Obesity, Diabetes, and Covid Not Basis for Compassionate Release
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The US Congress, feeling sorry for federal prisoners amended the law to create The First Step Act to allow a District Court to shorten a sentence when there exists extraordinary and compelling reasons to release the Prisoner. In United States Of America v. Earl Lee Planck, Jr., Criminal No. 5:20-CR-24-KKC-MAS-1, United States District Court, E.D. Kentucky, Central Division, Lexington (March 1, 2023) Earl Lee Planck, Jr moved the USDC for compassionate release under the statute.
Planck was originally sentenced Planck to a prison term of 56 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States Crop Insurance Fund, and tax evasion. He is scheduled for release on March 4, 2025.
The First Step Act allows the court to grant a motion for compassionate release filed by the defendant himself after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant’s facility, whichever is earlier.
The compassionate release statute permits the Court to “reduce the term of imprisonment” and “impose a term of probation or supervised release with or without conditions that does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment.” The Court may grant this relief only if it finds that “extraordinary and compelling reasons” warrant such a reduction, and the reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.
Planck did not set forth any circumstances that the Court could find extraordinary and compelling. He stated he has various medical conditions that put him at an increased risk of serious complications if he contracts COVID-19, including heart disease, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes, and obesity.
The USDC noted that the Court sentenced Planck below the advisory guideline range of 78 to 97 months. He has not yet served even half of the sentence imposed by the Court and he has available treatment for his conditions and the availability of vaccines.
Therefore the Court ordered that Planck’s motion for compassionate release was denied.
ZALMA OPINION
Defrauding the government’s crop insurance program takes money out the U.S. Treasury and is taken more seriously by federal judges than defrauding private insurers. The fact that Mr. Planck got fat, couldn’t sleep, and has created heart disease and high blood pressure does not create a ground for compassionate release. Fraudsters, whether they defraud private insurers or the federal government insurance plans, deserve prison and should stay for their full sentence. The USDC had no compassion for a prisoner who got fat in jail and ruined his health.
(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE, now limits his practice to service as an insurance consultant specializing in insurance coverage, insurance claims handling, insurance bad faith and insurance fraud almost equally for insurers and policyholders. He practiced law in California for more than 44 years as an insurance coverage and claims handling lawyer and more than 54 years in the insurance business. He is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]
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Write to Mr. Zalma at [email protected]; http://www.zalma.com; http://zalma.com/blog; daily articles are published at https://zalma.substack.com. Go to the podcast Zalma On Insurance at https://anchor.fm/barry-zalma; Follow Mr. Zalma on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bzalma; Go to Barry Zalma videos at Rumble.com at https://rumble.com/c/c-262921; Go to Barry Zalma on YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCysiZklEtxZsSF9DfC0Expg; Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://zalma.com/blog/insurance-claims-library.
Subscribe and receive videos limited to subscribers of Excellence in Claims Handling at locals.com https://lnkd.in/gfFKUaTf.
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Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE is available at http://www.zalma.com and [email protected]
Follow me on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/guWk7gfM
Go to the Insurance Claims Library – https://lnkd.in/gWVSBde.
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Post 5185
Posted on September 8, 2025 by Barry Zalma
See the full video at https://lnkd.in/gePN7rjm and at https://lnkd.in/gzPwr-9q
This is a Fictionalized True Crime Story of Insurance Fraud from an Expert who explains why Insurance Fraud is a “Heads I Win, Tails You Lose” situation for Insurers.
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See the full video at and at
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© 2025 Barry Zalma, Esq., CFE
When I finished my three year enlistment in the US Army as a Special Agent of US Army Intelligence in 1967, I sought employment where I could use the investigative skills I learned in the Army. After some searching I was hired as a claims trainee by the Fireman’s Fund American Insurance Company. For five years, while attending law school at night while working full time as an insurance adjuster I became familiar with every aspect of the commercial insurance industry.
On January 2, 1972 I was admitted to the California Bar. I practiced law, specializing in insurance claims, insurance coverage and defense of claims against people insured and defense of insurance companies sued for breach of contract and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. After 45 years as an active lawyer, I asked that my license to practice law be declared inactive ...
