I went to prison for a crime I did not commit and just wrote a book about it.

I have served on two juries now, I am amazed how few people understand the concept of "beyond reasonable doubt". People seem to think that means to go with their gut feelings. People on juries think that the defendant wouldn't be on trial if they aren't already guilty. If I am ever accused of a crime I would ask for a bench decision, never a jury. Your Peers are fucking idiots.

Truer words were never spoken. Most of those serving on jury pools are half-wits and government employees (which is also synonymous with half-wit).

It was sad to watch the jury selection where everyone does their best to get out of it. Then after nearly three weeks of sitting through mind-numbing hours they were asked to sift through thick binders full of emails and other information they never really understood and contained no direct evidence against me. I think they just wanted to get out of there and get back to their jobs for fear of losing them or getting buried further. So when the initial vote was 9-3 against me a couple of the stronger personalities pressured the three to change their vote so everyone could finally go home and I could go to jail.

I've sat on jury pools and I'm the WORST person prosecuting attorneys want on a pool. I'm well educated (BS in Chem. E, MS in Physics and MBA), prior Military service as an officer and I deal in facts and actual data. Even when I was confident the defendant was guilty in 1 case I voted to acquit (which happened) because the evidence was insufficient. In another it was clear it was a shit show, which I also voted for acquittal. Nonetheless, the conviction rate in Federal Court is over 90% with most being plea's and many innocent people being convicted due to fear of the possible outcome if they don't plead guilty and receive a sentencing enhancement for not cooperating and/or admission of responsibility and guilt. I've also sat on Judge Adjutant/Advocate General court marshals and legal cases addressing guilt and innocence.

In federal court, the objective is not to seek the truth, but to obtain convictions and better employment opportunities as a AUSA, a USA or one of the actual LE agencies that work in the DOJ. They don't care about the truth. Most have an agenda. I suggest you look up "testilying" as it's epidemic amongst federal law enforcement and local law enforcement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_perjury

truth

well said

You can see me on Frontline's "To Catch a Trader". I thought they were doing some real investigative reporting but was disappointed to see them use some of my writing to produce a sensational "gotcha" moment. They just used me to tell the story people wanted to hear of big bad Wall Street

[deleted]

I learned that in terms of sentencing the worst crime you can commit is refusing to help the Feds--go to work for the FBI as I was asked to. Wear a wire and help to imprison people I believed to be innocent and still do today.

The Feds said I must have know and got a bunch of cooperating witnesses who said the same and were given probation for it.

I was rung up on conspiracy charges. They said that on the calls I did not participate in, I knew that inside info was being passed.

I learned how to make a pizza crust in a microwave using a tortilla and olive oil.

I made 12 cents an hour locked up in a kitchen cleaning and filling trays for folks like the Unibomber.

Bloomberg did an interview with me that ran last week. It was the first time I was able to get my side of the story in print. My lawyer was always very strongly against speaking publicly.

I like the story mostly but hate how they used the headline to imply I was endorsing this SAC trader who is on trial now http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/sac-trial-seen-by-probe-convict-as-latest-abusive-tactic.html

Was your time there was anything like how it's portrayed in that show "Orange is the New Black"? Do tell.

A bit. Place I was at was nicer actually, a minimum security camp. To be there you can't have any violence in your record and it's easy to get booted out simply by getting in a fight. Think about military school where if you get into trouble you go to the Hole. The blankets they used are the same identical ones we used.

I went to a millitary run boarding school and the very concept of 'the hole' is utterly ridiculous. In that, i never heard of anyone ever being put into solitary confinement even when it first opened at the turn of the century.

I meant that the experience was like a military school but INSTEAD of going to the principals office you go to the Hole. Sorry for not being more clear.

What's the usual food in prison?

Lots of bland starchy food. Very little in the way of fresh fruits and vegetables. No real cheese.

Spaghetti!!!!!!

The spaghetti was actually not bad

Not really a question, but fuck our justice system. Shit like this happens a lot in my area, except with falsified drug crimes instead of fake insider trading bullshit. I feel for you, man. Glad your life didn't get entirely destroyed by this prison shit.

I appreciate the sentiment. I try to stay positive remembering that the Feds tried to put me away for nine years and I only ended up doing 14 months. I met guys who got screwed over far worse for all kinds of crazy stuff. One guy had a deal with the prosecutor for probation after he paid back the taxes he owed on money he did not declare. But the judge gave him a year anyway.

[deleted]

"The Power of Love" though it's a love-hate relationship

Is there any possibility you can clear your name?

That is why I wrote the book!

We did appeal and lost. I could have attempted to take it to the Supreme Court but did not want to lose any more money to my lawyer!

My brother has just been cleared of rape charges brought by two teenage girls (DNA testing he paid for proved it was either the father or brother of one of the girls). It ruined his life and cost him everything he had, I feel for you man.

