Jarec Wentworth Set To Be Released From Prison In April, 2020
For those looking forward to convicted extortionist Jarec Wentworth/Teofil Brank’s release from prison, it’s going to be a lot sooner than previous expected. Earlier this month, Brank was transferred to FCI Victorville, a medium security federal prison about two hours northeast of Los Angeles, and he’s currently scheduled to be released on April 2nd, 2020.
At his sentencing in October, Brank was ordered to serve 70 months in prison for his extortion of Republican multimillionaire Donald Burns. An April, 2020 release date is obviously far less than 70 months (it’s only about 53 months, or four years and five months), so he’s obviously been given a lot of credit for time served. Brank was incarcerated in Los Angeles for nearly eight months before being convicted and sentenced.
ADDED:
An earlier version of this article linked to a FAQ page from the United States Department of Justice, indicating that Brank would be eligible for parole in two years. However, a federal public defender has informed me that only federal defendants sentenced prior to 1987 are eligible for parole (which obviously means Brank can’t be released on parole). The federal public defender explains:
No federal defendant sentenced after 1987 is eligible for parole (meaning early release at the discretion of the prison system). The U.S. Parole Commission exists solely to determine release dates for prisoners sentenced before 1987 who are still eligible for parole (the change in the law that happened in 1987 would affect them negatively, and that’s unconstitutional).
So Mr. Brank’s release date as projected by the Bureau of Prisons is based on three things. First is the length of the sentence actually imposed — the 70 months in this case. Second is presentence incarceration credit, for time spent in custody prior to the sentencing date. Third is the estimated good time credit he’ll receive toward that sentence, at the rate of 54 days every year. It doesn’t surprise me that an imposed 70-month sentence results in about 53 months of actual incarceration.
