Charge: Federal conspiracy. District of Minnesota. Judge John R. Tunheim.
Service: Sentencing narrative, character reference letters, allocution statement, volunteer record with Prison Professors Charitable Corporation.
Outcome: David’s plea carried 48 to 60 months in federal prison. Judge Tunheim sentenced him to 1 year of probation and 21 days in county jail. He never set foot in federal prison.
Federal conspiracy charges sentencing put David Moulder at 48-60 months.
David Molder faced federal conspiracy charges, sentencing in the District of Minnesota, with a plea range of 48 to 60 months. The government called him a kingpin. He never set foot in federal prison.
He was living with his father in Des Moines when it happened. His father was a drunk. One night he put a shotgun in his mouth. David pulled it away and moved out.
He never asked anyone to feel sorry for him about it.
Years later, writing his sentencing narrative before a federal judge in Minnesota, he wrote: “Some people are victims of the circumstances of their upbringing. I am not. All of the decisions that brought me to this day are mine and mine alone.”
That sentence is why David avoided federal prison.
How He Got There
David put himself through five years of college after his father offered him a few spare rings to pawn when tuition came due. He bounced between Des Moines Area Community College, Iowa State, the University of Minnesota, and St. Thomas, where he graduated in 1992 with a degree in Marketing and Management.
He built Viking Magazine from six phones in 1994 to 300 employees and a million calls a month by 2014. He opened 529 accounts for his kids the day they were born. He preached integrity. He defined it the same way to every employee: doing the right thing when no one else is looking.
Then he got indicted.
His companies, including PS Online, Viking Magazine, Total Customer Service, and Direct Clearing, processed payments and collected debts for marketers running misleading sales scripts. David knew what was happening with some clients. He looked away. He said so in his letter to Judge Tunheim: “My companies enabled these unethical sales by handling the payments and debt collection, contributing to a larger system of deceit. I turned a blind eye.”
The government did not see a business owner who looked the other way. The government saw a kingpin.
His plea carried 48 to 60 months. His lawyers told him that was where he was going.
How We Built His Federal Conspiracy Sentencing Record
David found White Collar Advice in February 2024 after watching Justin’s videos and reading about Michael Santos’s interviews with Judge Bennett and Judge Bough. He hired us. Then he went to work.
His lawyers were skeptical. They had never seen a defendant try to build a mitigation record on his own behalf. They came around when they saw what we were building.
David’s narrative told the full story: the house in Des Moines, the five years of college paid for himself, the company built from six phones to 300 employees, the conduct he looked away from, and what he had done since. It named companies, dates, and specific decisions. It did not soften the crime. It showed the judge who David was before, during, and after the offense, and the documented actions he was taking to make it right. We helped him draft it, sharpen it, and make it his own voice. Not a lawyer’s voice. Not ours.
David prepared his allocution over multiple sessions. He did not read it cold. He knew it. When the judge asked how he was doing before sentencing began, David said he was nervous. That was true. He was also ready.
David spoke with me at business schools. His letters spoke to his character rather than boilerplate copy: “he is a good person.”
David volunteered with Prison Professors Charitable Corporation and helped build a course that now reaches people inside federal prisons across the country. He volunteered at Second Harvest food bank. He supported his local church. Every hour was logged. Every contribution was documented. He also wrote a book, The Ethical Edge, during this period and sent a copy to Judge Tunheim.
He paid his restitution in full before sentencing. Not as a bargaining chip. As an acknowledgment of what he owed.
“Justin and his team made it clear: no one else could tell my story for me. If I wanted the judge to see who I really was, I had to take ownership, lead the process, and prove that I was more than my worst decisions.” — David Moulder
How to Avoid Federal Prison: What Happened When David Walked In
Judge Tunheim had the narrative, the letters, the volunteer record, and the book before he walked into the courtroom. He had read them.
David stood up and delivered his statement. The judge listened.
When David finished, Judge Tunheim said: “I’m going to do something unusual.”
The actual kingpin in the conspiracy received 10 years in federal prison.
“I knew before he sentenced me that the work I put in had paid off. The judge said he was going to do something unusual, and in that moment, I felt it.” — David Moulder
The Outcome
| Plea range | 48 to 60 months federal prison |
| Sentence imposed | 1 year probation + 21 days county jail |
| Federal prison | None |
| Judge | Hon. John R. Tunheim, District of Minnesota |
| The actual kingpin | 10 years federal prison |
| Restitution | Paid in full before sentencing |
| Current status | David is home. He continues to volunteer with Prison Professors. |
Read David’s Trust Pilot Review Here
Frequently Asked Questions
How did David Moulder avoid federal prison on a federal conspiracy charge?
