What motivated the decisions that led those people who previously held positions of privilege and power into the clutches of the criminal justice system? For many, an inattention to an ethical code by which they professed to live began a slide into criminality. Others cited outside forces that influenced their decisions. In an effort to provide perspective from such prisoners for those who studied ethics, I spoke with former executives who served time for white collar crimes. When they agreed, I conducted more in-depth interviews and wrote their stories.

I told one such prisoner, whom I referred to as Robert, about this project on which I was working for Professor Jana Schrenkler. Professor Schrenkler taught ethics to students at Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Robert agreed to respond to her questions honestly on condition that I masked his identity. Robert’s case had attracted attention from the national business media and he didn’t want to confront those negative stories again. With hopes that his responses could provide some insight into the mind of a former CEO, I sat with Robert for several hours.

Robert had a patrician’s bearing and demeanor. He was lean, stood well over six-feet tall, and had a full head of white hair. His appearance suggested a lifelong devotion to asceticism and discipline. Each morning at six o’clock after the prison guards unlocked the housing units, I saw Robert heading out to begin his brisk walk around the track. At 64, he seemed vibrant and in excellent health.

After earning a master’s degree in economics from a prestigious university, Robert built his career in a Fortune 500 company and remained with that organization for 15 years. When he resigned in the early 1980s, Robert held the title of Executive Vice President and presided over a budget of $600 million. He resigned in order to launch his own company in financial services. It was a company that Robert owned individually, but that managed more than $350 million in institutional funds. As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of his company, Robert had cultivated a high level of trust with his clients, most of whom were officers in publicly traded corporations or large institutions.

Despite outward appearances of total control and self-mastery, Robert said that he suffered from mood swings since childhood. They became more severe as he matured. He described sinking into deep depressions for months, and also passing through several months of manic highs. Robert’s wife and children described him as eccentric, never considering that he could be suffering from a mental disorder.

As the CEO of his firm, Robert had more than 100 employees to whom he could delegate responsibilities. The power that came with his position included an ability to take extended periods of time off, and provided unfettered control over all financial accounts. To cope with what he characterized as depression, Robert said that he began diverting funds from customers to his personal accounts. Over a period of several years, Robert embezzled nearly $10 million. He had been successful in hiding those misappropriations, but when Robert concluded that the fraud had gone on for too long, and that he could not reverse the damages he had caused, he attempted to take his life.

He e-mailed a suicide note to his wife and to a friend, thinking they would not receive the note until after his death. Robert drove to a secluded estate where he liked to spend time alone. He brought a handgun to his chest and pulled the trigger. Caretakers of the estate discovered him. They called for emergency medical attention, and a helicopter transported Robert to a trauma center. The gunshot wound missed his heart, but Robert required several major surgeries and remained hospitalized for two months.

Upon regaining consciousness, Robert divulged all that he had done to his wife and children. His son, who was a lawyer, retained a criminal lawyer who came to speak with Robert while he was recuperating in a hospital bed. Robert insisted on notifying the authorities about his embezzlement and cooperating fully to assuage the feelings of guilt that were tormenting him.

While recuperating, Robert underwent treatment for the mental disorder that led to his attempted suicide. Those who treated Robert diagnosed him with a severe case of bipolar disorder. He had been suffering from a chemical imbalance that caused the depression and manic mood swings. Those imbalances, he concluded, led to an irrationality and were the root cause of his actions. His mental instability notwithstanding, Robert offered a complete confession to authorities and agreed to accept whatever sanction the court imposed. The judge sentenced Robert to serve nine years in prison, and the criminal proceedings resulted in the complete loss of a fortune that once exceeded several million dollars in value.

Robert had been incarcerated for one year when we spoke. His responses to Professor Schrenkler’s questions follow.

1. Do you feel you had a good understanding of your personal core values? How did those core values guide your decisions while on the job?

When I asked Robert this question, he expressed a total commitment to personal core values such as honesty, integrity, loyalty, and the virtues that others associate with good citizenship. He married in 1968. Together with his wife, Robert reared two children, both of whom graduated from law school and now work as attorneys. He was a man of faith and considered the contributions he made to his community an integral part of his identity.

