I somewhat doubt that he will actually end up in prison/jail. I do not doubt in any way that what he did was unethical and wrong. I also think that what he did was probably illegal, however the law is not 100% clear on this matter.

Does he deserve jail time....yes absolutely.

I would say that if he is criminally charged, he will claim the delays were legit and blame the delays on incompetence.

The monarch had suffered from much worse delays then their previous miners, and it is very well possible that they were trying to pull a "long con" although it is somewhat possible (although unlikely) the delays were somewhat legit.

I do not think that many people who would serve on a jury would be able to understand the consequences of such delays