What to Ask When Hiring a Federal Prison Consultant

White-Collar crime in South Florida, as in the rest of the United States, is escalating at an alarming rate. It is inevitable. White-collar crime happens every day. Today’s white-collar criminals are more adept than in the past. The tremendous growth in the Internet has caused a proliferation of the new sophisticated and talented online scam artists. The current economic conditions, loss of jobs, failed financial system, and Wall Street securities and commodities fraud has brought about a new onslaught of white-collar crime. Who is next—are you?

The federal government appears up to meeting the challenge. Currently, the Department of Justice has a 97% guilty plea rate in federal criminal cases. Federal prosecutors have over a 75% conviction rate following trial, and 91% of federal criminal defendants receive a prison sentence. In an effort to combat this rapid rise in white-collar crime, law enforcement officials including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Customs officials have stepped up their efforts in fighting these crimes by forming Internet specific crime centers. Special units such as the National White Collar Crime Center, Internet Fraud Complaint Center, National Cybercrime Training Partnership, and the Coalition for the Prevention of Economic Crime have been formed to specifically fight white-collar crime.

This has certainly stepped up the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crimes and white-collar criminals. White-collar crimes are being aggressively prosecuted at both the state and federal level, depending on whether a state or federal law was broken. If convicted, these crimes usually result in long prison sentences, large fines, and restitution to the victims of the crime.  The days of a slap on the wrist, probation, a trip to Club Fed, and/or home confinement are over for white-collar defendants. New laws, stiffer penalties, and more vigorous prosecution of white-collar crimes all combine for longer sentences and higher security designations for white-collar criminals.  

Unfortunately, many lower level corporate employees are getting swept up in the net. Most white-collar offenders are simply ordinary people who got into financial difficulty and tried to get out of it through illegal and fraudulent means. Others are lower level corporate employees who may have unknowingly broken the law by following upper management directives and initiatives. Regrettably, they too are getting sentenced to long federal prison terms.

It is no longer a question of will these people go to federal prison, it’s a question of where will they go and how long will they be there?  With longer sentences, more stringent prosecution of white-collar criminals, and harsher designations, isn’t it only prudent to hire an experienced Federal Prison Consultant. How can a federal criminal defendant afford not to? Yet what do you ask when hiring a Federal Prison Consultant? Here are some very good tips!

A Federal Prison Consultant must be qualified. He must be able to work with the defendant and his family. Ask these questions and look for these important qualifications and characteristics.

·         Has he been through the system? Does he know the “ins” and “outs” of federal incarceration? Is he a judicially recognized BOP expert who has experienced the arduous process of federal incarceration? If he is, he will lend valuable and practical insight for the client.

·         Can you work with him? Don’t pick a Federal Prison Consultant who tries to use scare tactics to get you to enlist his services. You need the truth; honest answers to difficult questions.  

·         Can the consultant work with you immediately, prior to your arrival at prison? It is important to have him aboard at the earliest possible time, prior to sentencing if possible. There are so many factors to consider including the Pre-Sentencing Investigation Interview, the Pre-Sentencing Report examination, sentence reduction strategies, judicial recommendations, facility designation, positioning for Bureau of Prisons’ programs, and consultation with your legal defense team.

·         Will the consultant be there while you are in prison? Will he be representing your interests with the many situations that may occur while an inmate is doing his time? Will he help with Administrative Remedy Appeals, Financial Responsibility Program payment information, furloughs, transfers, and Commutation of Sentence requests to name just a few? Is he not only knowledgeable in these areas, but is he an expert in these areas?

·         Will he be there after you are released? Will he provide assistance and reference materials for assistance in locating a job, regaining your rights, and expunging or clearing your criminal record?

·         Who does the consultant work with? Who else is on the team? Does the consultant have a female consultant who can offer the wives and families of incarcerated men the opportunity to talk to someone who has been through it all, from the other side. She will offer a totally different point of view—the family member left behind, the family member remaining on the outside. Vast numbers of wives, sons, and daughters are left behind. She will understand the anxiety these people face. She will draw on her own experiences to provide clear concise answers as well as support to their many questions and concerns.

·         Finally, is the company professionally recognized? Is this a company you would want representing you in the Pre-Sentencing Investigation Interview, before a judge, or in front of Bureau of Prisons staff members?

People are going to prison at a shocking rate. The prison population is increasing every year. Prisons are overcrowded. Defendants are being sentenced to higher security institutions with longer sentences. Now more than ever, Federal Prison Consultants are needed. You no longer have to be rich to hire a Federal Prison Consultant; you just have to be knowledgeable. 

