When the FBI came to my office in 2012 and told me that I was being charged with 3 felonies, and my sentencing guidelines would be 78-97 months, it was a terrifying experience. They suggested that by pleading guilty and cooperating that I could possibly minimize my sentence exposure. The agent did however tell me that my guidelines were too high and probation would most likely not be an option. Shortly after this I signed my plea agreement and began my cooperation. I then told the agents I wanted to make full restitution. They began to look at me a different way than when they came to see me the first day. I asked another agent if probation could be possible, he said yes, but it would be a first with your level of guidelines in the US Attorneys’ office in Boston. This gave me a small piece of hope. I decided to make mitigating my sentence my full-time job, and I worked on it tirelessly. I would later receive a 5k1 letter for my cooperation however, in addition to my cooperation I put together a plan with specific actions that I knew I could bring to my sentencing, here are a few.
New Career
I knew that I would not be able to work in securities going forward and I needed to find other ways of supporting my family whatever my sentence outcome was. I purchased a fitness facility and began to work on building that new business. A couple of things happened. By going to work every day, I was establishing a new track record. Secondly, I was showing the FBI agents, prosecutors, probation officers, and judges that I could make a living in a new business without breaking the law, and I did not need to return to the securities industry. I invited the FBI agents to my gym to show them what I was working on which impressed them. In addition, I had my attorney check with the prosecutor about the purchase of the new business, routinely the agents and prosecutors would ask how the new business was going.
Certifications
By gaining new knowledge I was putting myself in a position to obtain a new profession and show the FBI agents, prosecutors, and judge I was capable of making a legitimate living and would not be tempted to return to the securities industry. I decided to go back to school to obtain a license to become a drug and alcohol counselor. At the time I was 19 years sober and very active in Alcoholics Anonymous. Weekly I would drive 2 hours to participate in a 3-hour course to become a counselor. My attorney would talk with the prosecutor regularly about what I was doing. In addition after purchasing the fitness facility, I need to become certified as a CrossFit coach and owner. I would spend 2-3 hours daily at the library studying and later traveled to New Jersey to test and pass the course. When my attorney submitted my sentencing memorandum, he was able to highlight these action items of post-conviction positive actions. The new career and certifications were not deciding factors, but part of my sentencing package.
Community Service
I have always been active in my community particularly in my church. I decided to volunteer as a mentor to a young man who was the son of a single parent living in the inner city. I met with him weekly and helped him with homework and his high school choices. On one occasion we organized a volunteer plan to do service at a local women’s sober house. Recovery is close to my heart so this was something I was excited about. My mentee and I organized Christmas gifts and cards for the women. The volunteer work was done at Catholic Charities in Boston, and the directors were pleased with the work we were doing to develop my mentee. The sober living homeowner was very pleased as many of these women were alone with no family. I had my mentee take the lead to develop his communication skills and to have hands-on experience with the charity work. I later received powerful character reference letters from both Catholic Charities ad the owner of the sober living home
Counseling
My legal trouble was not the first time I had difficulties in my work. Several years before this I had been charged by the SEC with violations and my license to practice as a stockbroker was terminated. I decided to meet with a counselor to gain an understanding of why I was making the same mistakes over and over. I was able to establish patterns in my decision making and develop tools to assist me when those thoughts developed in the future. With the help of my counselor, I was able to compile several healthy career choices and pursue those paths that provided me with a safe work life moving forward. My counselor was a licensed social worker and licensed drug and alcohol counselor. My counselor was able to submit a report to my attorney detailing the work we had done and plans for future changes. This was another piece of my mitigation package that helped tremendously at sentencing.
These were only a few action items I put in place as I worked towards achieving the lowest possible sentence. When I went to my sentence I wanted to know I had done everything possible and more to influence the decision-makers. As I worked on my sentencing memorandum with my attorney and his staff, he commented on how much I had given his team to work with. In the end, I was sentenced to 1 year of probation to be served in home confinement. My hard work in recreating my life earned me one of the largest departures in the history of the Economics crime unit at the US Attorney’s office in Boston.
If you have been arrested and are facing a Federal Sentence hearing call me today to discuss your sentencing mitigation plan at 781-690-5077
