I believe you are right that some would give up a certain number of years of freedom for a jackpot.
Here is a personal story. I taught real estate law and econ in college for 10 years. Almost all of the students were real estate licensees, who needed the classes to get a broker’s license.
A local scumbag mortgage broker had ripped off elderly people by taking their money and making them believe they were getting a 2nd trust deed on a home. He did not have the documents recorded, so there were many people who made the loan on the same property. Of course, the house of cards ultimately fell, people lost their money, and he was caught. I think he had run off to Hawaii with his secretary.
Whether they ever recovered his stolen money, I do not know, but I think he did five years in a country club prison for white collar crime.
One of my students kind of mumbled that 5 mil for 5 years would be worth it if he could actually get away with the money. So I asked my students, in a class of about 40, how many would consider doing this if they were sure they would get the money. Half of them raised their hand. It was quite enlightening.
For perhaps all of us participating on FR, that scenario is unfathomable. First, we would not give up our freedom for any amount of money. And equally important, we would not cheat people.
NOTE: unfortunately, since the advent of the Obamanation, we slowly are giving up our freedom. It is just not behind bars. Yet.
One thing to have the money up front, I would think it quite another to never know if you were going to get out alive, much less ever get a dime.
I asked students questions like this. The last one was “for a million dollars, would you kill your pet?”
I stopped asking these questions.