Michael Frantz, Federal Prison Consultant

Mr. Frantz is a leading national Federal Prison Consultant with JT Consulting LLC (Jail Time Consulting) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The staff of JT Consulting LLC provides consultation services, books, JT Special Reports©, as well as timely information to those individuals and their families who are preparing for federal incarceration.  JT Consulting offers solutions to the problems that men and women facing federal incarceration are confronted with. These are solutions to real life issues affecting their families, their livelihood, and their future. Mr. Frantz has written a book on federal prison titled, “Jail Time, What you need to know…Before you go to federal prison.” He has also authored over thirty-five JT Special Reports© on various federal prison issues affecting both the inmate and his/her family. He writes a daily blog on the Jail Time Consulting website www.jailtimeconsulting.com and answers readers’ questions and comments. He can be reached at 954-522-2254.

Medical Care in Federal Prison: Pathetic, Appalling, and Inexcusable!

Today’s post is a letter to the Editor in response to a viewer’s commentary titled, “Inmate Deaths: Lengthy appels process the real problem”. The article is in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel newspaper and appeared on March 1, 2009. The author talked about the “far better level of medical care that federal prisoners receive from taxpayers than they would have provided for themselves outside the prison walls.” I also took exception to his view that all federal prisoners receive several layers of careful and exhaustive reviews of their cases. My response follows:

I am responding to a commentary written by Mr. Al Ortenzo in the March 1, 2009 edition of the Sun Sentinel (“Inmate deaths: Lengthy appeals process the real problem”). I realize that Mr. Ortenzo is Assistant Chief of Police and responsible for the Operations Bureau that includes all uniformed police services, including three police districts, as well as many other specialized units. I also realize that he is very knowledgeable in these areas. I am in total agreement with Mr. Ortenzo’s opinion that the appeal process seems overly burdensome in our court system. Death row should be a short term holding facility but only after all exhaustive attempts have been made to assure that real justice has been afforded each prisoner. I assume, after reading Mr. Ortenzo’s article, that he is a proponent for the death penalty. I myself, am not against the death penalty, when it is clearly determined that the individual who is about to die really did the crime.

In his article, Mr. Ortenzo states, “Each and every case, no matter how egregious the crime, certainly deserves several layers of careful and exhaustive reviews.”  I totally agree with his statement but unfortunately, that is currently not happening. With the advent of DNA testing, many wrongfully incarcerated individuals are being proven innocent and being released from federal incarceration. The Innocence Project alone on April 23, 2007 exonerated its 200^th inmate who was wrongfully convicted based on eyewitness identification through misidentification. Mr. Jerry Miller was exonerated through DNA testing and DNA evidence.  He had always maintained his innocence but to no avail. Fortunately, he was released after only serving 24 years in prison. Jerry Miller lost nearly his entire adult life because of a wrongful conviction. He didn’t go to the death chamber, he didn’t lose his life.  Yet how many innocent individuals have gone to the death chamber before DNA testing could prove them innocent. We will never know, but even one is too many.

In cases where the accused admits guilt to the crime and there can be no possible mistake as evidenced by DNA testing, the death penalty may be warranted. But until that happens, we cannot say that several layers of careful and exhaustive reviews have taken place.

Mr. Ortenzo also states, “Studies show that all prisoners, including those on death row, typically receive a far better level of medical care from taxpayers than they would otherwise have provided for themselves outside the prison walls.”  Unfortunately, this also is not the case. I doubt that Mr. Ortenzo has ever been incarcerated in a federal prison. I have. After nearly 36 months in both a Federal Prison Camp and Federal Correctional Institution in Miami, I can assure you that the medical care in the Bureau of Prisons is pathetic, appalling and inexcusable. There are many federal prisoners serving sentences far less than death row inmates. Many have been convicted of crimes much less severe than Marvin Johnson. I had far better medical care before my imprisonment as did many of the white-collar inmates who were there during my incarceration.  All the studies in the world can say anything the author directs or distorts them to say. Although this is unfortunate, it is true.

 The federal government recently spent billions and billions of taxpayer dollars to bail out the banks, auto manufacturers, Investment firms, and Wall Street companies in a matter of weeks if not days. These individuals are not even in federal prison for their mismanagement and crimes. Yet, the federal government cannot see to it that individuals incarcerated in federal prison, regardless if they are on death row or not, are provided even minimal standards of healthcare.

Michael Frantz, Federal Prison Consultant

Mr. Frantz is a leading national Federal Prison Consultant with JT Consulting LLC (Jail Time Consulting) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The staff of JT Consulting LLC provides consultation services, books, JT Special Reports©, as well as timely information to those individuals and their families who are preparing for federal incarceration.  JT Consulting offers solutions to the problems that men and women facing federal incarceration are confronted with. These are solutions to real life issues affecting their families, their livelihood, and their future. Mr. Frantz has written a book on federal prison titled, “Jail Time, What you need to know…Before you go to federal prison.” He has also authored over thirty-five JT Special Reports© on various federal prison issues affecting both the inmate and his/her family. He writes a daily blog on the Jail Time Consulting website www.jailtimeconsulting.com and answers readers’ questions and comments. He can be reached at 954-522-2254.