Those core values guided Robert’s decisions with regard to his family life, his professional life, and his social life. The bipolar mental disorder that afflicted him, however, influenced his behavior. Without prior diagnosis or treatment, he said that he sometimes lived with delusions that rules did not apply to him. During the times of depression, Robert said the unmedicated bipolar disorder caused him to lose track of those core values. It was during such times he converted funds from client accounts for his own use. He inappropriately used a portion of those funds for venture capital projects and also to purchase unnecessary luxury items. Such expenditures, he said, were made to pull him from the depression. He needed to feel invincible and with access to deep pools of client money, Robert could live as if rules didn’t apply to him.

2. What was the most important aspect of a career in business for you? What motivated you the most?

Robert said that from the time his career began, he derived a great sense of satisfaction from creating efficiencies and solving complex problems. While working his way up the hierarchy of the Fortune-500 company where Robert began his career, he said that the corporation rewarded him with large bonuses for bringing projects in ahead of schedule and under budget. Although he appreciated the financial recognition, he felt motivated most in organizing a team and a system to accomplish a task well.

Once he launched his own venture, Robert said the most important aspect of his career was building relationships with leaders of great American businesses and providing them with excellent service. Cultivating their friendship and trust motivated him, he said, when he was thinking clearly. Robert cried when discussing those relationships, as he recognized that there was nothing he could do to make amends for the losses people incurred as a consequence of his actions.

3. Who do you think is responsible for the ethics of a company?

Robert recognized that leadership within the company must set the ethical code. He understood that he had a responsibility of lending by example, and his position allowed him to manifest that leadership outwardly. Internally, however, he said that he felt deficient and knew that he was not living up to his own code of ethics. Robert said that the symptoms of his disorder were more powerful than his ability to lead. He was trying to survive the lows, the depression. The response he chose resulted in lies, cover-ups, and an endless struggle with internal conflict. In retrospect, Robert said that he was amazed he had survived as long as he did.

4. Did you have a written code of ethics and did you base your decisions around those codes?

While in the earlier stages of Robert’s career, when he worked within the executive ranks of the Fortune-500 company, he said that all decisions were supposed to be made in accordance with a strict, written ethical code. As a senior executive, Robert evaluated subordinates in accordance with their compliance with the ethical code. He said that he abided by the code to the letter and that he identified personally with every virtue expressed in the code.

In leading his own company, Robert said that he did not write a code of ethics. The services he offered required a well-educated and highly trained workforce. They had a personal code of honesty that Robert said he respected. He did not feel the need to write out an ethical code, as the office was less formal than the large corporation where he had begun his career.

5. Did you believe your business decisions followed your company’s core values?

Robert said that he absolutely lived by a core set of values in his lie and that he made all business decisions in accordance with those core values while he was in control of his senses. As Robert grew into his 50s, however, he said the symptoms of his bipolar disorder caused him to deviate from those principles. That was when he began converting client assets to his own account. Through profligate spending, Robert made futile efforts to lift his depression. Those decisions resulted in millions of dollars worth of losses, including the forfeiture of Robert’s total net worth.

6. Did you think that, given your position as CEO, you should have been held to a higher ethical standard?

Robert acknowledged that he should have been held to the highest ethical standard. Ultimately, however, he was the only person who could judge his conduct. With an undiagnosed and unmedicated mental disorder, he was incapable of living up to the ethical principles that he held of high value.

7. Do you feel your employees were equipped to recognize ethical dilemmas?

The employees in Robert’s company were well equipped to recognize ethical dilemmas as they were highly educated professionals. They only had degrees of access to information, however, and could not judge Robert’s actions. He was able to cover-up the fraud as the CEO of a privately held company. Toward the end, however, some of Robert’s key employees recognized discrepancies. They resigned from the firm and Robert could tell that he had begun to lose respect as a leader.

8. Explain the corporate culture within your company during your involvement.

Robert said that he created a familiar rather than stuffy corporate culture. He did not socialize with employees, but he treated everyone with respect. He provided first-rate offices, computer equipment, chairs, and work stations. On Fridays, provided the work had been done, Robert permitted employees to leave in the early afternoon. People enjoyed their careers, and Robert said he took pride in treating them well.

Although Robert did not socialize with employees, he did make friends with clients. He expressed great sadness in acknowledging that those friendships with his former clients had been lost.