He built a documented record before sentencing that gave Judge Tunheim something concrete to consider beyond the crime. That record included a sentencing narrative written in his own voice, an allocution statement prepared over multiple sessions, character reference letters from people who had witnessed his work, logged volunteer hours with Prison Professors Charitable Corporation and Second Harvest, restitution paid in full before he walked into the courtroom, and a book he wrote and sent to the judge. His plea carried 48 to 60 months. The judge sentenced him to 1 year of probation and 21 days in county jail.
What is a federal conspiracy charge and how does federal conspiracy charges sentencing work?
A federal conspiracy charge under 18 U.S.C. 371 means a defendant is accused of agreeing with at least one other person to commit a federal crime. Federal conspiracy charges sentencing is driven by the guideline range set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which factors in the defendant’s role, loss amount, and criminal history. David’s plea range was 48 to 60 months. Judges have discretion to vary downward from that range based on the defendant’s history and what they have done since the offense.
What did David’s sentencing narrative include?
His full life: a difficult childhood in Des Moines, putting himself through five years of college without help, building Viking Magazine from six phones to 300 employees, his specific role in the conspiracy, and the documented steps he took after his indictment to make amends. It named the companies, the conduct, and the consequences. It also covered his volunteer work, his restitution payment, and his work with Prison Professors. He wrote The Ethical Edge during this period and sent a copy to Judge Tunheim.
What is the difference between a sentencing narrative and a letter to the judge?
A letter to the judge is one document. A sentencing narrative is a comprehensive, structured account of who the defendant is, what led to the offense, what they have done since, and what they intend to do after sentencing. It is supported by attachments: volunteer logs, character letters, course completions, and other verifiable documentation. The narrative gives the judge a record. A letter gives the judge words.
How important is volunteering before federal sentencing?
It matters when it is documented, specific, and started months before sentencing to show a pattern, not a last-minute gesture. David volunteered with Prison Professors and Second Harvest well before sentencing. Every hour was logged. Judges and probation officers can tell the difference between someone who started months into a case and someone who started the week before sentencing.
Does hiring White Collar Advice conflict with having a defense attorney?
No. Defense attorneys handle legal representation: plea negotiations, motions, sentencing memorandums, and courtroom advocacy. White Collar Advice handles mitigation: building the documented record of why the person is different and worthy of leniency. David’s lawyers were skeptical at first. By the time sentencing arrived, those same lawyers called the materials central to the case. Skepticism goes away once people have assets to study.
What should someone do if the government labels them a kingpin or aggravator?
Build a record that says something different. David did not argue the label in the courtroom. He spent the years before sentencing building documented, verifiable evidence of who he was. The judge had seen his volunteer work, his restitution, his letters, and his book. The government’s narrative was one data point. The record David built was many.
How do you avoid federal prison for a white collar crime?
You cannot guarantee it. But you can build a record that gives the judge a factual basis for a sentence that does not include federal prison. David’s plea carried a 48- to 60-month sentence. He received 1 year of probation and 21 days in county jail. The record he built over two years, the narrative, the allocution, the volunteer hours, and the book he sent to the judge gave Judge Tunheim something concrete to study. Most defendants do not build that record: they remain spectators in their own case. It does not tend to end well, I know through 17 years of experience.
Does hiring a mitigation expert actually reduce federal conspiracy charges sentencing?
In David’s case, yes. His plea carried 48 to 60 months. He avoided federal prison. His lawyers were skeptical of the mitigation work at first. By sentencing, they called the materials central to the case. The mitigation record did not replace legal defense. It gave the judge information legal filings alone do not provide: who the defendant is, what led to the offense, and what he is doing to “fix the window.”
What is the difference between a prison consultant and a mitigation specialist in a federal conspiracy case?
A prison consultant asks people to do what they have never done and documented. We are not prison consultants. We are authentic, document our own journey, and help people build assets that influence cynical stakeholders, like a Federal Judge. If prison is part of the sanction, we prepare and build assets to influence the next stakeholder, like a case manager. The earlier one starts to build the better.
