Despite pleading guilty to securities fraud, Cameron Collins will not go to jail, unlike his father, disgraced former congressman Chris Collins who will spend 26 months in federal prison. Jerry Zremski, Washington Bureau Chief for The Buffalo News, was inside the Manhattan courtroom during Thursday's sentencing. In making the determinations, U.S. District Judge Vernon Broderick, Zremski says, pointed to the former congressman as the instigator in the fateful decision to share inside information in order to avoid massive financial losses for his family.
During an interview with WBFO, Zremski paraphrased Broderick's approach to the sentences saying that he did "not believe in the edict of the sins of the father being visited upon the son."
Cameron Collins was sentenced to five years of probation, including six months of home confinement, a $150,000 fine and 500 hours of community service. Prosecutors maintained the sentence could have been as stiff as 49 months in prison.
"It was totally clear that the judge blamed Chris Collins for this crime," Zremski said.
"He really saw his son as an actor who was almost directed by his father."