9. Is it possible to have a very aggressive corporate culture yet foster an ethical environment?

Without question, Robert said, a strong leader can foster an ethical environment in a very aggressive corporate culture. In his business, which earned revenues based on the number of employees within each client’s organization, Robert considered it crucial to earn customer trust through offering outstanding service. Robert’s employees earned a fixed salary plus bonuses, though the bonuses were tied to customer service. Every individual who worked with Robert had a motivation to nurture customer relationships, as the corporate revenues were tied in a fixed way to employee headcounts for customers, not commissions. The fraud that occurred resulted from Robert’s mental disorder, not an aggressive corporate culture.

10. If you could choose to redo anything, what would it be?

Robert regrets that he lacked the insight to have recognized the symptoms of his mental health disorder. He understands that he was highly educated, as was his wife. Nevertheless, Robert never sought psychiatric counseling or any type of treatment for his disorder. Instead, he said that he sought to even out the mood swings by spending money in reckless ways. With access to tens of millions in client accounts, that decision sank him into deeper problems.

Robert expressed deep regret at having made decisions that cost others significant amounts of money. He regrets the humiliation and financial ruin his actions have brought to his own family. He regrets that he put those who love him through turmoil during the ordeal that followed his attempted suicide.

11. Did anything good come out of this?

Although Robert expressed sadness that his actions caused financial losses for people he cares about, he said that upon his recovery from the suicide attempt, a healing began that enabled his family to grow closer together. As a consequence of the publicity that surrounded his case, both of his children had to move from California to the East Coast. They were lawyers and the media coverage of Robert’s crime harmed their careers. Robert’s wife of more than 40 years had to return to work as all of the family assets were liquidated to help cover the loss. Despite the pain that Robert’s actions caused to so many, he said that once he began the medical treatment for his mental disorder, he received medication and therapy that helped balance his moods. Over time, that treatment allowed his family to grow closer together.

12. What is your biggest regret?

Robert said his biggest regret was that he had made decisions that caused irreparable harm to many people. The financial losses were significant, and he understood that although his own family suffered the most loss of all, others had also lost in ways that he could not make whole. This regret, he said, caused an internal grief that was far worse than the justice department or imprisonment could inflict.

13. What roadblocks do you expect to encounter upon release?

Robert said that his sentence will keep him in prison until he turns 71. Despite the age, he will have to find some kind of viable employment. The felony precludes a return to the corporate sector. Robert expects that he will support himself by making some kind of use from his extensive knowledge of computer networks, though it likely will be through small business as an independent contractor.

14. What advice would you provide a business student?

Robert said that the most important advice he could offer a business student would be to value the virtue of honesty. A successful businessperson had to feel truth within himself. That meant looking in the mirror and knowing that he or she was true to the principles of truth. The pain that comes from deceit extends far beyond the individual, and in some cases, it has no end. Robert said that valuing honesty and truth would be the best advice he could give to a student.

15. How do you feel about a business ethics class questioning you on ethics?

Robert said that after he healed from the surgeries that followed his suicide attempt, and after he was released from the psychiatric hospital that diagnosed his mental disorder, he revealed everything that he had done to the FBI. Law enforcement had not known about the fraud, so Robert walked through every aspect, and provided the FBI agents with records of every transaction. He voluntarily liquidated all of his assets in an effort to recompense losses. That total cooperation, he said, brought a catharsis. Responding to the questions of a business ethics class continued the slow process of cognitive therapy.

Summary:

In speaking with Robert for this project, he broke down in tears several times. I was surprised, as I did not know about his suicide attempt, his bipolar disorder, or much of anything about his case. To me, he was simply another prisoner whose demeanor and image fit that of a successful CEO. We have many such men who now serve time in prison.

I asked Robert whether he had apologized to the victims who suffered financially from his crime. He said that he could not find the strength to reach out. Part of the therapy, he said, was trying to keep his mood swings from elevating. It was a constant struggle and one that he had not yet mastered. It was the reason that he asked me to conceal his identity. The past still haunted him, tormented him with shame and guilt. As a defensive mechanism, he said that he had to protect his mental health, at least for now.

The post Bipolar Disorder Leads CEO to Embezzlement and Suicide Attempt appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Despite what was then my naivete regarding the criminal justice system, a judge imposed a sentence of 45 years. The government acknowledged that, as only consenting adults were involved, my crime did not have a single victim. Yet a severe sentence was necessary to promote respect for our nation’s drug laws. Recent events suggest an irony at such hypocritical assertions.

