I Thought I Was Just a Witness
When the meeting began, my lawyer and I were told I was just a witness. That’s how they framed it. No pressure, no accusations. Just a conversation.
About seven minutes in, Paul Bertrand—the FBI agent who would later arrest me—looked me in the eye and asked, “Justin, do you remember reading a press release that said your client Keith averaged 27% a year in his hedge fund?”
I said no. And I meant it. I didn’t remember it.
He asked again. “Do you recall a press release stating your client’s hedge fund averaged 27% a year?”
My lawyer shifted in his chair. I could feel his discomfort. I gave the same answer. No, I didn’t remember.
Bertrand didn’t argue. He reached into a folder, shuffled through some papers, and pulled out a document. He handed it to me and asked me to read it aloud.
In this document, there was a line quoting something I had written to Keith. I had said: “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black? I enjoyed your press release talking about the 27% guaranteed return fund.”
Right there. In black and white. My own words, referencing the exact press release I just denied knowing.
What I Thought vs. What They Saw
In my mind, I hadn’t lied. I hadn’t remembered the press release. I hadn’t gone into that room thinking I had anything to hide. But it didn’t matter.
From that moment on, they no longer saw me as a witness. I became a target.
The meeting ended abruptly. My lawyer stopped it cold and told me, “You weren’t under oath, so it’s not perjury—but you just obstructed a federal investigation.”
That sentence changed everything.
Why That Moment Mattered
When you’re under investigation, you don’t get credit for what you meant to say. You don’t get the benefit of the doubt because you were nervous or forgot a detail. The government will document every interaction. They will record every inconsistency. And once they stop trusting you, your situation can go downhill fast.
That moment—those few words I spoke thinking I was in the clear—followed me into sentencing. It made it harder for my lawyer to negotiate. It showed up in my PSR. It came up again when we spoke to probation. It affected how the judge saw me. Not because of the lie itself, but because I hadn’t taken the process seriously. Because I looked like someone still trying to play defense.
And let’s be honest: at that point, I was. I hadn’t accepted the reality of what I had done, or the risk I was facing. I thought I could charm or deflect my way through it. That mindset cost me.
What It Says About You
Probation officers and judges are not just evaluating the crime. They’re evaluating your credibility. They want to know if you’re being honest now. If you’re owning what happened. If you’ve stopped rationalizing.
When you appear inconsistent—even unintentionally—it gets documented. And those details influence your sentence, RDAP eligibility, halfway house placement, even your ability to get early release.
If you’re preparing for an interview, sentencing, or even just a voluntary meeting like the one I had, you need to be clear and consistent. That means preparing. That means knowing what’s in the documents. That means stopping the performance.
Too many defendants focus only on the cooperation or the legal strategy. They forget the impression they’re leaving on the people who will eventually write their reports or make their decisions. If they don’t trust your word, they will default to the harshest interpretation of your actions.
Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late
If I had prepared for that meeting the way I should have—if I had sat down and gone through the documents, revisited the emails, gotten honest about what I had done—I might have remained a witness. But I didn’t. And I lost any benefit that status could have given me.
You don’t get many chances to make a first impression with the government. If you waste it, they will remember.
So ask yourself: if someone pulled out a document today and asked you to read it aloud, could you? Would your explanation hold up?
If you’re unsure how to prepare or what to expect, join our weekly webinar every Tuesday at 11AM Pacific / 2PM Eastern. Join us, and learn how to avoid the mistakes that cost me—and how to start building a record that judges and probation officers will actually take seriously.
If you want to talk through your specific situation, schedule a personal call with our team. We’ll help you figure out exactly what to document—and how to do it right.
Justin Paperny
