This story is about a tragedy but not the real tragedy. That would be the people who the Collins' stole from when they bought stock that the Collins sold. A real punishment would be to fine Chris and Cameron all their money, (OK let them keep the house), and repay those who lost when buying their stock.
This is a story of privilege. They do some time, or deal with the embarrassment, but in the end they remain multimillionaires, expecting outcomes significantly different from the poor sap who gets caught stealing from the local store. THAT'S the real crime.
I wonder if the wedding would take place if Cameron was broke.
55
There appears to be no one in this story above reproach. All I see are dumb, greedy criminals. If you want to take a flyer on a long shot company go for it, but take your medicine (pun actually not intended) when things go south.
With his net worth of $21 million, it would appear that the younger Mr. Collins could have easily weathered a $571,000 dollar loss. Mr. Zarsky was clearly ill advised to sink his money into Innate (index mutual funds?), but his future son-in-law appears capable of making him whole, as opposed to dragging him into insider trading.
Lastly, they could have saved the government a lot of trouble by just putting up a billboard announcing their scheme.
22
Can't wait to see the Trumps and Kushners sharing the same fate.
30
Collins is guilty of another crime. Transferring $20 million to his son without paying any taxes.
33
Cameron Collins – poster boy for white privilege and elitism based on the leniency of the courts. Having “amassed” - meaning cashing the checks from daddy – a fortune of $21M, how will the felony conviction without jail really hurt him?
Sounds like he rode the coattails of Dad for a while; perhaps a better lesson for the Collinses would be jail-time for the son? That would not be punishment for “sins of the father” but taking responsibility for his own illegal activity.
Eagle Scout? Please, throwing that history in insults the young men who actually earn that status. Perhaps if Cameron had to work harder for the Eagle Scout (or anything?) it would have meant more: “When Cameron Collins’s Boy Scout troop had to build new park benches, a family friend wrote, his father bought all the necessary materials and recruited his own friends to help the troop assemble the benches in his basement.”
In the meantime, the African American guy in Detroit cannot even cash a legitimate (and ironic) check without the police being involved.
53
Hmm. Independently lying to the F.B.I. was a “sin” of his father? Not even a day in jail for his multiple felonies? The heavy, putrid stench of yet another criminal case where being wealthy and well-connected places a thumb on the scales of insidiously justice arose in that Manhattan federal courtroom, sending a terrible message by that judge to the general public.
110
If poor little Cameron wanted to make good his future father in law’s losses he could have given him the $140k out of his own $20m fortune. Not encouraged him to break the law.
And FYI, your life is not “ruined” if you have $20m.
52
White male privilege exerts itself again. Where are the breaks for the poor minority boys with the deck stacked against them?
Collins had many societal benefits, knew better, and still broke the law. He should bear full accountability for his actions.
47
Tears always work for the wealthy White. Others would get serious jail time.
31
What a spanking reveal of the system of privilege.
Lesson to poor folk: To suceed in this country be certain to include all these winning bits in your defense argument -- Eagle Scout, the right schools, supportive and wealthy and generous father, just starting out on the (right) track, display the weeping "innocent" fellow victims of your attempts to follow the rules (respect your parents, display financial ambition, stick to the established life-story), speak differentially and show you understand how the system works, that according to the system you did nothing wrong and you are simply another victim of a kink in that system. Convince the judge that this is just a temporary bump in your until then wondrous life story, and he can be the hero of the story.
Ick.
Now I want another shower.
31
@maybemd Also, try to be white.
17
My disgust leaves me (almost) speechless. Daddy made me do it!
28
That the son avoided jail time is an outrage. Who doesn’t know that this is insider trading? A person of different ethnicity, committing a crime with 1/100th of the financial value, would be facing prison.
Well, on the bright side, it will be just like when Johnny Sack’s daughter got married on The Sopranos. I loved that episode.
26
Another case of Affluenza.
48
Millions of dollars worth of fraud and theft, by two people that could have taken the haircut in stride. Two years at a federal tennis camp! One guy walks. Keep in mind the average senate member's return on investment is 24%, ours is 7%, Chris Collins not alone.
Some kid in Queens shoplifts a loaf of bread to feed his baby sister and he can't make cash bond (a cruelly absurd law passed by Collins types), he gets two years in Rikers before he even sees a judge. That is, if he survives until his arraignment. Get in a brawl fighting off an abuser, maybe five years more and added charges. Then a for profit prison, the kind people like the Collins invest heavily in! Smells like justice, or maybe justice smells!
68
All the best people. Trump supporters never fail to show their colors.
30
Sure sounds like he was just as guilty as his father. But the rich aren't like us.
24
Cameron Collins made a fortune by knowingly selling those shares based on his father's insider information.
He should get the same sentence his father did.
He should be barred from trading for life.