Over the past few months, for example, we have seen that a federal jury convicted Senator Ted Stevens of unfairly enriching himself by exploiting his power as a federal lawmaker. Clearly, the Senator has more than a high school education. American voters entrusted him with the power to look after their interests, yet the Senator made every American taxpayer a victim when he abused that power and tarnished the reputation of our government. Despite his criminal convictions, Ted Stevens remains home to enjoy the holidays with his family.

Earlier this week, a second example, a federal prosecutor made international headlines when he ordered the arrest of Governor Rod Blagojevich from the State of Illinois. As most every American now knows, the government has tape recordings of the Governor’s profane and patently offensive efforts to sell a seat in the United States Senate to the highest bidder.

Governor Blagojevich has a law degree and extensive experience as the Chief Executive of a state, as well as a former legislator. Every citizen in America is a victim of the crime for which the Governor was charged. Yet as a 23-year-old uneducated offender, who sold cocaine to consenting adults, I was held to a higher standard than the people who make laws. Ironically, the Governor continues to retain his power as the head of Illinois.

Last night, I saw yet another example that shows the corruption of power in our country. Bernard Madoff, a former Chairman of the NASDAQ’s Board of Directors was charged with running a Ponzi scheme that swallowed a staggering $50 billion. Government agencies had received repeated warnings that suggested Madoff’s fraud, yet his powerful position persuaded those agencies to ignore his theft. As a consequence of Madoff’s financial crime spree that lasted for years and made real victims of hundreds of unsuspecting trusting investors, that powerful criminal remains free on bond, enjoying the spoils of his riches, while he employs legal machinations to delay his confinement.

I am about to pass through my 22nd consecutive Christmas holiday in prison because of the bad decisions I made during the recklessness of youth. I was locked in prison when my father passed away, and I am denied sufficient telephone privileges to speak with my aging mother, and my sisters. My wife struggles through life without my presence. Whereas I started serving my time in my early 20s, release is not scheduled until I am nearly age 50.

The rich and powerful, the leaders in society who should have known better, face sanctions that are an insult to justice and are offensive to the millions of ordinary citizens who struggle through harsh, unforgiving laws. We need prison reform that will bring fairness to all, including those without connections and power.

The post Ordinary Americans Face Harsh Justice, While Powerful Enjoy Christmas at Home appeared first on Prison News Blog.

In higher security prisons, I always felt a tension in the air. Prisoners were locked inside two-man cells. At 6:00 each morning, guards walked around to unlock the steel doors of the prisoner rooms. Those who had experience of living in such environments were already awake, with shoes laced up and alert attitudes. Every man understood that violence, organized or otherwise, could erupt without prior notice. No one wanted to feel caught off guard.

High-security prisoners did not focus on the lives they wanted to lead following release. Many did not expect that release would ever come; prisons were the last stop for them. Such men consider their prison reputations to be of the utmost importance. No one wanted to be perceived as weak, as weak men were vulnerable to prison predators. Accordingly, prisoners in the penitentiary cheered for the killers in movies. They walked by indifferently while others were being stabbed or beaten. When officers asked for any type of assistance, the prisoners showed zero interest in helping. They considered themselves oppressed by a system of injustice, and they were not inclined to work toward redemption.

I’ve written extensively about prison life in my books and for publication on criminal-indictment.com. Those writings detail the complexities of living in confinement. My observations over the past 21 years persuade me that prison administrators have very little interest in creating environments that prepare or encourage offenders to think about the challenges they will face upon release. All resources focus on preserving security within the institution.

That myopic approach to management, however, leads to environments that seethe with hostility and create vicious mentalities. High recidivism rates, I believe, make the failure of “corrections” quite clear, yet prisons succeed brilliantly at warehousing humanity and perpetuating the cycle of failure.

To improve prisons, to make them safer for both staff and inmates, prison administrators and government legislators ought to implement programs that would encourage inmates to work toward leading contributory lives. The negativity that pervades every high security prison, from my perspective, breeds failure and inhumanity.

Besides hope, prisoners need clearly defined paths to reconcile for their past convictions.

The post High-security Prisons Create Vicious Cycles appeared first on Prison News Blog.

My criminal defense attorney had told me that there was a huge difference between a criminal indictment and a conviction. I believed him. Many, many others provided testimony against me. They had been caught in the act of trafficking and had agreed to cooperate against me in exchange for leniency at sentencing. I was foolish enough, or delusional enough to discount the strength of the government’s case against me.

