Can Rich People Buy Their Way Out of Criminal Charges? | You’re Free to Go

We’ve all heard it before: if you have enough money, you can buy your way out of trouble. But is that actually true?On this episode of You’re Free to Go, criminal defense attorneys Guy Fronstin and Marc Nurik answer a viewer’s question about whether wealthy defendants really get a different kind of justice.Guy shares two very different cases from his career. In one, a victim’s family received $50 million—and still pushed for the criminal prosecution to continue. In another, a victim received $250,000 and ultimately chose not to cooperate, contributing to the case going away. The attorneys explain why paying someone in exchange for refusing to participate in a prosecution is not something a defense attorney can ethically or legally arrange. They also explain what happens when restitution enters the picture. In some white-collar cases, paying victims back can become part of negotiations with prosecutors—not because someone is simply “buying freedom,” but because restitution to victims can be an important consideration in resolving a case. Then they get into a world most people never see: how major corporations handle criminal investigations. Marc breaks down Deferred Prosecution Agreements (DPAs) and Non-Prosecution Agreements (NPAs), why companies can sometimes pay enormous penalties without ending up with a criminal conviction, and why those deals can be so controversial. Finally, Guy tells the wild story of a wealthy university foundation president who found himself under criminal investigation over a $100,000 golf club membership purchased as a retirement gift for a longtime university president. What initially looked like a misuse of charitable funds eventually took a very different turn. A Rolex, a $200,000 wine collection, a polygraph exam, a newspaper investigation, and one employee finally admitting, “It’s my fault.” This case had a little bit of everything—and an ending Guy’s client desperately needed. Can money change the outcome of a criminal case? This episode explains where the line actually is.This podcast is for entertainment and educational purposes and does not constitute legal advice.#YoureFreeToGo #CriminalDefense #CriminalLaw #TrueCrime #LegalPodcast #DefenseAttorney #WhiteCollarCrime #FederalCourt #DPA #NPA #LegalCases #JusticeSystem