31
They didn't the money. They were well off, rich by most people's standards. I guess we feel sorry for rich people so we let them off easy.
13
The headline is wrong: Everyone involved committed multiple criminal acts, and faced multiple charges. And the reporting is credulous, almost as if the defense team provided talking points. For example, it signifies nothing that local press reported new Eagle Scouts, because that's typical for local press.
Reporting aside, I am dismayed that Cameron Collins is getting such a break BECAUSE of his privileged upbringing. How will this deter anyone from repeating these crimes?
32
An absolute mockery of the judicial system of the USA.
A sad day for Justice as we knew it.
28
@Don F
“An absolute mockery of the judicial system of the USA.”
Actually, this is just a true reflection of the US Justice system as it actually operates on a daily basis, not according to the fairy tales that are put out there.
White privilege goes far; very, very, very, very far.
16
@Oceanviewer It's not just white privilege, it's rich privilege, too. That's an important part.
17
Is there an Eagle Scout badge for felonious stock trading?
Isn’t there something in the Baltimore Catechism about theft?
Isn’t there some point in the world of a Trump fans when they recognize the word “Enough”?
This should make the wedding reception a jaunty event.
It seems that the courts are far more tolerant of wealthy folks’ illegal behavior then the poor.
44
Why is it that we rarely hear about a democrat falling from grace? It seems like one republican after another have no scruples.
18
Greed, familial love, and a severe lapse of moral judgment -- not an isolated case, except here those involved were caught and punished. How many others are not? So much money mixed with a desire to protect it, and each other -- a made-for-TV special is lurking, but then, there must be a thousand scripts like it already in consideration. A shame that such situations plague our country -- while tens of millions struggle to make their rent, feed their children thoroughly, make a car payment, and keep their house heated.
16
So the son gets to keep the $571,000 he made from insider trading. I'd volunteer to do 500 hours of community service for $571,000 without even committing a crime.
32
@Al - where do I sign up to pick up refuse along the highway? I'll do it and give 1,000 hours service.
14
@Broz You have to be a millionaire politician's son. Do you qualify?
9
@Al thanks for the laugh but I do have a potential of $1,000,000+ if I live another 1,000 years
2
Equal justice under the law?
No wonder DJT et al "can do no wrong"!
Just sayin "I'm sorry" isn't accepting personal responsibility whether the person involved is young or old.
25
And to think, the younger Mr. Collins doesn't even have to be President to get away with a slap on the wrist for criminal activity. Some guys just have all the luck.
19
Wow. An inner city kid robs a convenience store and gets thrown in prison fast as can be. A rich kid with a Villanova education steals half a million dollars and has the judge help schedule his wedding around the inconvenience of his suspended sentence.
69
@Douglas welcome to America, the country of privilege.
Will the Judge be invited to the wedding? He has already given the gift of a lifetime. if you steal enough and have the right lawyer you live to do it again...
25
This is a major miscarriage of justice, this individual did not need the money to scam the system, he acted on greed and gets rewarded because he is a male, Martha Stewart went to jail for far less than this guy.
The article is also bias to make this individual look like the victim of his father's greed, when he is just an extension of the tree, it appears that you can infer that the father made his fortune in the same scamming and fraudulent manner as the transaction for which he finally get caught.
Same goes for the son, this is not the first time he commits a financial crime and it is not going to be the last.
26
Chris Collins is a true grifter, and a natural for having been "the first member of Congress to back Donald J. Trump’s bid for president." Now that a professional grifter who has committed impeachable offenses holds and destroys the office of the presidency, the fitting conclusion will be for him to pardon Mr. Collins. Let's all watch for "the perfect pardon"
23
The type of Trump politicians we have today. They don't do any public good. They act on greed and not what's right for their constituency. They sure were quick to say "Lock Her Up". Now lock them up!
19
It's hard to have much sympathy for ridiculously wealthy and privileged people, but the judge did a good thing. The kid looks like a straight arrow. Let's hope he doesn't grow up to be a Republican criminal like his father and his father's hero, Trump.
3
Really? He continued to share insider information to his future farher in law and others. A university educated person and Eagle Scout should know right from wrong!
24
Right now there is a black man in Mississippi who was sentenced to 12 years in prison for having his cell phone in his possession while he was being booked, even though no one had told him he wasn't allowed to have a cell phone. Do those of you on the right still refuse to acknowledge white privilege? Mr. Collins was a grown man who knew he was doing something illegal. His father being the instigator of the crime should not let him off the hook.
68
So despite committing a crime, he does no time?
Sweet deal.
It pays to be in GOP politics, one surmises.
21
How did this Judge get appointed? Was he connected to the crooks? Why aren't the prosecutors complaining?
22
Why didn't the judge impose hefty fines on both Collins's? Money is the only thing they value.
13
Cameron should have gotten a stiffer sentence. He’s a grown man, capable of knowing right from wrong.
