Co-Founder of Defunct Hedge Fund Gets 20 Year Sentence

Bayou Group leader, Samuel Israel III, age 48, receives a sentence of 20 years for his part in handing a $400 million loss to investors. (He pled guilty to conspiracy and fraud in late 2005.) A shorter than 30 year sentence reflects his co-operation with the authorities. U.S. Districut Judge Colleen McMahon is quoted as rejecting leniency and instead chastising this hedge fund "mastermind" as a "career criminal" who "ruined lives." In what appears to be a sea change in sentiment towards financial fraudsters, Reuters cites Judge McMahon's upset, referring to white-collar crimes as "every bit as heinous as every other type of crime."
Click to read "Bayou co-founder sentenced to 20 years in prison" (Reuters - April 14, 2008).



