That said, even if it is 'only' a case of negligence and self-deceit, it still has real victims, and I don't mean to minimize that at all.
>Founders do not get a get-out-of-jail-free-card for being amateur psychopaths.
I don't think you have to be a psychopath to run a Ponzi scheme, and in any case, if you were, you'd be a professional psychopath.
That said, even if it is 'only' a case of negligence and self-deceit, it still has real victims, and I don't mean to minimize that at all.