Thanks! But life is MUCH better now

What was the first 24 hours after you were convicted like?

here is what i wrote about the first few moments:

I felt an awful, sudden wave of shock quake through me. I felt stunned, then horrified and sick. I struggled to believe what was happening. My heart throbbed. My head ached. I felt dizzy and nauseous. I feared I might pass out and fought to maintain control. It was really happening. This was really happening. The jury had deliberated for less than a day and found me guilty of both counts. I had just been convicted.
I did get a grip after a minute or so. I didn’t gasp or cry. I stood and found my legs supported my weight. I turned behind me and looked at my aunt in the front row directly behind me; the same spot where she had been for all 14 days of the trial. Her face was a mask of sorrow and disbelief. But thankfully I saw no tears because I could not have maintained composure if she’d lost it. I walked over and gave her a hug while a courtroom packed with strangers gawked at the marvelous spectacle of a freshly convicted man.

My life was destroyed by an overzealous prosecutor and cops who who were willing to lie and manufacture evidence. I feel your pain. I have no questions, I just wanted you to know that you are not alone.

Edit- Actually, I do have a question. Are there any libel issues with claiming that the prosecution violated the law and their oaths that they took as lawyers? In my case I am getting ready to write my story, I have had multiple people request that I do an AMA, but I have hesitated because I want to name names when I do this. When I tell my story, I want to tell the whole story, but I have a concern about being sued because I can't really "prove" that they lied. Although, the case regarding their lies is 1000% stronger than their case that I was selling weed, because I wasn't selling weed so there was zero evidence.

It's good for folks to know there are LOTS of guys like us out there. Thanks for chiming in.

I edited my response. I don't think you get notification of an edit. If you have an opinion on what I wrote, I'd like to hear it.

My advice is be VERY careful. Don't talk to me. Talk to a lawyer. I got mine to bless the manuscript before I published and he did have me remove a few things. You went to trial or took a deal?

I took a deal. They were going to crucify me, this is a small town in Virginia. When the judge refused to throw out their bullshit illegally-obtained search warrant, I knew I was fucked.

Edit- I also took a judge trial based on my lawyer's advice. My lawyer was working with the prosecution; he traded my felony plea for future favorable plea agreements, and made the mistake of telling me what he did.

My lawyer said, and I quote, "You want to choose a judge trial for a marijuana case. These conservative juries in small-town Virginia will convict you just because it's pot, they don't care about guilt or innocence."

Also, and I quote, "Yes, Mr. Asshole, I could have fought your case harder, but I had to think about plea agreements for future clients and I didn't want to piss-off the prosecutor."

I don't blame you for taking the deal. But since you did, I would expect you might have a problem refuting the case publicly. You would be refuting sworn statements, correct?

All I want is for people to know what happened. I don't expect to receive anything but the satisfaction of knowing that I exposed some criminal scum who work within our so-called "justice system".

Regarding sworn statements- their own statements refute each other. They lied so bad that they actually snitched each other out. Nobody, especially the judge, seemed to give a shit that the cops were obviously lying through their teeth.

I feel for you. I hope there is a way for you to get your story out there. People have to understand how the system is rigged against the innocent.

Did you entertain the idea of helping the FBI?

I didn't. I did not see any criminal activity going on at my company and was not going to wear a wire to help imprison innocent people as was done to me.

I'm just going to leave this here: www.innocenceproject.org Although they mostly deal with persons crimes, I'm sure they would be interested to hear from you.

thanks

Do you now wish you had actually done some insider trading that made you some good cash seeing as you have already done the time for it?

I don't.

There was no discussion of trades. They said I knew inside info was being passed on calls between our clients and industry consultants--calls I was not on but the Feds were tapping. They recorded thousands of these calls and found a few that were questionable. They then approached me and said I knew inside info was being passed on these calls and if I wanted to stay out of prison I needed to wear a wire and help them imprison my co-workers. Not their exact words of course but that was definitely the message.

If the charges were for insider trading, shouldn't there have been a discussion of trades? Inside info is not illegal, every company exec ever and probably their kids have inside info. Doesn't it only become illegal when you profit off of it? If there weren't any questionably timed trades, it would seem to me that your lawyer should have been talking about your trading history.

I was rung up on conspiracy charges. They said i helped investors get inside information by recommending consultants I knew were dirty. I was not on the calls between the investors and the consultants but the FBI recorded all of these and found that on about 1% of them a few consultants were crossing the line. I knew nothing about it. They said I did. I fought and lost.

Were you found to be innocent or did you live out your full sentence? If you did and can prove you were innocent the government would owe you quite a lot of money.

I was convicted after spending our retirement savings to pay our lawyer. I was sentenced to 30 months and did 14 of those in a prison camp in Colorado

[deleted]

I did not get into it with most people. I just said it was a white collar crime or securities crime. No one wants to hear you are innocent but I made a few friends who I confided in.

I was paid 12 cents an hour!

What was your workout routine?

I ran about thirty miles a week. I walked about twenty. I did push-up, pull-ups, dips 3-4 times a week. For me the best place was on the track walking or running laps, listening to my music at the foot of the Rockies in the desolation of the high desert plains.

That's an awesome fitness routine!

Guys are really disciplined for the most part. I was a slacker compared with the routines of others. Good friend I made there lost over a hundred pounds. There is a lot of positive peer pressure. Saying you don't work out is like saying you don't usually shower!

Although not completely--but somewhat--relevant did you get a chance to see 'The Wolf of Wall Street'?

You know I did not really even know about that movie until today! I will check it out.

