Media mogul gets 6 yrs in jail for stealing from his own firm

Conrad Black jailed for obstructing justice & cheating shareholders

CHICAGO: A US judge on Monday sentenced former media mogul Conrad Black to 6.5 years in prison for obstructing justice and defrauding shareholders of one-time newspaper publishing giant Hollinger International.

Judge Amy Eve of ordered Black to report to prison in 12 weeks. He was also ordered to forfeit $6.1 million and was fined $1,25,000. US government prosecutors had asked for a sentence between 16 and 24 years in prison, based on their contention that the fraud scheme involving Black and three co-defendants netted more than $31 million.
But a pre-sentence report sent to the judge reduced the estimated fraud to $6.1 million.

The judge told the 63-year-old Black that he had not “accepted” his guilt, that he abused the trust of shareholders and engaged in sophisticated schemes that required more than minimal planning.

Black had protested his innocence throughout the trial, claiming he was the victim of “corporate governance zealots,” and promised to appeal. The Canadian-born member of Britain’s House of Lords was found guilty of one count of obstructing justice and three counts of fraud.