The First Time I Cheated In Business (Would you take the Money?) WHITE COLLAR CRIME

The First Time I Cheated In Business (What Would You Have Done??)

I received a call from a White Collar defendant who was caught lying in a presentence interview. As a result of that lie, the probation officer became very cynical and questioned everything else he said.

Rather than run from bad decisions of our past, I find it helpful to speak openly and honestly about bad choices we made. I am not perfect. I have made many mistakes in my life. The more openly and honestly I speak about my bad choices the more I learn and help others.

The criminal justice system is very cynical. They expect defendants to continue to mislead and lie. They expect federal defendants to say they are sorry because they got caught. Succeeding through the federal prison system requires an understanding of the stakeholders, like a probation officer, prosecutor and federal judge. I believe there’s huge value in telling the details of our life, including prior bad choices we might’ve made. The more we share the more the government can learn about the influences that guided us, then we can transition into our plans moving forward.

In this video, I talk about the first time I cheated as a young stockbroker at Merrill Lynch. Cheating, and getting away with it, set the stage for more bad choices over a period of time. After all, I did not wake up and just say, "today is the day I will commit a crime, create victims and ruin my life." It happens more subtly.

For those defendants watching this, learn to tell your story. Talk about the values that guided you and if you lost your way, share how. Then talk about your plans moving forward. Do not just rely on your lawyer. They are paid to extol your positive attributes. You must take action and share what you have learned and why you will never return to another courtroom.

Own it! Talk about it! Educate others! We can all become better than bad decisions of our past, but not if we pretend it never happened.

Justin Paperny

jp@whitecollaradvice.com - 818-424-2220
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