It's based on Jordan Belfort's tell-all book about his lavish life-style made possible through his own ponzi scheme.

I did alright but was not making millions. The most lavish thing we ever did was take a trip to Hawaii for my 40th. I am thankful to come out of this ordeal with my wife's support and we did not lose our modest home in Santa Clara, CA

Was there a time in prison when you feared for your life?

No. I had a couple confrontations but people are strongly motivated NOT to fight bc if you do you get booted out of the Camp

If you went back in time to the day you were arrested, is there anything throughout your experience with the justice system that you would have done differently?

Also, what advice would you offer someone who has just been sentenced to prison?

I don't regret what I did. I wish there was some way to avoid the pain it brought to the loved ones around me. I fought so hard and spent all of our retirement savings because I just could not lie about a crime I did not commit and help to put others away.

I have given advice to someone heading to prison. The worst part is the fear of going--the dread of the unknown. For me, it got much better once I got there. I wish someone would have told me that!

How did you go coping everyday? Was there routine and something that got you through?

I had a routine of running, reading and writing. I got some naps in too! The worst part was just not being able to be with my family. Missed wearing my own clothes, eating fresh fruits and vegetables, driving a car and surfing the Web.

What are some of the things that you read while you were in?

Jonathan Tropper Nelson Mandela Mark Twain TC Boyle "Born to Run" "Man's Search for Meaning"

I only read about a book a week. I knew guys who read a book a day! Inmates are very disciplined...or many are in terms of diet, exercise and education.

In your experience do you think that once people leave that they have become better people - or at least in some aspects? Getting used to being disciplined like that is a very fulfilling way to live.

For some prison is just what they need. I met a number of drug addicts that told me if they had not been locked up they would be dead. Was not the case for me. I tried to make the best of my time and did pretty well. But it was not any kind of transformative experience. It was painful bc I have young children and found it difficult to be away from them. My wife did an amazing job and I am so happy to now be with them and have my life back.

How did you handle being on a jail diet and being diabetic?

Was not easy. At least the meds were free! But I had very few options in terms of food and could not test my blood sugars throughout the day. I had to line up at 6am for Medical if I wanted to do so!

How much did the state give you?

I did 14 months of Federal time.

12 cents an hour. They guys making the big money had to wait a year for the factory jobs (unicor) that paid a whopping $200 a month. But when you don't have to pay for food or rent $200 is not too bad

What do you do now? Are you trading again?

I work with friends I have known for years at a little software start-up. My last job was my first and last job in finance.

Why is insider trading illegal? It seems to me that anyone inside the world of wall street could be considered participating in insider trading at any time. It's one of those laws that can be arbitrarily enforced. Also, who is the victim? People who didn't know the same information? Uh, hello, that's 99% of your average Joe who's buying stocks.

Right, if all the information was available the market would assign the true value to a stock and there would not be the dips and surges as seen when the curtains are lifted once a quarter when companies release earnings. This is really funny because the Feds constantly are talking about how they are making the markets more fair by enforcing insider trading laws when it's the laws themselves that are preventing the market from determining the true value of the stock. They are keeping the information a secret to everyone but those insiders who have access to the intel.

With that said, I believe in honoring the law as it is until changes are made (hopefully) and I did so while working at the job that put me in prison.

Did you think of committing suicide when you knew that it was not you?

Do you think your people/relative/friends believed you? Did it change your perception of friends?

What did you gain from the prison? I read some articles of convicts (guilty) who were in fact learn a lot about themselves and the world through the prison since they have time to read and write, something that they could often not do on the streets. Could you relate to them? Of course I am not implying prison is fun.

People who know me understand I would not do this. They understood why I fought. If I were guilty it would have been easy to simply take a deal, get probation and move on. Yes I was offered probation.

You have a lot of time. I used mine to read, write and get into good physical condition. This was not a transformative experience for me. I was away from my young children and it put a lot of stress on my wife. I just wanted to get back to support them. However, I did my best to make the most of the time.

I knew guys who lost over a hundred pounds, found God, kicked drug habits. For some prison was the best thing that happened to them and might have save their lives. I was not that guy.

I never considered suicide. I was afraid of being separated from my family for years and felt terrible thinking about my daughters having to grow up without me. Fortunately the impact was not too bad.

did you come across any inmates that had been jailed for stock market related crimes or was it more drop kick, no education-type criminals?

90% of the guys at the Camp in Colorado were there on drug charges. Many of them for selling pot. My bunkmate like to point out how when he was on his way to the prison to self-surrender he saw a ton of pot shops in Denver.

So how is Zihuatanejo this time of year?

I guess this really is "anything, huh?"

Current conditions are: Weather: 75°F (24°C), Wind 0 mph (0 km/h), 78% Humidity

It's a "Shawshank Redemption" reference.

ah...very popular at the Camp as well as Breaking Bad and Walking Dead. And guess what else? The Twilight series. Seriously!

Have you been able to find work now that you are out?

I am very fortunate to have good friends who run a little software start-up and I do sales for them

Do you think a lawyer who was more charismatic, direct, eloquent, out-of-the-box would have won your case?

I don't think so

Are you part of the "A-team"?

