He “admitted his mistake,” Bartlett says, and asks whether there is anything else CZ could possibly have done to show remorse. Bartlett says he can’t think of anything else.
“When I hear the government discussing the crime here, they don’t seem to be discussing the actual crime,” which is that CZ pleaded guilty to not having an anti-money laundering program. The sanctions violations are irrelevant.
They’re recommending a custodial sentence of 5 months, which they feel is enough to deter defendant and others “without being unnecessarily harsh.” It would be one of the longest sentences for such conduct in this country.
He’s been listening to Mosely with his eyebrows up, forehead furrowed, at times frowning.
The government’s request is double the top end of the guideline range. Wouldn’t that create a disparity in sentencing? Mosley argues that the disparity is in the magnitude of the conduct, and because CZ is an individual who directed it.
“An outcome where a defendant makes a plan to violate US law, does so on a massive scale, makes extraordinary amounts of money” and then gets to go home to make money after getting caught means another rational actor might take that chance.
“The brazen nature of this conduct does require a sentence that includes a meaningful period of incarceration.” The scale of this crime is “magnitudes of order” greater than other offenses, Mosley says.
As a result of asking forgiveness, not permission, Changpeng Zhao made himself a billionaire and celebrity, Mosley says.