# Is 11 years in jail for fraud common?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-11-years-in-jail-for-fraud-common/578171>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [April 13, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-11-years-in-jail-for-fraud-common/578171 "2011-04-13T00:55:10Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-11-years-in-jail-for-fraud-common/578171/1 "2011-04-13T00:55:10Z")

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This seems really high to me, considering that violent criminals sometimes get less than 11 years. Granted this guy had 23 counts and what he did was really bad but 11 is still high to me for a non-violent crime.

[http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/12/1125084/durham-man-who-sold-fake-gluten.html](http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/12/1125084/durham-man-who-sold-fake-gluten.html)

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**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-11-years-in-jail-for-fraud-common/578171/2 "2011-04-13T01:04:08Z")

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He sold “gluten free” bread that _wasn’t_ gluten free, to people with gluten intolerance (or allergies or whatever) and they got sick. I think poisoning people is antisocial enough to justify that amount of time behind bars. If one of his victims had gone into anaphylactic shock and died as a consequence he most certainly would be facing even more severe penalties.

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**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\
**Post date:** [April 13, 2011, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-11-years-in-jail-for-fraud-common/578171/3 "2011-04-13T18:36:55Z")

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> [@Bijou\_Drains](#):
>
> This seems really high to me, considering that violent criminals sometimes get less than 11 years. Granted this guy had 23 counts and what he did was really bad but 11 is still high to me for a non-violent crime.
> 
> [http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/12/1125084/durham-man-who-sold-fake-gluten.html](http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/04/12/1125084/durham-man-who-sold-fake-gluten.html)

There’s no question here… but I’d differ with your assertion that these were non-violent crimes. Each count was prompted by a person who got sick because of the products he sold, including one woman who went into premature labor.

He was convicted of 23 counts, which comes out to roughly 5.5 months per count. The [presumptive sentence](http://www.mynorthcarolinadefenselawyer.com/criminal-charges/) for [a class H felony is North Carolina](http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_14/gs_14-100.html) (assuming he had no prior convictions) is 5-6 months.

ETA: I clicked through to [another article about the case](http://www.newsobserver.com/2011/03/30/1091071/bread-made-dozens-ill-jury-is.html) from the same newspaper’s website. This guy _did_ have previous convictions:

> [@](#):
>
> In 1991, Seelig went to prison for more than two years for grand theft, according to California prison records. In 2002, federal court records show, Seelig was convicted of wire fraud and sentenced to four months in prison followed by three years of federal probation.