Sorry. Not sure what that means.

http://imgur.com/9YxjYmC

OP is the guy on the right. OP would appreciate it if you would not "mess up his ride."

I will take that under consideration

Is it true that guys get raped in jail?

They do but not where I was at. I had no prior criminal record so I went to minimum security camp. Any kind of violence will get you booted out of there into much scarier places so this works well to keep most guys in line. There was very little fighting. Guys would threaten each other sometimes but rarely would blows be exchanged.

Forbes ran this story today about my experience

http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2014/01/29/convicted-inside-trader-james-fleishman-reflects-on-crime-that-wasnt/

I am giving away free Kindle copies of my book.

www.inside-story-book.com (Scroll to bottom of page to see the deal)

If you were to meet any of the people responsible for putting you in prison or anyone who mistreated you while you were there, what would you say or do?

I guess it depends who they are but I would probably not say much for fear of getting into some kind of trouble. That is my biggest concern. After all I have been through the last thing I want is a lawsuit of some kind. The system is rotten and uses people. I made a choice not to be a puppet and got crushed. I understand those guys were scared and working for the Feds helped them keep their freedom.

I was not really mistreated other than the typical dehumanizing treatment. I once had a cop who worked in the kitchen yell at me rip a styrofoam tray out of my hands as I was walking out because you are not supposed to take ice out of the kitchen. The wait back in the housing unit was about 20 minutes for ice and most cops could care less if you took ice, but this guy had his eye on me. What if I saw him? I dunno, I would probably just ignore him.

Have you seen Orange Is The New Black?

I have not yet read the book but really enjoyed it on Netflix. They get a lot right--details like the blankets were identical to the ones I slept with!

Did it make getting a job really difficult after you got out of prison, or did you get straight into writing the book?

I have been writing for the past few years, before, during and after my time incarcerated.

I am really lucky to have good friends I have worked with in the past and am working for now at a software start-up here in the SF Bay Area.

how rapey was it?

I had no prior criminal record so I qualified for a "Camp". This is a minimum security institutional with zero tolerance for misbehavior. So there was very little violence and definitely no rapes. Simply getting in a fight whether it's your fault or not will get you booted out of the Camp into a low security joint where rapes and fights are more common.

Cant think of anything worse than been accused of something you have not done .How did you get your head around it.

I fought it for a long time. It was a year between my arrest and conviction. The hardest part was before going to prison--the dread and uncertainty of my fate. Once I got past sentencing and started doing the time, things got much better. Throughout the ordeal I did my best to stay as positive as possible. Writing helped. I was very fortunate to get lots of support from my friends and family helped.

Do you ever get tired of hearing "That's what they all say" ?

I did not spend much time in prison explaining my case.

I am enjoying the dialogue here. Thanks to all. Apparently the media have found it interesting as welll:

http://www.businessinsider.com/convicted-insider-trader-on-prison-life-2014-1

I must say that I was intrigued when I 1st saw the article about your story posted on one of the news outlets. I was hoping to see someone notable enough to grab some real headlines post about life inside our federal correction facility. I have to hand it to you about nailing down the justice system and the way it works. Absolutely spot on partner but your portrayal of what life is like on the inside after spending 14 months in a pussy camp ain't what Fed prison is like. You do an injustice to all the folks that were forced to sign plea agreements and in doing so feel the full might of what it is like to have the Feds punish you for not assisting them by giving a lengthy sentence of 60 months or more for a probation eligible offense to be served at a either an FCI or FCC. I'm afraid your readers are getting the wrong impression of what it is really like as 14 months is an extended vacation. Hats off for outing the Feds and the way it works because that was spot on but as for the rest of your portrayal you do a disservice to anyone that was forced to do their time in any low, medium or high security joint which is the norm for people that do not cooperate in any form what so ever with to prosecutor regardless of whether they are camp eligible or not. So your saying you don't have a 5K.1 Rule 35 in any of your paperwork? Just want to clear that up. I knew plenty of white color convictions that had worse charges than you hit the yard at Yazoo City or Coleman. They were standup guys and the never saw a camp because of having separates in their papers to keep them away from the guys that became bitches real fast just so they could go to a camp. Please clarify that and how you go from 30 months to 14 when the Feds don't have parole and require 85% sentence completed if you retain all your good time credit. 14 is not even 50% of 30 allowing for 3 month good time on a 30 month sentence would put you at the door in 27. Please tell.

You make some good points here. The Business Insider story does give folks the wrong impression of prison. It really is much, MUCH worse for many others. I was offered probation shortly before my trial. I was convicted by a jury. I fought every step of the way and never cooperated in ANY way but must confess I did open a door for a prosecutor at my trial. The FBI wanted me to wear a wire and I refused. It's all documented here: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/sac-trial-seen-by-probe-convict-as-latest-abusive-tactic.html

I got into the DAP program which saved me six months of time and gave me six months of halfway house time. And I got good time, ten days of which were taken away because while I was still an inmate under the supervision of the halfway house I left my job site in Santa Cruz and got some falafel and got busted for that and threatened to be sent back to prison.

People's lives are destroyed by the Feds. I have a few scars but am moving on. Thanks for pointing out that for many it's a complete disaster that ruins their lives.

