First Step Act Home Confinement Update: How the Conditional Placement Date Accelerates Your Referral—If You’re Ready
The June 2025 BOP memo introduces a key concept that affects release timing: the Conditional Placement Date (CPD). This is not a […]
Bureau of Prisons New Home Confinement Directive: Why Your Release Plan Now Carries More Weight Than a Job Offer
The June 2025 BOP memo changes how home confinement referrals work. One of the clearest shifts is this: prior employment is no […]
Why Federal Judges Ignore Apologies—and What Defendants Should Do Instead
When I wrote my judge a letter from federal prison, I didn’t write to say I was sorry. I wrote to show […]
The Truth About Cooperation: What Judges Really Consider at Sentencing
In 2007, I spent nearly a full year working with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This was after my indictment, but before […]
What the SEC Wants to Hear if You Want a Shorter Sentence
Six Months After My Plea, Everything Changed I had already pled guilty. One count of conspiracy to commit fraud. The government knew […]
When You Lie to the Feds, You Lose the Only Leverage That Matters
In 2005, I thought I had moved on. I was out of UBS. I had a new life. But the government hadn’t […]
How I Obstructed a Federal Investigation Without Even Knowing It
I Thought I Was Just a Witness When the meeting began, my lawyer and I were told I was just a witness. […]
The Day I Lied to My Lawyer—and Sealed My Prison Term
When the FBI Knocked, I Was Still in Denial April 28, 2005. Three knocks on my door. I open it, and it’s […]
How a Forged Signature Opened the Door to a Federal Investigation
On December 15, 2004, I walked into my branch manager’s office at UBS thinking it was a normal day. It wasn’t. He […]
What Judges See When You Protect Yourself Instead of Reporting Fraud
At a meeting I never should have been in, I watched an elderly investor and his accountant sit across the table and […]
How Ego and Denial Led Me from Merrill Lynch to Federal Prison
When I Refused to Join the Team, I Thought I Was Standing for Integrity In 1997, I graduated from USC and started […]
Why My Conviction Still Follows Me—Years After Prison
This is the final entry in the 5-part blog series. In Part 4, I shared how prison became the place I started […]