Garland says he wants white collar criminals jailed

SAN FRANCISCO -- Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, making a remote appearance at the American Bar Association convention on white collar crime Thursday, said he wanted individuals to face jail time.

Garland said the department should focus on individual defendants and not allow white collar offenses to be resolved by corporations paying fines.

"The department's first priority is to prosecute those who profit from individual wrongdoing," Garland said. "The prospect of personal liability has the uncanny ability to focus the mind."

"Deterrence is what we're after," he added.

Garland hit on themes that were mentioned in President Joe Biden's State of the Union address, such as a focus on the prosecution of COVID-19 pandemic fraud. He also said he wants to pursue Russian oligarchs.

The attorney general's address was a feature of the conference, which included a number of panel discussions.

Several federal judges discussed how they handle white-collar criminal prosecutions, with all agreeing that the most difficult issue to handle is sentencing.

"One of the aspects of sentencing is rehabilitation," said U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers of Oakland. "The hardest thing to determine is whether they are remorseful."

The judge said it was more difficult in white collar cases involving a defendant who "has it all" and commits a crime just to get richer. "That is a tough question."

U.S. District Judge Edward M. Chen of San Francisco said he considered the defendant's personal circumstances. "It seems fair," he said.

Erin E. Schneider, director of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's San Francisco office, commented on recent and ongoing fraud cases during a panel discussion late Wednesday.