The study borrowed an innovative technique from Mark Cohen, the grandfather of violent-crime cost estimates, called the “willingness to pay” estimates. Economists had developed this methodology to measure the price of invaluable, intangible goods for which a market would never exist. To put numbers on it, researchers would ask, for example, how much concerned parties would be willing to pay to save a nearby forest or prevent its development. By factoring responses, the researchers would then come up with estimates to determine the forest’s monetary value.

Going back to the cost of crimes, the research found out that each robbery in U.S., a car-break in, for example, costs $41,288; armed robberies costs eightfold at $335,733; every aggravated assault costs $145,379; rape costs $448,532; and then there is murder with a whooping $17,252,656 price tag.

Apparently, homicide and other forms of violent crimes compel Americans to pay extra just to prevent future violence. The study argues that if we knew how much a crime costs the society, then, perhaps people will better decide how much money to spend trying to stop these crimes from happening.

http://www.slate.com/id/2271951/

Alan Ralsky, considered as the “Godfather of Spam,” together with a few others, has been sentenced by a federal judge with more than 4 years of prison time. Ralsky also faces probation of 5 years and he needs to forfeit the $250,000 that the government has seized in 2007.

Ralsky and Bradley were charged for conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud and violating the CAN-SPAM Act, and for committing wire fraud and engaging in money laundering. Before a law has been passed to crack down e-mail marketers in 2003, Ralsky’s misdeeds have totaled to 70 million spam messages a day from fake names.

The FBI conducted the investigation for 3 years that ended in indicting 11 individuals involved in the crime in December of 2007.

Source: CNN

US District Judge Denny Chin considered Madoff’s actions as “extraordinarily evil.” Madoff’s sentence of 150 years is only commonly slapped on the most violent criminals and terrorists. Madoff will not have the luxury of parole and will most likely spend the rest of his days inside a federal prison.

As for Madoff’s victims, $231 million has been committed to pay them back. This is according to the Securities Investor Protection Corporation – the group tasked to facilitate the pay back of Madoff’s investors. The group has already accepted 543 claims for payout so far. Under the law, each customer can receive up to a maximum of $500,000.

In a statement, the SIPC said that another $2.741 billion had been “authorized for potential future recovery.” However, this will depend on how much they can actually recover from the assets linked to the fraud.

TicketsNow allegedly operated Web sites designed to deceive customers that the sites are affiliated with the concert organizers. Customers were misled in thinking that they were buying tickets from organizers. Instead, they were buying tickets of higher prices.

TicketsNow was ordered to close down the sites and is forced to pay a $50,000 fine. Resale tickets will also not be available until Ticketmaster makes available face-value tickets with correct pricing.

Buying Hannah Montana tickets at way above the real price? Now that’s really getting yourself screwed.

Source: MSNBC

Many consider his scam of using new investment money to fund other gains for other clients as one of the contributors to the economic crunch.

One of his lawyers told CNN that he will plead guilty to 11 counts. This would bring a sentence of 150 years of jail time. Madoff, 70, will be spending the rest of his days in lockup if his lawyers would not be able to settle with a plea which is highly unlikely according to prosecutors.

Madoff’s scam ran for nearly 20 years. As of the 30th of November 2008, his company was in charge of $64.8 billion from 4,800 client accounts.