If his future in laws lost their retirement funds it looks as if he had the money to make them whole again.
Also to say he amassed a fortune makes it sound like he earned it. He didn’t. Daddy gave him a fortune.He brings to mind another Republican grifter we know, who was given a fortune by daddy and who grew to be an entitled overgrown man baby.
24
Possibly Collins Sr. admires men who prosper from breaking every law of God and man. Certainly he supprted one.
13
Mentally weak homeless guy shoplifts coat in the winter. Turns out he was desperate twice before so 40 years in prison for you. Guy gets millions from his healthcare exec and camp supporter dad and decides to steal another half mil bUt HeS A gOOd PerSOn. cool and very cool.
22
This is a terrible travesty of justice. The younger Collins acted on the inside information which he surely knew was illegal and conspired with his father to notify others and set up a plan to sell their shares. If that is not deserving of prison time, I don't know what is. Another white privileged felon gets off easy. As Bryan Stevenson has said, the justice system treats you better if you are rich and guilty than if you are poor and innocent.
22
Cameron Collins deserves jail. I appreciate what Martha Steward did. She plead and went off to jail to serve her time.
15
I question why Ms. Zarsky would still marry into this family knowing that they ruined her reputation and her family's. And who's going to support the newlyweds since she can't work as an accountant for five years and he seems to have no skills of any kind? Girl, run for the hills and don't look back!
10
@Dawn "I question why Ms. Zarsky would still marry into this family knowing that they ruined her reputation and her family's. And who's going to support the newlyweds since she can't work as an accountant for five years and he seems to have no skills of any kind?"
Child,
I'll answer both of your questions in one sentence. . . .
Cameron is worth 21 MILLION DOLLARS!
16
The flawed justice apparent when comparing the outcomes of crimes like these with crimes committed by the poor is stark. The Collins’ and Zarskys’ get to wring their hands, weep, and stoicly receive their gentle slap on the wrist for stealing hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars and then get to resume living their privileged upper middle class lives while the poor often end up incarcerated for years and their lives destroyed for crimes that are orders of magnitude less.
96
Are we supposed to feel sorry for these criminals?
We don't hear much regarding all the life's that have upended and records tarnished by low-level, non-violent drug offenses.
Greed aint pretty.
12
The Cheating Privileged - I think more the heart of trumpism than the disgruntled
7
This is not justice.
Judge Broderick might portray his sentence as showing compassion. It is corrupt, wrong, and makes Judge Broderick deserving of censure if not removal from the bench. Judge Broderick is encouraging criminal behavior and supporting a double standard that benefits the rich and politically connected.
Cameron Collins' "Not-Going-To-Jail" card courtesy of Judge Broderick is another gift for an obviously, spoiled member of the social elite. People go to jail for stealing a toaster or loaf of bread worth less than $10, and Collins not only cheats the system but then lies to investigators. How can anyone miss this lesson, and how can anyone concerned about fairness and justice stomach this, and the horrible signal it sends about how broken America has become.
24
@artfuldodger1 Who lives in this area? Can Judge Broderick be recalled? It seems like an appropriate way to channel the outrage this story is rightfully generating.
5
Federal judges are appointed for life. He is 55 years old. Appointed 2013 by Obama. There is no recall.
Federal judges can only be removed from office through impeachment by the House of Representatives and conviction of the Senate. Realistically, it would take a lot more than handing down an apparently soft sentence to a white collar felon to bring about impeachment of a judge.
2
@Cali Obama appointee in 2013. Federal judge. No recall. Appointment is for life. He is 55 years old.
2
one more reason to lose faith in the justice system. does anybody believe that such consideration is allotted evenly in this world.
many years ago i visited DC and the Supreme Court. I bought a souvenir Supreme Court coffee mug that was my go-to mug for several years. of the three branches of government, i trusted the judicial the most.
now the mug sits in the back of my cabinet; neither the mug nor the judicial system is anything to be proud of these days.
18
They robbed other people/ investors. Did they have to return the money? There should be a monetary fine to action like that, like 4 times what they manage to make out of this cheat. They should also pay all the investigation and trial costs, and their room and board, and security when in jail. Money is what they value the most.
20
Most criminals would not stand before a judge in a criminal court of law if their accomplice had not called them with the illegal scheme. That it was a father and son in this case does not change the criminality or culpability of either.
If this isn't a story of unequal justice disguised as a bittersweet family tragedy, I don't know what is. These are gamblers that lost and then broke the law to diminish their losses. If only those with the crippling disease for whom this drug was intended had had so little riding on the success of this venture.
42
I don't understand, they are all adults and should be held accountable for their actions. Such actions do in fact include investing money and being accountable for breaking the law.
They got off easy.