However, I would also like to point out that my memoir is a vivid description of the experience in prison and gives the reader a first-hand, personal account of the prison experience: I detail many instances of pettiness and dehumanization in terms of treatment from many of the guards. Of course Business Insider just pulled a bunch of stuff from this forum to craft a story that people would eat up.

That math ads up and it was not clear that you had a prior substance abuse issue that qualified you for RDAP. I think that it does not have to be mentioned why I had reservations about your statement of not cooperating. I am have a little suspicion as to how you managed to get camp placement, 1st time, none violent, bla bla bla. I get that but what I I have issue with wrapping my head around is for someone that bucked the Feds the way you portray yourself as doing does not get camps. The get get minimum security classified then the Feds ask te BOP to place a management variable on their unfortunate ass and stick them behind a fence in a low security outside their region. At least that was how I experienced it and how every other poor sob that decided to tell the Feds to kick rocks. Yes there were the occasional guy that but the lottery and ended up telling them to fuck off and still get Maxwell or Pensacola but rare. Not trying to take anything away from what you interpreted as what prison life must be like from your 14 months at a camp, and I will refrain from being rude this time, but I still don't believe you have any idea, CONCEPTION, of what it is like to be locked up in a real prison. Never saw a camp but was rated minimum out custody with a management variable the entire time I was in. I met plenty of guys that fucked up at a camp and were sent to behind the fence in a low or medium. Most guys would not associate with them for several reasons 1) to hear the stories about how sweet and carefree a camp is was a little heartbreaking. 2) 90% of those that started out in a camp did so by assisting the Feds. I get it you did not.

What you don't get is what it is like to have to live in a real joint. To have to live with the constant threat of violence and the hopelessness that comes from 1500-2000 hard motherfuckers that would as soon fight because they see 90-180 days in the SHU as a break in stress associated with living in a real prison. You don't understand what it is like to be put on con air and transferred through and laid over OK City or Atlanta Pen for a couple of weeks. I seriously doubt you had a real experience of having to deal with US Marshals, the 2nd lowest form of scum on the earth only a slight step above BOP correctional officers, armed with machine guns while you were handcuffed and shackled with belly chain any time you were moved between court, city or county jails, prisons or internally within a prison. Strip searched going into and then exiting any visit with an attorney or a family member. Real federal prison is violent, gangs, hopeless psychotics. It is having to seriously be conscious of exactly what you say and how you say it, who you look at and the endless perceived interpretations someone can have with 99 out of 100 being wrong and will end up in a fight. Don't get me wrong I and most guys I knew were 1st time offenders in for a none violent drug charge. I'm a big guy and I have had my share of college bar fights, traveled around the world in some pretty tough countries but I had to literally and consciously lock my knees to keep the fact my legs were shaking as bad as the small guy in front of me when offloaded from a bus or a plane and all you see is straight up concrete and Constantine wire as you are brought into Atlanta Pen or flown into OK city. You don't understand what it is like to be locked down 23 hours a day with 3 other guys in a 2 man cell with no mattress on a concrete floor and having to rearrange so folks can take a dump and only getting a 5 minute shower ever 3 days. You don't know what prison is when you at no moment or time can show a sign of emotion or weakness. You do not know what it is like to walk out on a yard and have to make sure you do not communicate with anyone of a different race than the one you are. Worse have to make sure none of your own race of inmates perceive you to show anything but contempt for any race but your own. What people NEED to realize is that is Federal prison and where the majority of 1st time, none violent, drug and other offense end up. That is a low security joint one step up from a camp where you were. They maintained you and other guys in a camp with one guard for what 100 inmates and no fence by threatening to send you to a low security if you caught a shot right? It was the threat of actually being sent to a real prison that made you behave. And you want to talk about that place you were as if it was what prison was about.

It is that that Feds use to convince people to testify, make up and lie about someone else. The prisons are full of folks convicted of dry conspiracy charges. In the US it only takes 2 people to go to the Feds and claim someone sold drugs, committed fraud or some other crime for a person to be convicted of a federal crime. People that don't know better think that is BS but it is not. 2 people can completely lie to Feds and no evidence ever be found other than that testimony and the Feds will get a 5-15 yr minimum mandatory conviction. The only person that does not go to prison is the 1st person to agree to cooperate. You have hard core life long gang banging drug dealers that get busted and they will immediately offer assistance. They turn in 5 junkies that they sell drugs to and the Feds go to those people who never sold drugs only used them and place them in a situation where an undercover DEA agent or another CI gets that person to make a phone call or be the middle person in a transaction for a small sack of weed or gram of coke. That junkie gets all the time and the drug dealer walks or gets a less sentence. The Feds force people to lie in court. They knowingly tell people to lie in court just to get convictions.

Yes you got fucked dude but I still say you have no conception what so ever what REAL prison is about.

Thanks for providing such detail so folks can get an idea of what prison is like for many others. Again, I cooperated in NO WAY.

I heard a lot of stories about these places you describe and was glad I just had to hear about them, but I did not spend too much time thinking about them.

I spent my time thinking about the guys whose lies were exposed at my trial and how they got probation. I thought about not seeing my baby take her first steps 1300 miles away. I thought about all the stress and pain my wife and mother had to suffer through as the legal bills mounted and eventually wiped us out.

