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A 10-year sentence is plenty, assuming fire ants are involved

July 30, 2009

A Miami man convicted of buying and looting like-kind exchange intermediary companies will face 400 years in prison if the prosecution has its way. Edward Okun was convicted of stealing $126 million in proceeds that he held in trust to close like-kind exchanges. Bloomberg.com reports:

The [400-year sentence] request is justified by Okun’s “almost pathological greed and his total disregard for the plight of his victims,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Dry said in papers filed in federal court in Richmond, Virginia.

“No expense was too great for Okun, because he constantly spent his victims’ money in his own version of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” Dry said in the filing, citing Okun’s 131- foot yacht, multimillion-dollar homes, a jet, a helicopter and a $56,252 dinner bill with friends in the Bahamas in 2007, which included shots of cognac for $1,008 each.

Mr. Okun argues that a 10-15 year sentence is plenty, according to the report.

Perhaps the scariest part of the scam was the way that he bought existing companies with a good reputation. Exploiting their existing reputations, he took advantage of their referral networks to loot them. If you use a like-kind exchange intermediary, there's always a lot of money at stake. Be very sure you know who you are dealing with. A bank trust department isn't a bad place to start.

Prior coverage: WHEN A LIKE-KIND EXCHANGE IS TOO TAX FREE