Postville, IA – Former eastern Iowa meat plant executive Sholom Rubashkin could face 21 to 27 years in prison for his role in a massive financial fraud scheme, a federal prosecutor said Wednesday.
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Prosecutors plan to recommend a prison sentence that would range from 262 to 327 months, according to court papers filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Deegan Jr.
The suggested sentence — which a judge can accept or ignore — is based on federal guidelines that consider the number of victims, Rubashkin’s specific role in the crime and other factors.
Rubashkin was convicted in November of 86 counts of financial fraud for his role in the bank- and document-fraud scandal at Agriprocessors Inc. The plant’s former vice president is expected to challenge his convictions before the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Agriprocessors Inc. was the site of a May 2008 immigration raid that led to the arrest of 389 illegal workers. The plant then slipped into bankruptcy, and has since come under new ownership as Agri Star
It’s bad, and I hope he wins the appeal but it’s better then what they said in the beginning some hundreds of years…
Actually, I’m surprised he got off so easily. I feared he would have gotten the equivalent of a life sentence. He could be released as early as 18-19 years from now under the federal guidelines.
No wonder this country is going to hell economically and otherwise. Again, this sham of a case was blown totally out of proportion and would have usually be punishable with a slap on the wrist. The government (agents) have gone out of their way on this case to prosecute. Why ? I’ll leave that for someone else to answer.
Reb Sholom should have a Yeshua soon. Please continue to daven for Sholom Mordechai HaLevi ben Rivka.
No one is happy about this, but as my friend the cop says – don’t do the crime if you cannot do the time.
And yes, I am not a soneh yisroel. He did the crime and has no charata about it. He is still blaming everyone except himself (the computer system that his brother made was there before he got there).
This is not the way for a frum person to act. Don’t tell us that you are frum, ehrlich then go off to lie to a bank.
Just wait for all the reshaim calling this a light sentence.
I see some comments are not positive. before posting something against another yid, learn shmiras haloshon. if there is no purpose for that comment, it might fall under loshen hora or rechilus or even motzi shem Ra. learn Chofetz Chaim Yomi and that will avoid all unwanted comments against someone who did so much for Klal Yisroel. Kol Tuv
This is a worse sentence than for murder. If anyone wants to understand what avodah zarah is today (no not TV or the Internet), it is Capitalism. When money is worth more than a human life, it is little different than those who scarificed their children to Molech. Our Shulchan Aruch has an entire section devoted to finances called Choshen Mishpat….this ain’t it!
And the guy who tried to blow up the plane is facing only 20 years! That’s American Justice!
HASHEM YERACHAIM aluv veal kol amoi Yisrael.
To # 5
Were you by the trial ? You set and listen to all the testemony? Were you there when half of his witnesses were not allowed to present their testimony to the jury? Including the accountants? Where you there when the judge said it will be 2 separate trials and than went ahead and allowed the prosecution to present the immigration charges?
Were you there when Goyim farmers to came to testify on his bahalf and the judge did not allow the jury to sit in?
I can gon on for all day with all the double standard the judge allowed.
so if you were not there than you are simple sone isroel and for that you will ave to answer one day.
People that see something bad in in onother person it is a reflection on them.
Go work on your self before you judge others.
First step was for the Gov to drop the charges that started the all thing.
second step, they are not talking anymore about many life sentences but for 21 to some more years.
B”H , Hashem is helping and will continue helping, BE”H he will be free soon.
America is going to hell in a handbasket. This country has lost all its moral bearings which is the first line of breakdown for a nation. This is a perversion of the highest order, murderers dont get close to this.
The only reason there was any financial fraud is because the government committed its own fraud with the sham raid.
G-d help the US, this would not go down in any other civilized nation. End of story.
