It seems to me the kid is going to be out around the time he is 30, most likely has many millions stashed away the Feds never discovered, and he will do fine.
If I have learned anything in the last two decades, crime does indeed pay, the risk is absolutely worth the reward, and there is almost no long-term reputational damage from dedicating yourself to this sort of life.
He is going to land on his feet and live a life better than most of us too scared to break the rules.
Although I suspect many people would consider it a great deal, I personally would not be willing to spend the entirety of my 20s in prison in exchange for a good chance at getting away with $10 million after that, and I do not consider this an example of someone winning.
The folks who stole millions online doing crypto shenanigans or whatever and whom you have not heard of, they won. But not this guy.
The reason it gets easier after 30 is largely because of what you learned. It's easier to find a job because you have an employment history, a set of work-related skills, and some connections you can lean on. It's easier to manage money because you know what to not spend it on. It's easier to get into a stable relationship because you learned from the teenage drama. And on, and on.
Getting to the level of a well-adjusted 30-yo is much harder if you're spending that time behind bars.
Yeah to some degree. But your brain isn't really mature until around age 25. But I agree, spending that time in prison would limit your experiences in an unnatural way.
Most criminal hackers would probably be in a rather low-security prison situation however, with some access to books and learning opportunities, maybe even work release etc.
Did you read the full article? Hackers found Noah's previous address and threw bricks through the window. He was lucky -- other harassment attacks of this nature included bullets fired at houses.
Noah's hacker friend was abuducted on a street with a black hood over his face and later beaten and tied on a stake.
Noah might come out ahead financially, sure. But it looks like he might have snitched on people for a lesser sentence, and we all know that snitches get stiches.
What I'm confused about is why Noah just didn't stop while he was ahead. Looks like he was a millionare years ago and had plenty of chances to stop
If I have learned anything in the last two decades, crime does indeed pay, the risk is absolutely worth the reward, and there is almost no long-term reputational damage from dedicating yourself to this sort of life.
He is going to land on his feet and live a life better than most of us too scared to break the rules.