A White Collar Defendant Thought He’d Get 5 Years — Now He’s Facing Life

I had a call this morning with someone new to our community, and frankly, it’s been sitting with me all morning. He gave me permission to share his story, and I’m doing it for one reason: so you don’t make the same mistakes.

Here’s what happened.

This man made a critical decision to listen to someone who should never have been giving advice. He hired someone who did a year in Miami camp, someone who claimed to be an expert simply because they served time. And that person started dispensing legal advice — countering what his actual lawyers were telling him.

Why?

Because people going through this process often want enablers. They want someone who will tell them what they want to hear.

“I’ll pay you if you tell me what I want to hear.”

But the problem is, it feels good in the moment. It gives you hope — false hope. And that false hope can lead to devastating, life-changing consequences.

The Price of Rolling the Dice: Facing Life In Federal Prison

In this case, the government had been investigating him for years. He convinced himself that since he hadn’t been indicted yet, maybe the case wasn’t that strong. He thought they’d forgotten about him. Then the indictment came. The government offered him a plea deal — 60 months, max. That’s five years. But with programs like RDAP, the First Step Act, and good planning, he could’ve been home in less than two years.

But part of him couldn’t accept it. “I didn’t do it. I’ll take my chances at trial.” And that’s exactly what he did. He listened to the wrong advice, rolled the dice, and went to trial.

He lost.

Now?

He texted me last night, saying, “They want to put me away for life. I thought the worst-case scenario was five years. I thought maybe four, maybe seven. I never thought they’d ask for life.”

This Didn’t Have to Happen

The guy owns it. He said, “The fault is mine. I should’ve listened to my lawyers.”

And I respect that. Taking responsibility matters. But the point is: this didn’t have to happen. He could’ve listened to his lawyers. But instead, he chose to listen to someone who had no business giving advice — someone who told him what he wanted to hear instead of what he needed to hear.

That’s why I’m sharing this with you. Because there’s a lesson here.

The government is asking for life. Will the judge give him life? I don’t know. Maybe. Maybe not. But here’s the problem: once that request is out there, it sticks. It anchors in the judge’s mind. It’s like seeing a $2,000 bottle of wine on a menu. You’re not going to order it, but it makes that $300 bottle look reasonable by comparison.

Now, that judge is looking at him as someone who: Didn’t take responsibility. Created victims and didn’t care. Went to trial instead of cutting a deal. And you better believe that prosecutor is standing there saying, “This guy’s a menace. He’s done it before, and he’ll do it again.” That’s the story being told in court.

The Danger of Jailhouse Experts

I’m not a lawyer. I don’t pretend to be. I don’t negotiate plea deals. That’s not my job. My job is to help people prepare for leniency by taking their own actions to demonstrate they’ve earned it.

What You Should Be Doing

Here’s what you should be focusing on — and it has nothing to do with predicting the future or trying to game the system. Ask yourself: What’s the government’s version of events? What story are they telling about you? What can you do — today — to prove you’re different? The government isn’t going to stop painting you as the bad guy. It’s your job to build a record that shows why that version is wrong. If you haven’t taken the time to figure out what matters to your stakeholders — the judge, the prosecutor, the probation officer — then you’re not serious about getting the best outcome.

There are no do-overs in this process. So stop listening to people who tell you what you want to hear. Stop looking for enablers. The only way to get through this with the best possible outcome is to face the reality of what you’re up against. Understand the government’s perspective. And do the work to prove — through your own efforts — that you’ve are a candidate for leniency, even if you went to trial. That’s it. No magic tricks. No shortcuts. Just real work, every day, to rebuild through crisis.

Thank you for joining our community.

Justin Paperny

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