Remember Kerri Dunn, the Claremont McKenna College professor who faked a racism hoax back in March of 2004?
She got a year in prison, and a $20K fine, although I don’t know if she actually served the one-year sentence. The sentences were for insurance fraud, not for filing a false report; that carries a maximum sentence of 42 months in California. The jury was not asked to decide that; despite the testimony of several eyewitnesses who saw her vandalize her own car, Kerri Dunn maintained her innocence to the end.
I remember her. My daughter was a student at Harvey Mudd College when that happened. The supposed “cross burning” that set that whole thing in motion was an art project by a student. The cross was one small component of the project. The students who set the project on fire were a couple international students, Chinese kids, who were completely wasted and had no clue of the cultural implications of cross burning. They were just very intoxicated and making mischief. My daughter was really irritated at what it blew up into.