Even though we were in a camp, we did have strip searches after visits. I also got strip-searched one day leaving work at the ADX--we all did. Again, I get that the Camp life is much easier in nearly every way but disagree that I was not in a real prison. It may have been a very nice prison but it still was prison. I was confined to the Camp. Had to be careful in everything I said and did. One wrong word to a CO would have gotten me locked up in the SHU and have kept me there months longer. I slept in an 8X10 cube I shared with another inmate.

Are you considering suing the Feds for wrongful prosecution?

No.

Why not? A further drain on finances? I am wondering if the Innocence Project could help you.

There was a remote chance that the Supreme Court would hear the case but I opted not to pursue it as we'd nearly lost everything fighting already, my wife was home alone with the two kids and I was making 12 cents an hour in prison.

If you could go back in time, would you advise yourself not to hire a lawyer, knowing how it would turn out if you did?

Whether you cooperate or not you need a lawyer. However I think your question is whether or not I would fight it. That is a tough one. I am proud that I stood up for what was right but wish there was some way to have avoided putting my family through the pain.

Do you suffer from paranoia/anxiety after this experience? I feel like having Big Brother ruining a chunk of your life would have a ton of mental repercussions.

I remember when I first got into a car and drove from the halfway house for my first visit home. I was terrified of being pulled over and constantly watching my speed and the rear view mirror, looking for cops.

Thankfully I am much more relaxed these days.

"Want to know how you can get convicted of a crime by a jury without a shred of direct evidence?"

What did the prosecutors use for evidence against you? In other words, was the word of another the only thing it took to send you to prison?

Did you have bank records that show you had undue profits somehow? If not, couldn't you have simply shown your bank accounts were not overflowing with new cash?

All of the testimony at the trial was from cooperating witnesses who were trying to get probation and they all did. One guy I worked with made up a call that never happened and then said he could not remember his own cell phone number, not even the area code in order to prevent us from showing the call did not happen. And there were a few others whose lies were shown to the jury but they did not care. This was a the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement. They were arresting folks a quarter mile away on the Brooklyn bridge on Sept 17th 2011. I was convicted by the jury on Sept 20th

There was no discussion of trades. They said I knew inside info was being passed on calls between our clients and industry consultants--calls I was not on but the Feds were tapping. They recorded thousands of these calls and found a few that were questionable. They then approached me and said I knew inside info was being passed on these calls and if I wanted to stay out of prison I needed to wear a wire and help them imprison my co-workers. Not their exact words of course but that was definitely the message.

Then did you have a shitty lawyer? I mean, can't a lawyer go over what evidence is and basically the definition of it?

Or I suppose the jury thought that those few questionable calls were substantial enough for a "beyond reasonable doubt" conviction. I find it surprising that someone could base a conviction on what they think the other person would understand about a phone call (except if you spoke directly about your actual knowledge of insider trading going on). I guess the prosecutor was quite persuasive.

(I think there is a question hidden in there :) )

The jury assumed I was guilty. That is the truth about our criminal justice system. For white collar crime it's "guilty until proven innocent". I was a guy in a suit. A Wall Street guy. Why would the Feds spend all this time on me if I wasn't guilty, right? The truth was I was supposed to flip and help them get my bosses. I was never supposed to go to trial and was punished for it. They tried to put me away for nine years. I am thankful that my lawyer helped me to get 30 months

Sooo what did you supposedly do exactly?

I was convicted of helping investors get inside information--conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The Feds said I knew this info was being exchanged on the calls my firm set up between investors and industry folks. I was not on these calls but the FBI recorded thousands of them for six months then approached me. They said I knew inside info was being passed and if I wanted to stay out of prison I should wear a wire and help incriminate my co-workers. I fought it ever step of the way and lost. I got a 30 month sentence and got back home last July.

Forgot to mention that they actually only found questionable info on about 1% of these recorded calls. My company set up about ten thousand calls a year.

Wow, 30 months for something you didn't do. How long did it take before you accepted that you lost?

The hardest part was before going to prison. I accepted that I lost but was afraid of how many years I would be separated from my family. I got some relief when I just was sentenced to 30 months but was fearful of prison life. The worst part of the whole experience turned out to be those months of dread--not knowing.

"just 30 months". Fuck that. What will you do if they ever find out you actually didn't do anything.

little late for that

Could you have gotten out of wearing a wire by being clumsy or obviously prone to embarrassing the feds in wearing the wire? In other words, do you think adopting the persona of someone who enthusiastically wants to help the Feds and play super-spy but so comically incompetent that anyone wanting to save their career as a Federal employee would do everything in their power to keep you from wearing a wire would have done the trick?

The wording of the agreement they have you sign is that you provide "substantial assistance". So probably not.

The guy (Karl Motey) who cold-called me posing as a hedge fund manager interested in using our service worked for the FBI for over a year and did hundreds of calls with our consultants and those at other expert networks. I had to listen to ALL of these calls as paralegal for my shoe-string legal team and assemble a super index.

