I was approached by the FBI in Boston in 2012.At that time I was informed I was being charged with securities fraud and 2 other felonies .At the time my sentencing guidelines were 78-97 months. I contacted an attorney who negotiated my plea agreement and the rest was up to me. I made a decision early on that I was going to start changing my life. I wanted a fresh start. I made a decision I was going to do as much work as possible to change the way the prosecutors , probation and the judge perceived me. At this time all they really knew was I participated in a 3 year 3 million dollar pump and dump. Along with my cooperation and restitution I started on a mission of community service. I worked in the recovery community, I gave donations and I participated in a mentoring program at Catholic Charities. These were all great things to do and I believe they were noticed. In fact one of the prosecutors remarked that he realized there was much more to me as a person than the crime I committed. Although the community service was good, it was not something that could be measured as to how effective it was. The acts were kind but what lasting effect did they have on people. Today when I work with my clients on personal sentence mitigation plans I want the work they do to be measurable. I have recently added to our mitigation plan.
I have recently started the WCC Speaker Series. I have been able to grow my network of teachers at major universities and business schools. I have arranged for my clients to tell their story about their crime. They start with their upbringing, career choice, education, and circumstances behind their crime. Our clients spend detailed time discussing with students and MBA candidates exactly what the pitfalls were that landed them in their current situation. There is a tremendous amount of detail discussing how a student who is considering entering corporate America or launching their own business could be exposed to a similar situation. This week one of our clients presented at the University of New Mexico. The talk was incredibly well received and we are still getting notes about how inspirational our client was. The plan will be to receive letters of support from faculty and students and submit those to the Judge to show how our clients are recreating their lives and helping others. This is measurable community service.
