The financial kickbacks two Pennsylvania judges earned in the “kids-for-cash” scheme didn’t prove to be worth it in the end, with a judge ordering them to hand over more than $200 million in damages this week to the 300 victims named in a civil suit. Michael Conahan and Mark Ciavarella were accused of accepting $2.8 million in exchange for shutting down a county-run juvenile jail and instead funneling kids as young as 8 into two for-profit lockups, usually for extremely minor or first-time offenses. Over 4,000 convictions were later overturned when the scheme came to light. “Their cruel and despicable actions victimized a vulnerable population of young people, many of whom were suffering from emotional issues and mental health concerns,” U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner said Tuesday. Ciavarella is serving 28 years in prison; Conahan was released to home confinement in 2020 after serving 11 years of his 17-year sentence.
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