Not sure exactly when this was published. I think it was in Asimov's or Analog, but not sure on that. It might have been on one of the big-round-number anniversaries of Heinlein's, because it has a Heinlein tie-in.
The basic idea was, a variety of crimes had their punishments set to transportation to the lunar penal colony. The penal colony is similar to the one described in The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. As a result, many people did the calculation. Then they worked out the least serious crime that resulted in transportation. Then they went out to commit this crime, deliberately get caught, plead guilty, and get transported to the moon. Where they did their time, and then joined the colony. Thus, for the cost of being in the jail on the moon for some time, they got a trip to the moon.
The main drama of the story was a couple who pulled a stick-up of a corner drug store. They were distraught because the heist went horribly wrong, resulting in a bystander getting shot. After all, these were not hardened professional criminals, just first-timers not trying to get the money but trying to get caught.