Wondering why the regulators went after Sammy hard and heavy. Other bitcoin players of the same type, notably Sam Altman, are on top of the world despite engaging in equally slimy rackets.
Sammy’s racket attracted rich criminals, carefully selected by his obvious location. Anyone who CHOSE to invest a million in a dubious venture located in the Bahamas was unquestionably crooked. Normally the courts are happy to let thieves cheat other thieves.
If I had been on the jury, I would have followed that principle, choosing to let off Sammy with lifetime restitution and prohibition from all financial work. He only stole from fellow criminals who were seeking to protect their stolen money. Jail should be reserved for criminals who ruin innocent folks. (eg politicians.)
Best guess about the revenge motive: The bitcoin game was narrowly targeted at “right-wingers”. It was designed to cultify alienated white “right-wing” men. Sammy made the mistake of selling to Correct Persons instead of focusing only on the assigned target. He was punished for the same reason as Joe McCarthy, who made the mistake of revealing FBI “subversives” instead of actual Soviet spies.
Reminds me of something that happened in jail in ’69. Beasley’s Real Estate had white and black agents. I was dealing with a white agent named Rodino. One of my coworkers was a nerdish black guy named Tufts who was having similar trouble with psychopathic cellies. I referred him to Rodino to see if he could pay his way up to a somewhat better neighborhood. Rodino came back and lectured me harshly on the mechanics of sales. White customers dealt with white agents, black customers dealt with black agents. Rodino had needed to spend extra effort referring Tufts to the correct side of the fence.
Deepstate-organized gangs are no different from informal gangs. Territory is strictly defined, and crossing a boundary is a serious sin.
Polistra's Mill 