A Travesty

Today I received a google alert on the blog from Sentencing Law and Policy where a 65 year old man has been sentenced to 100 years for being a leader of a Ponzi scheme. Uhhh...HELLO! Is this supposed to make these people feel better who lost their money? Maybe the coldest of hearts would want that but the prisoner will most likely meet his maker while incarerated and will never be free to work and pay for his restitution. But that's okay, we have plenty of tax dollars to go around or we can always get a stimulous package. If I sound bitter about it that's because I am. These white collar so called criminals should be out on ankle bracelets or home working for their family so that they won't suffer and be forced to go on assistance. It's a vicious circle where where the tax payers pay for the support of the inmates and for the spouses and children who are not finncially capable of support without government assistance.

My spouse acted as a Sales Rep for the company that was brought down by the Feds. He was responsible for making sure his clients were paid the amount promised them each month. They were all paid right up to the end until the government put a freeze on all the assets. Did they get everything back that they invested...well some did and some didn't. One thing for sure though is that they had the right to dig deeper into their investment such as request a financial statement as we wish we had done. Not one person was forced to invest even though that doesn't change the outcome.

Too Good To Be True

Some of the most intelligent people are drawn into situations that are as the cliche says, "Too Good To Be True". A similarity to the Madoff case and my husband's situation is that one would think if there was a problem then the SEC would have intervened much sooner. Instead, they took an informant and devised a set up that would land three men in prison. My husband is very knowledgable in his field, but he has a limited knowledge of high finance. He trusted the owner of the company. He trusted his friend and just like his friend, he believed that the attorney was guiding the company to protect them from making any mistakes. The bottom line was that my husband believed that the company had made some lucrative investments and had some powerful backing. He believed what he was being told and noone that worked with him missed a payment. When the SEC came in and shut it down, my husband reached into his own pocket to make sure they recieved payment. The third person involved was not even an investor. His problem came in when the owner decided to give him a title in the corporation because of his advanced computer skills and his reputation of integrity. He also did not have any knowledge that he was involved in an scam. My husband and the third person did not deserve to get indicted and should have been dismissed from any charges. My husband did not even know the people who were the prosecutions victims. They all stated under oath that they did not know him. Yet his charges were related to a conspiracy against those very people. After a month long trial and the jury being inconvenienced from their normal day to day lives, I think they just wanted to go home. I ask you now, would you put yourself in my place or my husband's and draw the conclusion that the outcome was fair?

Madoff RipOff

Unless you just never watch the news or read the paper, then you most likely know about Bernie Madoff. A master of deception that will now live out his life in a Federal Prison. Yes, he hurt a lot of people...the rich, the elderly, retirees, and alot of very intelligent people. They all trusted him and the people who worked for him probably did as well. There was alot of discussion on how he could have operated a scam so elaborate for such a long time by himself. I know my husband even though he would never speak poorly of anyone wishes the guy he went to work for had been by himself. He did not get involved to bring harm to anyone. The Security and Exchange Commission held the position was that there is no way anyone would have believed it was a legitimate business. Well obviously people did because they became involved. My husband did and so did his other friend who was convicted. Investments are done everyday and with the proper backing, one may have any knowledge of the in's and out's of a program or that it could not legally give returns at the rates he was told. He just acted as a sales representative because sales has been his life's career. He is a person of integrity and those that he talked to knew of his reputation. The man he went to work for and head of the company knew of his reputation also. My husband states even now that he does not believe his friend nor the owner of the company intended anyone any harm. In fact, the owner relied on a corporate attorney to guide him in his decisions. Those who invested their money, including us, all had the same opportunity to ask more questions.

Letter to the President

Please see the letter to the President concerning First Time Federal Inmates and the good time bill. It is important that our voice be heard. Click on the widget and Sign the petition. Thank you! It will take you to another excellent site where others are voting and then your letters are sent out for you to your representatives and state leaders and you sign the petition.

or, Create a Petition

Change.org

Sentencing Unconstitutional

A Federal Judge declares the federal sentencing guidelines unconstitutional because they unfairly limit judges.  He also pointed out that in his opinion, "97% of federal criminal cases are resolved by plea bargains". This statement in itself tells us that if this is the percentage then something is terribly wrong with the system. In the institution where my husband is housed, he states that many of the inmates tell him that they had no choice but accept a plea as their families were threatened. Here is an example of such a story:


Christian (Chris) Navoy, was busted last year on charges related to the Research Chemicals and Conversion kits he’d been selling through his site “ResearchChemist.com”. He was recently sentenced to 27 months in prison and 3 years probation. Additionally he was ordered to forfeit almost $2 million dollars in assets (as I told you last year, the government immediately filed to seize those assets). As I also told you when Chris was originally busted – he was pretty much f*cked. Ultimately he pleaded guilty to one count of: conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, to sell drug paraphernalia, and to commit mail fraud. I’d like to note, at this point, that all research chemical companies are guilty of the exact same thing. If you need a refresher course, Rick Collins has told us all about his feelings on Research Chemicals previously.

