10/09/2026
“He never did anything, nothing from prison, never talked about it, the whole thing is manufactured,” a former marketer who went to prison for providing kickbacks to doctors posted on Facebook.
Then he called to tell me he would be “putting me out of business in 12 months or less.”
“As my wonderful mama would say, thank you for calling.” Then I hung up.
In prison, I was lost. I needed a guide. I found a mentor who encouraged me to write. To try.
When I struggled, he helped me.
“Write a letter to a business school,” he told me. “Tell them you want to help their students understand the consequences of breaking the law. You will answer their questions.”
“I do not get it,” I said.
“You went to USC and you do not get it? Let me try again. Provide value. Write an open letter. I will help you.”
We wrote to 10 schools, including DePaul University in Chicago. DePaul responded. I answered their questions about prison. Three months later, the warden approved them to visit and interview me at the low-security prison.
This video is a random clip from our 90-minute interview.
Here we are 17 years later, people impugning my character. I feel gratitude that I chose to write and do the interview. It is timestamped. It is real, like every blog I wrote in prison.
I ask people in crisis, “are you a consumer or creator? Creating, through the embarrassment and failure, changed my life. And it’s all documented. I know no other way to succeed after prison.
Justin
