# Sarbanes-Oxley can be used to charge a private citizen with a federal crime? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 8, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001 "2015-06-08T20:53:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rick\_Kitchen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rick_kitchen/32/522_2.png) [@Rick\_Kitchen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick_Kitchen)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/1 "2015-06-08T20:53:58Z")
The friend of the Tsarnaev brothers is being charged with a federal crime for violating Sarbanes-Oxley because he cleared his browser history on his private computer, even though he was not under investigation at the time. Since when is that a crime? > **[Clear your browser history and spend 20 years in prison](https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2015/06/07/1391323/-Clear-your-browser-history-and-spend-20-years-in-prison)** > > Caution: deleting your browser history may be illegal > > You may need to decide something important today: would you prefer that your spouse or family member know about that naughty website you ... ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/2 "2015-06-08T22:55:12Z")
It’s not a crime. But do the hysterical Bostonian sheep give a fuck? ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/3 "2015-06-08T23:16:05Z")
They can indict a ham sandwich. They just can’t convict it. I don’t think the charge will stand up. ---
**Author:** ![HookerChemical](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/278dde/32.png) [@HookerChemical](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HookerChemical)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2015, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/4 "2015-06-08T23:59:51Z")
Didn’t the Supreme Court recently rule that the record destruction rules only applied within the scope of Sarbanes-Oxley? It seems to me [they did](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yates_v._United_States_(2015)). This seems a bit of an overreach. (And even if they did, proving intent shouldn’t be a trivial obstacle.) ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/5 "2015-06-09T00:19:18Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > They can indict a ham sandwich. They just can’t convict it. I don’t think the charge will stand up. Imagine you’re in this guys shoes. The prosecutor offers you a deal: you plead guilty and get two years, or you take it to trial and face 20 years. Even if you thought the charge was bullshit, or thought you might persuade a jury that you didn’t have the requisite intent, would you still fight it? Most of us wouldn’t. And he didn’t. He pleaded guilty. And now he will live his life in the separate caste system we have built for felons in America. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/6 "2015-06-09T00:29:44Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > And now he will live his life in the separate caste system we have built for felons in America. Boo fucking hoo. He should have reported it, plain and simple. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/7 "2015-06-09T00:34:14Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Boo fucking hoo. He should have reported it, plain and simple. Reported _what_? As soon as he found out that the Tsaernavs were suspects, he went to the police. And there is no allegation he knew what they were going to do. It sure seems like you’re demonstrating exactly the kind of knee-jerk ignorance that will follow this guy for the rest of his life. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/8 "2015-06-09T00:58:59Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Boo fucking hoo. He should have reported it, plain and simple. Read the story and understand it, you fucking retard. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/9 "2015-06-09T01:22:45Z")
But he has a suspicious last name! If your last name ends in a fucking _ **V** _, you don’t deserve civil rights. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/10 "2015-06-09T01:41:48Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Boo fucking hoo. He should have reported it, plain and simple. > [@bup](#): > > But he has a suspicious last name! If your last name ends in a fucking _ **V** _, you don’t deserve civil rights. Well, that’s just going to cause no end of confusion. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/11 "2015-06-09T01:50:07Z")
Crap! That means I’m next, since I clear my browser history pretty much every week. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/12 "2015-06-09T01:52:35Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, that’s just going to cause no end of confusion. It’s like one is the normal twin and the other is Bizarro world twin. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/13 "2015-06-09T01:58:12Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Well, that’s just going to cause no end of confusion. Ban **bump**. I was here first. ---
**Author:** ![Daylate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9dc877/32.png) [@Daylate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daylate)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/14 "2015-06-09T02:03:04Z")
I’m really in trouble… I’ve set my browser (Firefox) so that it doesn’t save ANY history. Not even for a split second. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/15 "2015-06-09T02:05:02Z")
> [@Daylate](#): > > I’m really in trouble… I’ve set my browser (Firefox) so that it doesn’t save ANY history. Not even for a split second. Hah that was what I was going to say, and it is true. ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/16 "2015-06-09T02:08:33Z")
