I don’t think he really needed to be suicided. Not to be crass but the guy never really faced any major obstacles in his life before.

He was an idealist and was able to say and accomplish whatever he wanted in life. Betrayed by MIT, faced with his own failure, and facing 35 years in prison (a lifetime to any 20 something or to anyone really), there was no way he was not completely despondent. But at a minimum, yes, he was very much pushed to this — by a lot of people.

But this is exactly why the state runs up the years and the press always publishes big numbers. “Facing” 35 years isn’t really even that much. The prosecutorial side of the criminal justice system is built on intimidation. People regularly “face” massive years when first charged and reported. Rarely do any but the most heinous of crimes see a sentence even close to their initial charges, especially at the federal level.

If he’d had a good lawyer and pled, or had this gone to trial, the tide could have been turned. For him to have seen five years would have been extreme.

Look up the case of Poker Princess Molly Bloom for one great example of someone who fought the Feds and essentially won. She was “facing” much more than Aaron, I’m fairly certain and got 6 months and most of her other demands met.