I think it could work really well to put businesses "in jail." You can't physically put them in prison, but you can achieve the same ultimate effect by forcing them to cease operations for a period of time. If a crime would put a person in prison for five years, then maybe it should also force a business to cease operations for five years.
It was, because you can't put a business in actual jail... You gave an alternative punishment that you could actually levy on a business and I agree that that could work.