White Collar Crime and Prosecution

A white collar crime is many times defined as a non-violent crime involving deception and/or trickery, typically committed by a business person, public official, or someone of high stature, trust, or authority.  Evidence in a white collar crime usually involves a paper trail of evidence that investigators use to prosecute the case. Although this definition may be true, it is hotly contested within the community of experts that try to define “White-Collar Crime”. Many experts feel there are three main characteristics that categorize a white-collar criminal. Some experts believe that white-collar crime should be defined by the high socioeconomic status and/or occupation of trust that the offender has. Others believe that white-collar crime should be defined by the type of offense committed i.e., fraud, counterfeiting, forgery, embezzlement, bribery, larceny, price fixing, racketeering, computer fraud, obstruction of justice, and perjury. Mixed in with these offenses is the increasingly popular securities fraud as typified by the recent cases of Bernard Madoff and New Jersey fund manager James Nicholson.  Madoff allegedly confessed to his employees that he perpetuated a massive fraud scheme which could cost investors an unbelievable amount in excess of $50 billion. Forty-two year old James Nicholson is accused of defrauding his investors of as much as $900 million since 2004. Finally there are those that confine the definition of white-collar crime to strictly economic crimes or corporate crimes.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation defines white-collar crime only in terms of the offense. The Bureau has defined white-collar crime as “. . . those illegal acts which are char­acterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and which are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence. Individuals and organizations commit these acts to obtain money, property, or services; to avoid the payment or loss of money or services; or to secure personal or business advantage.” (USDOJ, 1989, p. 3.)

In 1997 through 1999, white-collar crime accounted for less than 4.0 percent of the incidents reported to the FBI. The majority of those offenses are frauds, counterfeiting, and forgery. One in three American households is currently a victim of white-collar crime, yet very few are actually reported. (USA Today, Society for the Advancement of Education , Jan, 2002 by Richard Johnston ). Of those reported, only 21% made it into the hands of a law enforcement agency.  This translates into less than eight percent of all white-collar crimes reaching the proper authorities. These are very unsettling statistics for both consumers and businesses alike. The growth of the information age and the world wide use of the Internet have significantly changed the manner in which economic crimes are committed, the frequency of their commission, and the difficulty in the apprehension of the persons responsible. White-collar crime has certainly invaded our new, high-tech society. Statistics show that white-collar crime has skyrocketed from a national cost in 1970 of $5,000,000,000 to a staggering $100,000,000,000 in 1990. With all the advances in technology and the Internet since 1990, experts predict an exponential growth of white-collar crime in the future.

In an effort to combat this rapid rise in white-collar Internet crime, law enforcement officials including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Secret Service, Postal Inspection Service, Securities and Exchange Commission, and Customs officials have stepped up their efforts in fighting these crimes. Special units such as the National White Collar Crime Center, Internet Fraud Complaint Center, National Cybercrime Training Partnership, and the Coalition for the Prevention of Economic Crime have been formed to specifically fight white-collar crime.

This has certainly stepped up the investigation and prosecution of white-collar crimes and white-collar criminals. White collar crimes can be prosecuted both at the state and federal level, depending on whether a state or federal law was broken. If convicted, these crimes usually result in long prison sentences, large fines, and restitution to the victims of the crime.  The days of a slap on the wrist, probation, a trip to Club Fed, and/or home confinement are over for white-collar defendants. New laws, stiffer penalties, and more vigorous prosecution of white-collar crimes all combine for longer sentences and higher security designations for white-collar criminals.

Due to current prison overcrowding and the large number of white-collar defendants being incarcerated, white-collar defendants are finding it more and more difficult to be designated close to their families and to be designated to a lower security federal prison. More and more white-collar defendants are being designated to geographically removed federal prisons far from their homes and families. Many white-collar defendants are also being designated to a higher security level federal prison.

Most white-collar offenders are ordinary people who got into financial difficulty and who saw their way out of it through illegal and fraudulent measures. Unfortunately, it used to be only the small fish that get caught and sentenced to a long federal prison term of incarceration, not the big fish that got away.  The big fish used to be able to insulate themselves from the crime. There are so many people working at the small fish level that upper management can structure and direct the company so that the small fish are actually the individuals receiving the pressure to break the law, many times unknowingly.   Upper management didn’t even have to get their hands dirty. This all combined for more and more white-collar small fish criminals being investigated, prosecuted, and sentenced to long terms of incarceration in federal prisons. But the current trend is changing all this. Federal prosecutors, in a large part due to public outrage, are now going for the big fish as well as the small fish. Enron, Martha Stewart, Bernard Madoff, James Nicholson, and the current economic crisis in banking, foreclosures, and Wall Street securities fraud have played a major role in this change. Now, when it comes to conviction and sentencing, the higher the socioeconomic status of the offender, the stiffer the sentence juries vote for. Thus both the small fish and big fish white-collar criminals are receiving harsher, stiffer, and longer federal prison sentences.