YOU guys are worried? While subtitling South American dramas, I’ve looked up things for spelling and confirmation. The usual stuff like, AK-47(yes, there’s a hyphen), Drug lord names, sending coke in suppositories, borders that have weak security… Yeah, nothing suspicious there. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/17 "2015-06-09T02:33:17Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > The friend of the Tsarnaev brothers is being charged with a federal crime for violating Sarbanes-Oxley because he cleared his browser history on his private computer, even though he was not under investigation at the time. > > Since when is that a crime? > > [Clear your browser history and spend 20 years in prison](http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/06/07/1391323/-Clear-your-browser-history-and-spend-20-years-in-prison) The Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002. The dailykos author babbles about an article from The Nation, and suggests that Matanov committed a few _minor_ lies during his interviews with Federal authorities. From The Nation: \*You Can Be Prosecuted for Clearing Your Browser History - Khairullozhon Matanov is a 24-year-old former cab driver from Quincy, Massachusetts. The night of the Boston Marathon bombings, he ate dinner with Tamerlan and Dhzokhar Tsarnaev at a kebob restaurant in Somerville. Four days later Matanov saw photographs of his friends listed as suspects in the bombings on the CNN and FBI websites. Later that day he went to the local police. He told them that he knew the Tsarnaev brothers and that they’d had dinner together that week, but he lied about whose idea it was to have dinner, lied about when exactly he had looked at the Tsarnaevs’ photos on the Internet, lied about whether Tamerlan lived with his wife and daughter, and lied about when he and Tamerlan had last prayed together. Matanov likely lied to distance himself from the brothers or to cover up his own jihadist sympathies—or maybe he was just confused. Then Matanov went home and cleared his Internet browser history. …They never alleged that Matanov was involved in the bombings or that he knew about them beforehand, but they charged him with four counts of obstruction of justice. There were three counts for making false statements based on the aforementioned lies and—remarkably—one count for destroying “any record, document or tangible object” with intent to obstruct a federal investigation. This last charge was for deleting videos on his computer that may have demonstrated his own terrorist sympathies and for clearing his browser history\*. [http://m.thenation.com/article/208593-you-can-be-prosecuted-clearing-your-browser-history](http://m.thenation.com/article/208593-you-can-be-prosecuted-clearing-your-browser-history) Both the dailykos, and The Nation, stories seem to be attempting to make it seem as if the clearing of the browser history was the primary charge against Matanov. It’s not. It’s actually only one of many charges, and Matanov has already plead guilty to all four counts. ---
**Author:** ![Stringbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d6d6ee/32.png) [@Stringbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stringbean)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/18 "2015-06-09T02:54:51Z")
Let’s be real: he’s going to jail, not for lying, but for his association with the Tsarnaevs. This is a witch hunt: a ruthless, hysterical race to the dredges of our worst over-reactionary tendencies. All in order to find people to blame other than the two men who actually carried out the attack and will both find themselves absent life for it. _…he lied about whose idea it was to have dinner, lied about when exactly he had looked at the Tsarnaevs’ photos on the Internet, lied about whether Tamerlan lived with his wife and daughter, and lied about when he and Tamerlan had last prayed together_ THIS shit gets you 20 years in jail? Fuck no. Not in the Land Of The (Once) Free. ---
**Author:** ![doorhinge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a5b964/32.png) [@doorhinge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doorhinge)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/19 "2015-06-09T03:04:32Z")
> [@Stringbean](#): > > Let’s be real: he’s going to jail, not for lying, but for his association with the Tsarnaevs. > > …THIS shit gets you 20 years in jail? Fuck no. Not in the Land Of The (Once) Free. (post shortened) Not quite. _In March, Matanov pleaded guilty to all four counts of obstruction of justice. When he entered his plea, he told Judge William G. Young that he maintains his innocence but fears a decades-long sentence were he to go to trial. His plea agreement with prosecutors calls for a 30-month sentence—still a harsh punishment for little more than deleting videos and clearing his browser history. Matanov’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for June_. [http://m.thenation.com/article/208593-you-can-be-prosecuted-clearing-your-browser-history](http://m.thenation.com/article/208593-you-can-be-prosecuted-clearing-your-browser-history) And I doubt that Matanov maintained his innocence in front of the judge. During his plea dealing, yes. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2015, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001/20 "2015-06-09T03:12:18Z")
If you see something, [del]say something[/del] do not contact any law enforcement agency. > [@doorhinge](#): > > And I doubt that Matanov maintained his innocence in front of the judge. During his plea dealing, yes. [“You’re afraid if you go to trial you could be found guilty of all four of these charges and the sentence might be longer than the 30 months?” Judge Young asked. “Is that it? That you think you are not a guilty person but given the circumstances you’d rather [not] go to trial?” Matanov’s dark bowl cut bobbed slightly. “I signed a deal and I found guilt most fitting for my situation.”]([http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/26/the-fbi-is-trying-to-destroy-my-life.html](http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/03/26/the-fbi-is-trying-to-destroy-my-life.html)) But whatever. You don’t care. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sarbanes-oxley-can-be-used-to-charge-a-private-citizen-with-a-federal-crime/722001.md?page=2)