In this particular instance, it appears that the Feds have used one of their favorite tactics – agreeing to drop charges against a family member (Chris’ wife), as long as the person they’re after takes a guilty plea. Sometimes this tactic backfires, and people just kill themselves to save their families – that’s not something the government likes to brag about.


So they would take the plea bargain versus having a family member indicted for a crime they did not commit. My husband did not take a plea bargain but was not naive to the risk involved in declaring his innocence. In the end, four years later, he still recieved a sentence 3 months over the plea bargain offer. The judge was fair and noted that he was not as involved as the others. I was not able to attend all of his court appearances because it was so expensive to fly and stay on the opposite side of the country which was were his trial was held. During the trial, I sat in stunned disbelief at the manner in which the prosecution delivered their case. They would laugh, joke, tell boldface lies, and throw confusing statements at the jury for them to decipher. I'm not uneductated and I can honestly say that had I been on a similar jury with a case so complex, I would not have been able to make a decision. Our home is a three bedroom ranch, not a castle. We did not make a ton of money. He was only involved less than 6 months. There were a great number of people involved to a far greater degree than he was but it was like they just picked him out. There was even another person who had the same first name that had been involved from the beginning and to this day we think they got them mixed up. The government is not one to admit a mistake. The guidelines and the sentencing practice provides nearly no leedway for the defandand to be able to at least where an ankle bracklet and go home where they at least lend some support to their families instead of the government keeping them confined costing us tax dollars.

Bad Things Happen To Good People

Bad things happen to good people everyday. None of us our exempt. My husband began serving his time in prison March of this year. He is a long way from home and everyday we still have to come to terms with the fact that the entire surreal situation isn't just a bad nightmare. When my husband decided to become involved in the program he did it thinking he could help so many people. All he was to do was to explain the program the way it was told to him by the corporate attorney. Then if they wanted to become involved they would get a letter from the bank showing proof of funds and the attorney would take it from there. The large companies involved included churches and the people involved all had respected careers. My husband believed that no investor was in danger of losing their money because the money never left the lenders account, and if they were not satified they could meet with the bank representative and if necessary could walk and lose nothing. Prior to his involvment there were some investors who had been misled and lost money. He was never told and if he had been told, he would have gone the other way. Sadly, there were divorces and some who even lost their retirement. In the end the program was shut down by the government and funds were frozen. The owner of the company, the corporate attorney, my husband, and another guy were all indicted.

In the Beginning

My husband is a optimist even now. He can sell you anything but only if he believes in it and it's honest. A true believer in the american dream. He has always been interested in new businesses and has ventured into several legitimate multi-level marketing businesses. In the year 2000 a friend "we'll call him Sam" asked him to come and work for a company he had started. My husband declined because it was a busy time in his own career and he wanted to investigate the business fully before making any decisions. Two years later "Sam" came back. He showed my husband where he had put him in his program for $600.00 out of his pocket and the value was then $3,400.00. He gave him a debit card and indeed the money was on it. A year and a half later, we invested as a couple over $40,000 but he still didn't go to work for them.  My husband attended some meetings and met others that were involved. It was extremely complex but there were powerful people backing it all. There was a corporate attorney who spoke at the meetings who said he owned businesses to include a Bank. Another company CEO was there to speak about how "Sams" company had invested in the stock. A trader was there to explain the ventures and bank trades. It was all very impressive. My husband even went to an well known trader and invested in the same stock that "sam's" company had. Everyone my husband spoke to were all paid on time. There were a mix of a number of companies involved. It was so exciting or so we thought.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

My name is Becky and I am the wife of a Federal Inmate. We will have been married 16 years this November. He is a retired, disabled, Army Military Veteran who served his country for over twenty-five years. He's a husband, a father, a brother, and a grandfather. Prior to this happening, he was working in a long career of more than 30 years and was highly regarded in our community as both a friend and business associate. He has recieved numerous awards for his humanitarian deeds. With no prior record he is currently serving 63 months in a Federal Institution. Although we are awaiting his appeal, it is still important to both of us that we try and make a difference irregardless of the outcome.

Our laws state that an individual is innocent until proven guilty. That was not the case with my husband and he is a victim of a corrupt and  unjust legal system. I am sure there are thousands if not more who have had the same experience. There are murders, rapists, and child molesters who get very little time for their crimes and are released back into our population before the sentence is even completed. If the crime is Federal and involved conspiracy, wire fraud, or drugs then the so called criminal will most likely not live out the sentence they've been given. If he elects to a plea bargain (which 97% do) then he may serve between 3-5 years, but if not he is looking at possibly 20 to 30 years. Most are scared of a 30 year sentence and can't afford a high priced attorney, to they do a plea instead of their constitutional right for a trail by their peers. What would you do?

We all see news frequently on Federal Crime and who has been a victim. However, there is little said about the family members of those inmates who are victims as well. There are sources where you can track bills and their progress. By responding to these bills , they have a better chance of making it out of committee. My hope is to exchange and share information and experiences with others. If we do nothing, then nothing will happen.