Davis Omole had good grades in high school, where he played on the football and chess teams, and went on to college. Twenty-year-old Omole was also one of the chief architects of a scheme through which more than one hundred individuals were defrauded. Omole worked at a cell phone store where he stole customers’ personal information. He and others used the stolen identities to create a hundred different accounts on eBay, through which they held more than three hundred auctions listing for sale items (such as cell phones, plasma televisions, stereos, and more) that they did not own and did not intend to sell. From these auctions, they collected $90,000. To avoid getting caught, they continuously closed and opened the eBay accounts, activated and deactivated cell phone and e-mail accounts, and changed mailing addresses and post office boxes. Omole, who had previously been convicted in a state court for Internet fraud, was convicted in a federal district court of identity theft and wire fraud.
1. Before Omole’s trial, he sent e-mail messages to his victims ridiculing them and calling them stupid for having been cheated. During his trial, he displayed contempt for the court. What does this behavior suggest about Omole’s ethics?
2. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Omole could have been imprisoned for more than eight years, but he received only three years, two of which comprised the mandatory sentence for identity theft. Was this sentence too lenient? Explain.