Fine, a criminal fraud case. Nobody went to jail.

do you have any reasonable justification to move the goalposts like that?

The standard of evidence is very different between civil cases (preponderance of the evidence) and criminal cases (beyond a reasonable doubt).

Is the distinction meaningful in the course of reaching a settlement? Both parties agree on the facts at hand. I suppose you could make that case were the judge to make the determination on the basis of evidence, but the Tether folks signed the agreement of their own volition with the NYAG. At that point the evidence shouldn't be in question - and hence the standard isn't in question - simply their admission, no? Ok, not an admission, maybe an acquiescence.

I would say the evidence in a settlement or plea deal would be of equivalent quality whether a criminal or civil trial.

Further, I'd suspect the majority of folks who accept plea deals in criminal matters don't end up in prison either.

LOL