I think they are very likely culpable under securities law.

However, given Vitalik's rich father's political connections, I would doubt he will go to jail. We live a corrupt world.

Ostensibly, TPTB will allow these scams and ICOs to continue for as long as they can make more money allowing it than by attacking it.

I can't predict the chaotic future (as in the pendulum in chaos theory), but I can imagine scenarios wherein the party in ICOs come to its natural end. I offered already the idea that the ICOs might become too numerous and fracturing the economies-of-scale for stealing, thus sending the gains to too many individuals and away from the TPTB. At that point, TPTB might kill its own scam (Ethereum) while shorting it to the ground as they announce regulatory actions.

Who knows. My popcorn is ready.