Doing Time for Crime That Pays

In response to “White-Collar Prison Terms Under Debate,” July 11:

Jamie Olis of Dynegy Inc. should have thought of his wife and child before he decided to violate a basic rule of Accounting 101. Proceeds of debt financing are never income. What he did is no different from robbing a bank, as he played a major role in robbing untold numbers of investors of billions of dollars.

There is an excess of white-collar crime in the United States because on balance it is a crime that pays.

Olis’ attorney says his sentence should not exceed six months; he may even win that sentence on appeal. The law says if the University of California’s loss was $59 million, and not $100 million, that would cut five years off his sentence of 24 years.

What nonsense!

On the day Dynegy announced the $300-million restatement of income, the value of its stock dropped $3.5 billion. That is billion, not $59 million or $100 million.

The minimum sentence for any white-collar crime should be 10 years, so that those tempted to embezzle from their employers, or to cook the books to increase the value of their stock options, or whatever reason they have for cooking the books, will know that they will have to go away for at least that long.

Harold L. Katz

Certified public accountant

West Los Angeles