With the idea of Russia’s regime (primarily in the person of Putin — and his oligarchs) using blockchain tech (and Monero or Griffith’s designed Ethereum, or/and less probably, Bitcoin) to evade world wide monetary and commercial sanctions and embargoes… the topic of what Mr. Griffith did for North Korea is certainly a timely one.

After his lawyers asked for no more than two years, the government has answered that over six is the more just result — and well within the guidelines, and similar case outcomes.

The government is correct — his conduct was extensively pre-meditated, tailored to aid the dictator, and he showed no remorse until the morning his jury was being picked — only then did he plead guilty.

In any event, here is the full 68 page sentencing memo, and a bit:

…As Griffith proudly told the North Koreans, “the most valuable things we have to offer the DPRK are number one — we can give you, so blockchain gives you payments that the USA can’t stop. And number two — we can give you contracts that don’t go through the UN….” A significant incarceratory sentence is necessary to specifically deter Griffith from using his expertise to return to these dark missions exploiting cryptocurrency technology, and it is also necessary to show Griffith’s many admirers that this conduct should not be rewarded or encouraged, and that it will not be excused by the justice system….

The Court should also impose a substantial fine towards the top of the Guidelines range of $25,000 and $1 million….

Griffith specifically pitched the DPRK audience on the “idea” that they could gain leverage in sanctions negotiations against the United States by placing a “module on a missile” to “deactivate” the missile, but only “if you [i.e., the United States] get rid of the sanction, the missile are really gone.”

Griffith also pitched the use of the same technology to leverage the DPRK’s control over missiles to negotiate for “less artillery in the DMZ,” that is, weapons in the Korean Peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone, for the DPRK’s benefit. Griffith sought to aid the DPRK to “to make foreign journalists put a deposit on Augur that is forfeited if they write a highly unflattering article,” a measure that would strengthen the DPRK’s propaganda machine, and offered to introduce his handler, a DPRK government official, to software developers for this purpose….

This idea that he thought he was smarter than everyone, and thus, these felony laws were only for catching “the little people” needs to be forcefully deterred (consider the recent cases of Elizabeth Holmes, Martin Shkreli and Anna Sorokin — in this same vein, here). The Putin atrocities in the Ukraine are a stark example of why we must have effective economic sanctions and embargoes at the disposal of the US, NATO and the UN.

And the evidence showed Griffith was trying to buy an non-US passport (possibly St. Kitts) right after he met with the FBI — he knew he was caught, and was planning to run. Six years is just.

Out. Looking for Villanova to advance — and St. Peter’s as this year’s Cinderella story… [with a view of last year’s Cinderella guesses, reprised]… grin.