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Yes. Federal law requires a judge to weigh your history and characteristics, including the years you worked honestly. A judge only sees that history if someone puts it in front of probation and the court. In my case, nobody did.
Ventura Boulevard, 1997
I graduated from USC in 1997 with $60,000 in student loans and a job at Merrill Lynch in Orange County. After the first year, the salary stopped. You raised money or you went to Charles Schwab and took orders all day.
I was a terrible cold caller. People told me to drop dead, get a job, get a life. So I put on a suit, took a stack of Merrill brochures, and walked into offices along Ventura Boulevard, right past the no-solicitation signs. "Takes a lot of chutzpah to walk in here," one man said. He bought a stock the next day.
I went from $5 million under management to $20 million. I paid off the loans and bought my first house in Studio City. No churning, no trades for the commission.
Then Merrill wanted junior brokers to merge their books with senior brokers. I watched for 90 days. The junior guys stopped prospecting and made less. One afternoon in the HR room, a senior broker told me he'd brought in $15 or $20 million. How? A few junior guys hadn't made it. He took their accounts.
I decided the business was every man for himself, and I left Merrill believing it.
What to do this week
Add the work you're proudest of from before the case to your profile. Name a client, an employee, a deal.
Questions people ask
Does a federal judge consider my background at sentencing?
Yes. Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the judge must consider the history and characteristics of the defendant along with the offense.
How do I show my work history to the court?
Give your lawyer and the probation officer specifics: names, dates, roles, numbers. A short account in your own words of the people you served or employed says more than a résumé.
Related: The government's file on Mario Hernandez said 162 pounds of cocaine at the border. It didn't say he'd sung in Phantom of the Opera in Mexico City. His narrative did: Federal drug trafficking sentencing guidelines
Read next: Part 3: The Fraud Triangle: The Pressure That Started My Fraud
Written by
Justin Paperny
Founder White Collar Advice
