I see no mention of the amount of money that was fleeced from the public.  I remember it was in the millions, and I think it was in the tens of millions that they took in (as I recall, they employed a couple of hundred people in their boiler-room operation, in Florida I think it was).  Also, as I vaguely recall, they spirited millions of dollars out of the United States into Carribbean bank(s) when they realised the net was closing in, but there is no mention of any of this in the article.  Can somebody that knows this stuff put it in?  Otherwise, it's pretty one-sided.  I mean, if they fleeced tens of millions, then a sentence of 18 years seems about right.  Thansk in advance.