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White Collar Advice: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Justin Paperny
Whether you're a defense attorney, a criminal defendant, or someone eager to learn about sentencing, federal prison, and white-collar crime, our podcast is an excellent resource. It's never too soon or too late to begin preparing for a government investigation, and here's why: Statistics demonstrate the potentially life-altering consequences of encountering the criminal justice system. Beyond the initial indignity of an arrest or the notification of a criminal investigation, those targeted by law enforcement face additional challenges: How will this situation impact my career and earning capacity? What changes will my life undergo if I receive a federal prison sentence? How will my family members be affected by my term of confinement? In the face of such complex challenges, consulting with a competent defense attorney is crucial (please note we are not lawyers and do not offer legal advice). A skilled attorney will guide the criminal justice process and help individuals navigate these issues.
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- 2 weeks ago30 min
Coming Home From Federal Prison Camp
What happens when you prepare for federal prison, do the work, come home, and still struggle to open a bank account? I've been home since 2009. In this conversation, we talk about earning a living after prison, the shame of a conviction, and trying work you've never done before. I share how handwritten prison blogs brought my first phone calls, why I refunded my first paying client, and what I regret about my early days home. We also talk about our families, learning to tell your story, and why preparing for release should begin long before you leave prison. Justin Paperny
- Sep 23, 202615 min
Was It a Mistake or a Bad Choice?
I finished Sam Harris's Free Will last night, 1 hour and 14 minutes on Audible, and it made me look again at how I went from USC and Bear Stearns to lying to FBI agent Paul Bertrand. Harris argues we don't choose our thoughts, our genetics, our parents, or our early experiences. That idea is dangerous in front of a judge. If your narrative suggests it wasn't your fault, the court and your victims will hear it that way. What I took from the book is sequence: a financial problem, the concealment, the concealment working, and each next step getting easier. Michael Santos once asked me whether it was a mistake or a bad choice. Harris says change requires causes. So stop saying you learned your lesson. Show the judge the conditions you've changed (restitution, new professional boundaries, community service, a release plan, public writing), and start building them long before sentencing.
- Sep 22, 20265 min
Isn't What You Do Manipulation? Question 11
A journalist keeps hitting me with one question: isn't what you do manipulation? So on question 11, I stop and read her the definition: to control or influence cleverly, unfairly, or unscrupulously. Then I walk through it. Sentencing advocacy is influence, yes, but so is the government's case, the defense attorney's argument, and sometimes a victim impact statement (I've seen people claim to be victims who weren't, including in my own case). Character reference letters can be used to manipulate too. But a defendant cannot shorten a sentence by manipulating a judge, because judges know the difference between a speech and a record. I bring up Judge Boo's line about fixing the window you broke, then walk through what that looks like: paying restitution, accepting responsibility, cooperating, getting a job, paying taxes. Those are facts a judge can verify, not manipulation. I finish without knowing how to end the podcast, because her next question is why a wealthy defendant who can afford us gets an advantage.
- Sep 15, 20268 min
Going to Prison Does Not Qualify You to Give Advice
A journalist writing about white collar crime sent me about 50 questions before our call. We cut it to 25, and I answered the first three here. Who I am and why anyone should listen to me: going to prison does not qualify you to give advice, and neither does failing. What matters is what you did with the experience and whether you built a record someone can look at. How I went from USC and Bear Stearns to federal prison: not one decision, but pressure, opportunity, and rationalization, convincing myself I was the good guy while I took commissions I was not entitled to. And whether I deserved prison: I know I deserved consequences. I broke the law, I hurt people, and even though the victims got their money back, it did not replace the shame and pain they went through.
- Sep 10, 20261 min
Why I Told This Lawyer Not to Ask for Probation
I got a call from someone new to our community, asking me to speak with his lawyer, a guy with more MVP awards than Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Magic Johnson combined. Two things stood out. The defendant didn't know his own guidelines were more than seven years, even after signing a plea agreement with points and restitution; how do you sign that and not know your number? And of course, he didn't want to go to prison. We got into what the government wants versus what the defense should ask for, and the lawyer told me, I'll do whatever you want me to do. I told him if the government wants more than seven years and you ask for probation, that gap is too wide; the judge will want to know what you're doing about making amends, accepting responsibility, and the victims who want punishment. You don't hire a lawyer with that resume so he can hand the decision back to you. You hire him to lead, research the judge, and not make a request that angers the judge and gets your client more time.
- Sep 10, 20261 min
USC vs North Carolina and the Ghost of 1995
I look back on playing baseball at USC, where making the travel roster to Stanford felt like a big deal. I remember grounding out weakly against Cal State Fullerton reliever Mark Kotsay, who went on to a 17 year career in the majors, and the years I spent punishing myself over that at bat, a regret that followed me into federal prison. Today USC plays North Carolina for a shot at returning to the College World Series for the first time since 2001; back in 1995, my own USC team lost the national championship game to Cal State Fullerton. I tell this year's team to embrace it, win or lose, because the stage itself shapes the rest of your life. I'm proud to be a Trojan and I'll be watching, pulling for the win.
- Sep 9, 20261 min
Her Father's Money Came With Two Conditions
On my way back from Santa Barbara, I stopped near Ojai and met with a woman whose husband had just surrendered to federal prison for ten years. I write about this meeting in my new book, After the Fall, chapter 14. She knew he was under investigation but not how severe; he kept her in the dark, and she expected two or three years, so everyone was stunned when they heard a decade. Every time he calls from prison he tells her he's sorry, but that doesn't help her manage the kids, the bills, the fallout, and the shame. She finally reached out to her father for money. He said yes, but not as a loan: he wanted her to immediately divorce her husband and go back to her maiden name.
- Sep 9, 20261 min
Just Get Him Home, She Said For Years
Every time we spoke, she'd say just get him home from federal prison. Before he went in, her husband blamed the court, the lawyers, the judge, and the co-defendant who cooperated against him. In prison he complained about his bunkie, the food, the commissary, his job, and asked why he was in a camp with no fences when he owed restitution. After he came home he complained about his probation officer, the restitution amount, how she was parenting their kids, and the dinner she cooked. About nine months after his release, she quietly told him: my life was much easier when you were in prison.
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About White Collar Advice
Whether you're a defense attorney, a criminal defendant, or someone eager to learn about sentencing, federal prison, and white-collar crime, our podcast is an excellent resource. It's never too soon or too late to begin preparing for a government investigation, and here's why: Statistics demonstrate the potentially life-altering consequences of encountering the criminal justice system. Beyond the initial indignity of an arrest or the notification of a criminal investigation, those targeted by law enforcement face additional challenges: How will this situation impact my career and earning capacity? What changes will my life undergo if I receive a federal prison sentence? How will my family members be affected by my term of confinement? In the face of such complex challenges, consulting with a competent defense attorney is crucial (please note we are not lawyers and do not offer legal advice). A skilled attorney will guide the criminal justice process and help individuals navigate these issues.
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