This story from @KSTP is garbage, plain and simple. The AG charges and prosecutes Medicaid fraud. Judges issue sentences. Furthermore, when sentencing, judges largely have to follow Minnesota's sentencing guidelines, and those guidelines recommend stayed sentences for first time offenders charged with Medicaid fraud. It takes the story over 30 paragraphs to even mention that. And when it does, the story has to put it in the AG's voice like he's making an excuse, when he's actually just stating an objective fact. The story whines about the AG's tone before it mentions the actual reason why sentences are what they are. That's indefensible. Furthermore, the story implies there is more the Attorney General could do to elicit more harsh sentences, but it does not mention that judges almost never give more harsh sentences than the guidelines call for. There were over 14,000 felony sentences handed out in 2024 in Minnesota. Guess how many of those sentences were for prison time when the guidelines recommended against prison? 33. Out of over 14,000! I found that in 5 minutes of Google searching, yet it's nowhere to be found in this story, because context ruins the false narrative this story is trying to push. If you're outraged over the sentences handed out to fraudsters, that's totally fair. But directing that outrage at the Attorney General, who does not issue sentences and is actually the one prosecuting fraudsters, instead of the system that does issue sentences, is absurd. AG Ellison runs one of the most effective and efficient Medicaid Fraud Control Units in the country. Over the last 6 years on average, they rank 5th in the number of fraud convictions secured of all Med fraud units in all states. That's a strong record of success. I cannot imagine why this story would leave out so much important information, unless it was at the behest of their Republican megadonor owner. Even for KSTP, this is embarrassing.

From my years of defending crim cases in MN, I know that, in a plea bargain, the prosecutor will recommend a sentence to the judge, and the judge usually accepts that rec. If the judge rejects that deal, the plea bargain is cancelled.

Cool. Have you ever known prosecutors to offer plea bargains with sentences above what the sentencing guidelines call for? I.e. offer a worse deal than you would almost certainly get at sentencing if you had gone to trial?

Yes, in certain circumstances. It's called an upward departure from the Guidelines. And it happens. I've done it.