He testified at my trial and admitted the FBI coached him to be discreet with me about the information he was getting--that it was and not specifically tell me he got inside information after making hundreds of recorded calls and attempted to get people to talk about confidential info. He testified at my trial and got probation.

I'm not sure how the timeline of this works, but I'm assuming that they would not even present the agreement to you if they thought you'd be a liability to their case -- or is it something the spring on you the moment you are in custody?

I did not see the agreement but learned about it at my trial when my lawyer pointed out the motivation for the folks who were testifying against me. There were four: three got probation. One guy from Samsung testified under immunity that I was at a lunch where he discussed the iPad before it was launched, saying it was not going to do well. How's that for inside information?

So FBI wanted you to wear a wire, but never presented you an agreement like they did to those four?

Right. They were looking for a verbal agreement first which I never gave them. Then I would have worked with the prosecutor on the agreement.

What do you think about the jury members today? What are your emotions when you think about them?

I think in many cases defendants don't get fair treatment from a jury. Just read the comments below from folks who have served on juries. It's shameful that so many people's lives are damaged or even ruined by the whims of folks reluctantly serving and simply wanting to get out as quickly as possible.

Are you Andy dufrense?

"Shawshank" was a favorite movie in the TV room as well as "Breaking Bad"

If you were in the jury and you were presented the same facts as they did in your case, what would you vote for? guilty or not?

I would have voted to acquit. Three members of the jury actually did on the initial vote and then were talked out of it. Again, there was not a shred of direct evidence. I never had any clients ask me for inside information and never helped them to get it. The case was built entirely on guys who were working against me to get probation. They succeeded in getting to walk and the Feds succeeded in convicting me. This is how our justice system works. It's a rigged game for many.

That's disgusting.

How has this changed you? Do you suffer from anger?

I am resentful some but as I have my life back now and am free to talk about it, it has become much easier to come to terms with.

If the Feds wanted you to wear a wire to gather evidence against others. Did the other people in fact wear a wire to gather evidence against you?

One did. Karl Motey.

Did you sue them, and how much?

no

He was convicted. In the eyes of the law, he is guilty and probably can't sue anyone.

But, he should probably let the air out of his lawyer's tires.

My lawyer actually did a good job and saved me a ton on restitution. The system is rigged. I don't blame my lawyer but the system.

This guy was a sales manager for an Expert Network company. Expert Network companies' function is to connect employees of large publicly traded companies with investors, mainly hedge funds. These investors pay very large sums of money to meet with company insiders. They claim that these meetings are not for the purpose of sharing inside information, but we have seen numerous prior examples showing that that's exactly what was going on. Hedge fund managers aren't paying shitloads of money to sit down and have coffee, they are looking for a return on their investment. I have a very hard time believing that Mr. Fleishman was completely unaware of what was going on at his firm. Here's an excerpt from a recorded conversation between he and a prospective client:

“You’re accessing our networking of contacts to get information from them, you know kind of to prove or disprove your model,” Fleishman can be heard saying on the call. “Talking to them, uh, so they can be a resources for you.”

Primary Global, based in Mountain View, California, links investors with industry experts at public companies. In his position as a sales manager, Fleishman was responsible for attracting new clients and arranging for fund managers to speak to consultants, the U.S. said.

Motey asked Fleishman if he could get specific information about technology companies, not just industry trends.

‘It Depends’

“It depends who you’re talking to,” Fleishman said. “In Taiwan, who are seeing stuff on a day-to-day basis that can say ‘Hey, here’s how things are kind of shaping up for June.’”

Motey told jurors he was surprised by Fleishman’s statement because late May or early June is a period just before companies issue quarterly earnings.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Leibowitz asked Motey what he understood Fleishman to be saying.

“I took it to mean that they had people who’d be able to give me daily updates on a particular company, even on a day-to- day basis,” Motey said.

Fleishman also said consultants last names weren’t given out to clients or their contact information.

“You just try to provide anonymity to some degree for the experts,” Fleishman said.

“That’s just to protect them from investor relations?” Motey said.

‘Us and Them’

“Yeah, because the relationship we have is between us and them,” Fleishman replied.

Leibowitz asked Motey what he understood Fleishman to mean.

“What I meant was in my experience, investor relations keeps a very tight control over who gets to talk and what message gets out,” he said. “Investor relations would not want employees to be talking to investors.”

If he really didn't know shady stuff was going on then he would have to be incredibly stupid, and I don't think that's the case. I'm not seeing enough skepticism in this thread.

Good research. The prospective client you mention above is Karl Motey, an FBI mole cold-calling me. He spent over a year doing his best to get inside information. He spoke to over a hundred consultants and was successful in getting a few to cross the line. When he did, the FBI instructed him to be vague with me about what he was doing. We set up 10,000 calls a year. Calls I was not on and usually did not even set up but were done through our website. There were forty other companies doing just what we were doing and many are operating today. Expert Networks are legit businesses. The FBI listened in on thousands of calls and just found a few they were able to use. Motey succeeded in getting probation for his work to entrap me.

You weren't specific: what evidence did the jury see that led them to think that you're guilty beyond a reasonable doubt? If the evidence was so bad, why did you lawyer lose the case?

