He should not go to prison for life. Nobody should ever go to prison for life, for wasting money. Money is literally made up. Sure, opportunity cost is real, but seriously nobody should ever lose their life for money.
Money is made up - that doesn't mean it doesn't have consequences.
Money can be tied to life changing/life threatening events or situations in many more scenarios.
The archetypal scenarios are people losing college money, retirement savings, downpayments for their kid's apartments/houses, etc.
There are many ways in which money is very, very real.
Anyone who still clings to this "fiat" thesis is just detached from human reality.
Also, he chose to open himself to the dangers of wasting his life behind bars when he enganged in incredibly illegal activities. It's not hard to not do that.
FBI agents who were proven to have access to that handle are also in prison for it. There's no 1:1 "Ross is DPR," and that's part of the problem.