Now that I have more than 21 years of imprisonment behind me, I understand that many individuals who are charged with criminal offenses live with similar delusions. When an individual proceeds through the criminal justice system for the first time, he frequently lives in denial. As a young man who knew he was trafficking in prison, I should not have lived like an ostrich. When I was apprehended by law enforcement, I should have worked harder to understand the system that was about to sink me. Rather than putting my fate completely in the hands of my attorney, a man who had a financial interest in prolonging my legal proceedings, I should have learned about the experiences others have endured as they struggled through the criminal justice system. Instead, I proceeded blindly. Every decision I made was wrong, and as a consequence, I was sanctioned with a severely punitive sentence.

Many professional businessmen will soon find themselves targeted for criminal prosecution for white collar crime. The financial crisis on Wall Street is resulting in numerous criminal investigations that will yield thousands of years in prison. Those who are susceptible to criminal charges ought to learn more about this system before they made bad decisions that dig them in deeper. They ought to understand their options, and one resource they might consult is the Topical Report series I have written that profiles the lives of other white-collar crime prisoners.

Those who do come to prison ought to work hard while they serve time to ensure that they emerge successfully. The prison system itself does not offer much to reduce recidivism, as seven out of ten people who serve time return to confinement after release. To change that appalling statistic, administrators ought to offer incentives that would encourage prisoners to earn freedom and become productive citizens. Instead, the current focus is on punishment and warehousing individuals. My experience suggests that it is up to each prisoner to commit to strategies that will enable him and empower him.

The post Delusions Prior to a Criminal Trial appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I recently read of a well known lawyer who supposedly offered a prison staff member use of his season tickets for an NFL team. The lawyer was a convicted felon serving time in a California minimum-security camp at the time, and he likely was lulled into believing that he and the officer shared a common humanity. The guard, however, was charged with the responsibility of keeping order in the camp. The guard may have played the incoming prisoner, engaging in conversation with the former high-flying lawyer as if the two were friends. The prisoner, enjoying the conversation, likely offered the tickets as a token of good will. Despite his being a lawyer, the prisoner did not appreciate the clear lines that are drawn between staff and inmates. Whereas the former lawyer likely saw the offer as a friendly gesture, staff members would have considered his actions as an attempt to bribe an officer. That prohibited act resulted in the former lawyer’s transfer to a higher-security prison in Arizona.

The less restrictive atmosphere of minimum-security camp makes a difference for the prisoner and those who love him. Although the prisoner may adjust to any environment, it is much easier on family members when the prisoner serves his time in a camp. With that goal in mind, prisoners ought to understand more about living in prison before they self-surrender.

Prisoners who are coming into the system should read the articles I wrote about how to avoid problems in prison. I have been incarcerated for more than 21 years, and my disciplinary record remains clean. I know how to thrive in prison, and I know to avoid problems with both staff and other prisoners.

The post Minimum security prison camp vs high security prison appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Through his story, Jeff described how acting responsibly resulted in his receiving a prison term of three years rather than the nine years initially threatened by the government. Jeff also discussed his $2 million restitution order and programs available that could have advanced his release date further.

Those who are in the process of responding to a federal indictment may find some value in reading of Jeff’s experiences. His story provides an example of how important it is for defendants to communicate effectively with their defense attorneys.

I’ve interviewed and written about hundreds of people, like Jeff, who are serving time for white collar crimes. In an earlier post on this Blog, I discussed the probability of criminal indictments for wire fraud, mail fraud, securities fraud, and mortgage fraud against those in the banking and financial industry as a result of the crisis in America’s financial markets. My prediction was accurate; a news headline published today that reads “Criminal Probes Likely in Financial Crisis” proved me right.

Those who will face, or who are already facing criminal indictment for white collar crime are well advised to gain a better understanding of their options as they confront the criminal justice system. Jeff’s article-and many others-are included in the Prisoner Profiles topical report series published on MichaelSantos.net, and information describing the criminal justice system and prison life is available in the Confronting Criminal Charges, Understanding Prison, and Thriving Through Confinement topical reports series also published on MichaelSantos.net.

The more an individual knows about what is to come, the better prepared they are to make effective decisions and responses.

The post Criminal Probes and Indictments for White Collar Crimes appeared first on Prison News Blog.

Both of these defendants have deep financial resources. They certainly have top-drawer legal talent. Yet the more litigious their approach, the stiffer the sentences they will draw. I have learned form numerous high-profile defendants who had ample access to financial resources. Without exception, each of them expressed regret that they did not structure a plea agreement earlier in the criminal justice process. As a consequence of hardball legal tactics, they served longer sentences.

