Sir, You Are a Really Bad Man, Go to Jail for 1 Day and Don't Do It Again!

The Columbus Dispatch is reporting on the 1 day jail sentence meted out by U.S. District Court, Senior Judge Peter C. Economus.  Economus ordered Ryan K. Blankenship to serve 1 day followed by 5 years of probation for defrauding lenders who provided loans for central Ohio properties in 2006 and 2007.  This unusual sentence was recommended by the AUSA and reflected Blankenship's cooperation in the investigation of the fraud he helped perpetrate.  Nice deal. 

An excerpt from Kathy Lynn Gray's story for the Dispatch follows:

"Cheating on loan applications and lining his pockets with kickbacks sent a former Gahanna mortgage broker to federal prison today, but just for a day.  During a hearing in U.S. District Court, Senior Judge Peter C. Economus ordered Ryan K. Blankenship, 43, to spend a single day behind bars for defrauding lenders who were providing loans for central Ohio properties in 2006 and 2007. [Judge] Economus also ordered [Mr. Blankenship] to pay $617,869 in restitution and be on probation for five years.

Blankenship pleaded guilty in June to bank fraud and money laundering.

Economus issued his sentence at the recommendation of Assistant U.S. Attorney Brenda S. Shoemaker, who said Blankenship had not organized the loan scheme and provided significant information about others involved.  [ . . . ]

Investigators from the IRS, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department, and Columbus police had combed through records at Blankenship's Household Mortgage Solutions in Gahanna after uncovering the scheme. [ . . . ]

Court records show that the fraudulent loans totaled $1.5 million for the properties and a loss of $617,869 to the lenders. Blankenship collected $87,881 in payments and kickbacks, the records show.
Blankenship has left the mortgage business and now owns a fitness center, court records show."
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I knew a number of guys at FCI, Morgantown who would have benefited from this sort of sentencing.  It's practical, wise, and consistent with what I've come to believe sentencing in certain white collar financial crimes should be about.