The Model Federal Sentencing Guidelines Project: A Simplified Economic Crimes Guideline, Model Sentencing Guidelines §2b1.1

Abstract

This Article is the third of twelve parts of a set of Model Federal Sentencing Guidelines designed to illustrate the feasibility and advantages of a simplified approach to federal sentencing proposed by the Constitution Project Sentencing Initiative. The Model Sentencing Guidelines and the Constitution Project report are all to be published in Volume 18, Number 5 of the Federal Sentencing Reporter. The project is described in an essay titled 'Tis a Gift To Be Simple: A Model Reform of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, available on SSRN at http://ssrn.com/abstract=927929.

This segment of the project contains a revised and simplified guideline for economic crimes, including fraud, theft, and offenses involving the destruction of property. It includes proposed guideline text and drafter's commentary, including a comparison of the sentencing outcomes for a series of hypothetical defendants under the current Federal Sentencing Guidelines and the proposed Model Sentencing Guidelines.

Keywords: sentencing, criminal law, crime, sentencing guidelines, sentencing commission, United States Sentencing Commission, Federal Sentencing Guidelines, fraud, theft, economic crime, loss, calculation of loss

JEL Classification: K10, K14, K41, K42