These white collar types... They always seem so repentant when they get caught, as though it was a temporary lapse in judgment for their crime. The fact of the matter is, they knew the rules and consciously chose to break them for personal gain. period.
76
The younger Mr. Collins amassed a fortune of $21mil gifted him by his father? It didn’t occur to him and his father to reimburse his future father-in-law the measly amount of $143,900? No, this isn’t about fear and confusion. It’s about greed. With the rich too much is never enough and the poor just don’t earn their way.
139
Well, this man seems to have led a life filled with tremendous breaks, and as the judge observed, he has been given yet another.
Maybe this tremendous break will be the one that causes him to reexamine his life and commit to becoming a good citizen and moral person who doesn't cheat for gain.
If not, maybe next time yet another tremendous break will do the trick?
38
This is never a good thing.
Father and son are everything.
My heart goes out to them.
93% of all crime goes undetected
Crime does pay.
And just about is not everyone reading this article is guilty of breaking the law on a daily basis.
Justice does not care about families only those they have not caught or pressured into committing some crime.
I am not giving this man a pass on what he has done but putting people in cages is not the answer.
There are many other ways of serving the greatest good and chaining and caging humans is not the answer for non-violent crimes.
The extinction of man is the only solution to the injustice of justice.
7
@Tommy Obeso Jr
"There are many other ways of serving the greatest good and chaining and caging humans is not the answer for non-violent crimes."
Thank you for your comments. Out of all the posted comments here, yours has resonated the most with me.
@Tommy Obeso Jr no, just because you apparently lie and cheat does not mean that everyone does it, much less on a daily basis.
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I would be interested to see if the same judge offers leniency to young inner city youths. I have never understood the reasoning behind the mercy for an offender from a "good" family background. Shouldn't such a person know better right from the start? Shouldn't such a person with a financial safety net, good education and stable household be better able to resist the temptations and impulses of the moment? Doesn't the fact that even with these advantages they were unable to resist indicate an ethical character flaw?
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@TG Absolutely, the sentence is a disgrace. What does it amount to: Chris Collins calls his son and says that he has unlocked the door to Fort Knox. Cameron Collins then goes in and robs it. The Judge's ruling is that Cameron should be given leniency because if his father had not called him, he would not have robbed Fort Knox.
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@TG
“I would be interested to see if the same judge offers leniency to young inner city youths.”
The US would not be able to build enough jails and prisons if whites were arrested and convicted in a manner equal to that for blacks and Hispanics for equal crimes; no matter how minor.
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Cameron Collins has gotten off far too easy. He not only violated our securities laws against insider trading but he obstructed justice. Some jail time was warranted. I think the judge took sympathy on him because he didn't want to ruin a young millionaires life.
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How do these people think that they will not get caught? The SEC sees what you do. It is no secret. Especially when the last name of the seller matches the last name of someone on the board.
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Someone tells me that if take a particular action, which I know to be illegal, I will benefit handsomely.
I know what a 13 year old Eagle Scout would do.
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@zumaman Exactly. A real Eagle Scout would have honored the precepts of honesty and integrity that represent the Boy Scouts at their best. This jerk could only remember "be prepared."
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I don't get it.
The younger Collins knew that his actions were against the law and took several calculated actions after that must have become clear.
The younger Collins was not a 7th grade Eagle Scout -- he was a fully fledged adult who understood he was breaking the law. Spare me the bit about the younger Collins "wanted his father to feel better." Criminy!
Another commenter is exactly correct: the younger Collins could have reimbursed his father-in-law to be, pointing out that that was best course under the law. How much more impressive that would be as a demonstration of character.
Whiteness and a lot of money sure does keep some people out of jail, huh?
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@Phil Carson - Yep, it's called white privilege. Even though many on the right refuse to acknowledge it.
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@Phil Carson yessir
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If the article is accurate, and the younger Collin’s wealth was primarily due to money his father gave him, then his son wasn’t really losing money, the father was.
The situation that is truly difficult to accept is his father in law’s. It is likely that he worked all his life to save $143,000, and to put it all in one very risky basket on the advice of his son in law was trusting to the extreme. He is the one I have empathy for.
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Without knowing all the details one should perhaps refrain from criticizing the judge's decision of no jail time. But it is hard to avoid thinking of the likely fate of someone else accused of a crime of similar magnitude who lacked junior's financial resources and connections.
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So Cameron had the option of not telling his father-in-law, and explained afterwards to him that it would have been illegal and unethical to tip him off, and then from his multimillion dollar fortune, gifted him all or just the portion of the $143,900 that his future father-in-law lost.
But like Martha Stewart, who had hundreds of millions to fall back on, greed takes hold. Unlike Stewart, it seems that the younger Collins is getting a pretty sweet deal.
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@DLNYC Cameron and Chris should make Cameron's future father-in-law whole, financially. But the future father-in-law should still have probation and community service.
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