In this post, you've blamed everyone: the FBI, Frontline, the jury, Occupy Wallstreet. Everyone expect yourself. It sounds to me that you've got a large case of denialitis.

I don't blame you for thinking as you do and this is one of the reasons I wrote the book. You have to understand that this could happen to you. A good friend of mine wrote the following after I got flamed in the comments section of the Bloomberg article that ran last week:

In Fleishman's case, when you look at the details, you find that the evidence against him was astoundingly weak. This is something the press rarely reports on (because it is not sensational) but which you can read in the public court record any time you like (case U.S. v. Nguyen, 11-cr-32, SDNY).

The government's side of the story is widely reported in the press.

You can read Fleishman's rarely-reported side of the story here: http://inside-story-book.com/

I am a friend who sat through many days of Fleishman's trial and read trial transcripts for other days. I am not in the finance industry or in any way associated with the case. I found the case fascinating and frightening because I saw it as a huge miscarriage of justice. I know James to be an honorable, everyday person who was a new-hire sales guy at his first Wall Street job, not some larger-than-life criminal mastermind as the absurd prosecution painted him. I knew him a few years before, when he was an office manager buying paper towels and snickers bars to stock our small company's office kitchen. We are not talking 1% here! The case completely drained all of James's finances, which he was hoping to spend on his family including two small daughters. Those who knee-jerk respond "well he should have considered that before committing his crime" need to consider that he might not have committed a crime at all, and imagine themselves in James's shoes. James's salary at PGR was nowhere near enough to hire the multi-million-dollar super-lawyers that Steven Cohen can. Perhaps that is why the Fed chose to scapegoat James: they could be sure he couldn't put up much of a fight. Actually, it looks like the Feds were expecting James to immediately plead guilty and flip and were surprised that he would have enough integrity and balls to defend his innocence at trial.

I was disgusted by what I saw at the trial in New York. In the entire trial, where literally thousands of pages and thousands of hours of secretly recorded wiretapped phone conversions and emails were collected and presented, there was NOT ONE SINGLE recording where Fleishman gave material non-public information or listened on a call where material non-public information was passed. Let me make this clear: there was NO DIRECT EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER. Fleishman's job was a salesman getting as many people as possible to do calls (the press likes to use his title "Sales VP" or even incorrectly shorten it to "VP" when convenient for sensationalism, but make no mistake: he was a first-time salesman just like the grunt you phone up at Schwab or your bank is called a "Sales VP"). James would describe the available expert consultants to the fund manager on the phone, make a sale by setting up the fund manager in the company's automated appointment system, hang up and move on to the next fund manager. Company admins would later set up the call between consultant and fund manager and James was not on those calls at all. He had no reason to be. James had to sign up as many fund managers as possible each day, so there was no motive for him to be on the calls where industry information is exchanged. (full comment here) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/sac-trial-seen-by-probe-convict-as-latest-abusive-tactic.html#disqus_thread

So what, specifically, did the jury see that made them think you were guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?

They didn't. The system is a joke. People want to believe the Government. I walked in to the courtroom as a guilty white collar Wall Street guy. They jury figured if I was innocent the Feds would not have spent all the time and money bringing up charges. In order to have won my lawyer would have had to convince them that I was innocent beyond a reasonable doubt. This is how our system works for white collar crime.

Those poor white collar workers :(

I don't believe you. There's no way you could have been convicted by a jury of your peers let alone be indicted by a grand jury without evidence. You may be telling yourself there was no evidence, your friends may tell you there was no evidence, but the prosecutors disagree, the judge disagrees and most importantly, the jury disagrees.

I will look up the transcripts when I can. Here's my prediction: you're lying to yourself as much as you're lying to all of us. I hope you come to terms with your conviction soon.

If I had been guilty I could have just taken the deal and saved myself a lot of money and time--saved my family a lot of PAIN. I could have stayed with my young daughters and wife. I chose to fight for what was right and got punished for it. This happens every day. You are naive to believe that a jury would never convict an innocent person. Many people think as you do and trust the government--applaud them for doing such a magnificent job. This is why I am speaking out. I want people to know that if indicted it's a rigged game that the Feds use to stack up their wins--their convictions using cooperating witnesses. Very few fight because whether you are innocent or not you're likely to lose.

A guy I worked with said I knew what was going on. Why? He said everyone knew, but none of the management of my company was charged. He sat up there on the stand and pretended he could not recall his own cell phone number bc if he had we could have proved he was lying about a call that never happened.

Another guy was recorded on a call by an FBI mole admitting that he did not know who I was? "James? James who?" he said. Then they use him at my trial. Another claimed I recruited him to work at my company but my lawyer showed that I had not even been hired yet. We played a call he did with me where he actually told me he was NOT giving out inside info. "I never give out specific numbers," he said. And this was my only recorded call with him! The FBI mole admitted that the FBI coached him on keeping me in the dark about the inside info he was collecting so as to not alarm me. He was doing the calls and getting the info but being vague with me about it.

The guy who told me he never gave about specific numbers was defrauding my company to get paid for calls that never happened. He paid off someone in Finance for inside info and then lied about it to the FBI to implicate an innocent man. And guess what happened to him? Just like all the others, he was given a free pass for his fine work lying on the stand at my trial.