Comparing Bill Gate's conviction of driving without a license with the large mail fraud operation, where Sonny was a major operator, and suggesting that there should be some similarity in the reactions to each is not a solid argument. Attempting to equate a minor misdemeanor with multiple counts of Federal fraud charges is both qualitatively and quantitatively way, way out in left field - maybe somewhere around Alpha Centauri.
Valid point. I should probably find a better example for comparison there.
It also does no-one's credibility any good to dismiss a very long-term, aggressively marketed fraud as "a youthful indiscretion". You regain trust by owning up to what you did, not by trying to minimise it (it sure as hell wasn't "jurisdictional arbitrage" which got Sonny into trouble).
That said, the information is now out there and people need to make up their own minds. There's no point in those who choose not to deal with BFL mounting a crusade to try to convince others to boycott BFL.
I feel the need to ensure it's clear that "youthful indiscretion" were my words, not Sonny's. Poorly chosen? Perhaps.
It's an issue that a lot of folks have become very emotional about and I thought it deserved the closest thing to fair and unbiased reporting I could give it. You know my conclusion and you're free to draw your own.