The obvious fact here is that were the government acting “l’shem shomayim”, they would have never gone ahead with this whole saga. No one benefitted from this, the banks were getting paid, and they were aware of the real financial situation, but they were getting their money, and that’s what they wanted; after the raid, Agriprocessors went bankrupt, and the banks are now getting…you guessed it, nothing. All the non illegal immigrant had to go on the dole, again, a loss for the goverment. The city of Postville itself had also lost on too many fronts financially; stores had to close, city income tax from Agriprocessor no longer comes in, local jobs were lost. The negative consequences of this whole action are many and have been serious for many people. How about the human suffering caused to so many families, whether they were legal or illegal, they are still human beings with kids, who went to work everyday, not stealing or committing crime, they were working to provide for their families. So many of them suffered tremenduosly, physically and emotionally. The trauma for them and their families, kids, is very serious etc etc. This was not done for the benefit of the “people”
Most of u gentleman have not evern read what the famous atty Nat lewin said about this: “rubashkin is only guilty of lying on an application”. (done my most people to get a mgtge.
We must realize that all this was done AFTER the Immigration raid in an effort to save the company and community.
Rubashkin refused to employ the FBI mole twice until the FBI gave him authentic papers and his
Human Resources Mgr was found NOT GUILTY of any SS card violations.
The judge has a right to take into acct his past history, the mitigating circumstances of events that culminated in this and other guidelines. There is no doubt of certain questionable acts by the judge but we must pray that the outcome will be just and fair for the situation hereto…
Please continue to daven for Sholom Mordechai HaLevi ben Rivkah that he should continue seeing things get better and better.
And yes, I agree, those who have nothing nice to say, should not say it at all. This is your Jewish brother whom they want to sit in jail for longer than those who have murdered, raped and robbed!
Wow. I can’t believe that violent criminals routinely get far less that what the prosecutors want here. The proposed sentence is far too harsh. We can daven that the judge has the common sense to be far more lenient.
Twisted American Capitalism and Non-Justice,
Friends if instead of commenting each of you would take a moment to contemplate the shofet kol ha’aretz and His ability to be merachem on Sholom MOrdechai ben Rivka who is being singled out for disproportionate punishment (I promise you are all guilty as him) and Ein Od Milvado then he will win on appeal.
In America, in many states, a third felony count can get you life in prison. There are people in jail in California for life for stealing trivial things (cookies in one case, if I recall correctly).
25-30 years for 86 felony counts is not surprising.
טראכט גוט וועט זיין גוט
“think good it will be good”
lets all prey for him
This statement by the prosecution unveils a very sinister thread here: the prosecution is trying to influence the judge in her sentencing.
If judge Reade gives in to the intimidation by the prosecution, she has forfeited her right to be a judge. I think she will be followed very closely if she does. Her reputation, not great as it is, is finished if she capitulates to this.
Our government is ready to put rubashkim way for life but when it comes to Israel , it wants a probe why Israel killed the three terrorists last week. Or they would force us to stop building in the occupied territories. No body likes us. No body will like us, and nobody ever liked us. Realize, we are in GOLUT. Jews, stick together, see only good by your neighbors and KLAL ISROEL. This is the only way we will survive till BEYAT MASHIACH.
There was such a beautiful rally on monday night reuiniting women from all walks of life in support of smr. they also handed out a detailed account of all the atrocities and corruption aganst smr. anyone who does not see the bias in this crime would do well to read up on the true story and stop ignoring the blaring anti-semitism.
I find it fascinating how they call it “massive fraud”. Isn’t that such a subjective term? At the most what they alleged in the trial was overstating collateral for a loan. They never even alleged there was an attempt to defraud and not pay back the loan. While it may not be kosher, this is not what most people think of when they hear “massive fraud”.
The true “massive fraud” here is the unexplainable super-overzealous prosection of what normally would be considered a civil case.
The sentence they are allegedly “discussing” (trial balooning??) is simply outrageous! Watch my words: if this is what they’ll seek – they truly know how inappropriate, disproportionate and unjust it is – these prosecutors will one day go down in shame, just like the disbarred and disgraced Mike Nifong (Duke Lacrosse case).
matzahlocal1101:
The explanation is simple:
Swift violated immigration law, it did not commit bank fraud, money laundering or violate the Packers and Stockyard Act.
Agriprocessor did.
Furthermore, to those who think this is the end of the Agriprocessor saga, think again. There was much more going on at Agri that has yet to come out.
Wait for it.
If the Feds are not too tired of the name Rubashkin, there will be a new case soon.