After a fairly swift legal process, Alanis Morissette’s dodgy former business manager has been sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud and filing a false tax return – robbing the ’90s hit-maker of millions in the process.
As Billboard reports, Johnathan Schwartz requested a sentence of one year for his crimes, along with a year of house arrest and 2,000 hours of community service, with his attorney Nathan Hochman asking the court “to consider every convicted person as an individual and every case as a unique study in human failings that sometimes mitigate, sometimes magnify, the crime and the punishment to ensue.”
“The sentence the Court orders will be in addition to the lifelong sentence of shame Mr. Schwartz will suffer because of his actions,” Hochman implored. “A sentence of 12 months and a day of prison, 12 months home detention and 2,000 hours of community service coupled with a restitution of over $8.7 million — in addition to the punishments of losing one’s family, job, clients, assets, reputation, and professional license — will manifestly deter anyone thinking of committing Mr. Schwartz’s crimes that the ramifications of doing so are extremely dire. A lengthy prison sentence is not necessary to achieve this additional deterrence.”
The defendant was instead slapped with a full six years, as Morissette testified that she “has been shaken to the core” by the ordeal, and requested “a sentence that sends a crystal-clear message.”
Schwartz claimed that his actions were fuelled by a now-cured gambling addiction – although he was never able to demonstrate that any of the money was spent on gambling – and Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Katzenstein pointed out that, rather than a hapless addict, Schwartz “was sophisticated and highly intelligent.”
While Schwartz got more than the single year he was hoping for, he was looking at a maximum sentence of 20 years, so 6 is a reprieve in comparison.