Although it is always difficult to accept responsibility and the prison term that follows a guilty plea, sometimes that is the prudent choice. Defendants face a set back with a prison sanction. Yet as I have learned through the stories I’ve written (read the Profiles topical report series), the sanctions are lower for those who plead guilty earliest in the process.

Time in prison certainly presents a challenge, though individuals who embrace it as an opportunity for introspection can find some value in the experience. In my article Master Discipline, Expect Nothing, I offer advice for serving time in prison successfully. All of the articles I write stem from what I have learned as a long-term prisoner. I hope they prove helpful for those who deliberate over whether to plead guilty or proceed through trial and the stiffer sanctions that follow.

The post Minimizing Prison Terms for Broadcom Executives appeared first on Prison News Blog.

I’ve been incarcerated for more than 21 years, and I’ve seen this pattern before. When I began my term, in 1987, prosecutors needed to show that they were the frontline soldiers fighting Reagan’s war on drugs. Prison populations soared.

Today, the world is riled up about white collar crime, about options scandals, about fraudulent investment vehicles that improperly failed to disclose risks, about fraud of every type and magnitude. Calming the markets will require new legislation, as we’ve seen this past week with government bailouts on an unprecedented scale. A second prong of the government’s effort to restore investor confidence, however, will come in the form of federal criminal charges against professionals who never dreamed that they would suffer through the indignities of a criminal indictment or prosecution.

When prosecutors charge businessmen with white collar crimes, those professionals frequently exacerbate their problems. Rather than accepting responsiblity early and minimizing their exposure to sanctions, many cling to excuses and denials. They lie to family members, their business associates, their defense attorneys, and the government. The more lies they tell, the more costly their losses. Those who become exposed to the criminal justice system for the first time frequently fail to appreciate the magnitude of their problems.

Emerging successfully from a collison with the criminal justice system requires knowledge and advance preparation. At MichaelSantos.net, partners of mine publish information that could assist those accused of white collar crime, or anyone who may be facing criminal indictment, make better decisions. The Topical Reports and Articles posted there describe solid strategies for navigating the criminal justice system successfully.

Understanding the American system of prosecutors, criminal courts, and federal prisons is crucial in order to work effectively with defense attorneys and prepare for the possibility of serving time in a federal prison camp.

The post White Collar Prosecutions on Wall Street appeared first on Prison News Blog.

My imprisonment began in 1987, and I have served time in prisons of every security level. Since 2003 I have been confined in federal prison camps, including the camps in Florence, Colorado; Lompoc, California; and Taft, California. I have published extensively about my experiences and about what I have learned from others. My hopes have always been to empower others who are struggling with adversity.

My topical report series titled Understanding Prison, available on MichaelSantos.net, offers several articles to help individuals understand prison. That series will be especially helpful to those who are about to start serving sentences in minimum-security camps, to family members, and to those who aspire to minimize problems while serving a prison term.

The more information an individual has about the challenges presented by a prison term, the better prepared the individual will be to navigate those challenges successfully. Those who do not take time to learn about the prison system are at a disadvantage when they begin serving their terms. Empowerment comes with knowledge, and I urge those confronting a prison term to learn from observations I have made over the past 21 years.

The post Self-Surrendering to Federal Prison Camp appeared first on Prison News Blog.

My term began in 1987, and during the more than 21 years since then I have served time in prisons of every security level. By writing about my observations and experiences, I strive to empower those who may face criminal indictments or those who struggle through various aspects of the criminal justice system.

The Web site offers articles that are bundled together in topical reports, or a la carte in the individual articles catalog. Topical report series one, titled Confronting Criminal Charges, includes 10 articles I wrote to help individuals who anticipate that they may face charges for white collar crime or other felonies. Those articles explain the judicial system, how to work with attorneys, and strategies to consider when deliberating over important decisions about potentially life-altering issues.

Other topical reports series bundle articles that help individuals understand prison, and that describe the experiences of individuals who are serving time for white collar crimes.

These are punitive times in America, and prosecutors will be charging numerous individuals from the financial sector with felony crimes. Many professional, educated men and women will face criminal indictments for actions that the Department of Justice considers fraudulent. The articles I write will guide individuals to make better and more enlightened decisions.

The post Resources for white collar criminals appeared first on Prison News Blog.