Prison Professors With Michael Santos

Professor Aaron Thomas Kinzel had grew up in struggle. Members of his family were involved in criminal activity. They sold drugs. They were trapped in the criminal justice system. He grew up with anger problems, confrontational with authority. When Aaron was 18, police officers stopped him for a traffic violation. He resisted. A shootout followed. Later, authorities charged him with crimes that resulted in a 19-year prison term. Aaron served his sentence in the Maine State Prison System’s high-security penitentiary. During the first several years, Aaron adjusted in the ways of the penitentiary. He lashed out with violence and resisted mentoring. Later, while in his sixth year, Aaron found mentors in some of the long-term prisoners. They encouraged him to participate in academic programs. Aaron attended his first college course as he passed through his 9th year of imprisonment. That college course changed his life. When he concluded his prison term, after a decade inside, Aaron continued with education. He ear

  John Rubischko went to prison for crimes related to mortgage fraud. After his arrest, he began cooperating with law enforcement. He cooperated for two years. With that extensive cooperation, he thought that a federal judge would spare him time in prison. John was wrong. A federal judge sentenced him to serve a 78 month sentence. A mistake in the paperwork resulted in John having to begin serving his sentence in a low-security federal prison rather than in a minimum-security federal prison camp--as he anticipated. John describes his experience of going through prison and offers some takeaways for anyone who faces challenges with the federal judicial system. We learn why defendants should be very cautious about the lawyers they hire, and we learn that they should also educate themselves about how to prepare.

Roger Galvin shares his story of how he prepared before going to federal prison.   On today’s Prison Professors podcast, we learn from Roger Galvin. He struggled with substance abuse and made some bad decisions. Roger learned of the synthetic drug market. Despite packaging labels that marked the products as being “Not fit for human consumption,” Roger said that he knew people purchased the products to get high.   The mislabeling resulted in Roger becoming a target of the Food and Drug Administration. Then the DEA got involved. He pleaded guilty to crimes that would result in his imprisonment.   A grand jury indicted Roger back in 2014. Longer than three years passed before a federal judge sentenced Roger to serve a 14 month sentence. During an episode that we recorded on Christmas Eve, 2017, Roger described the steps he took to prepare. He found hope in the work that our team at Prison Professors offers.   Roger created his own compass to guide him through his term in federal prison. His compass includes goal

Scott Tucker earned more than a $1 billion in profits from the payday loan industry he created. We heard his story through the past four episodes. He told us how prosecutors targeted him for prosecution. We heard about his experience on home confinement. In episode two, Scott told us that federal officials are asking a judge to sentence Scott to 180 years. Now the billionaire prepares for prison. In today’s episode, we learn about Scott’s passion. He built Level Motorsports. His automobile racing club won victories in some of the world’s most high-profile events. He traveled to Europe, to the Middle East, to Asia, and he raced his Ferraris all across the United States. Netflix filmed a movie that highlights Scott’s career. Those riches no longer matter. Government authorities have frozen all of Scott’s assets. They have levied a judgment in excess of $1 billion against him. They took his jet, his automobile collection, and his real estate. Now Scott awaits sentencing. What will he get? We’ll find out in early

Scott Tucker wanted to build a scalable business since he was young. This is the fourth episode in our series on Billionaire Preparing for Prison. In the first episode, we learned why authorities chose to prosecute Scott Tucker. He build the payday loan industry. The business he built grew to employ thousands of people. He generated billions in financial revenues and taxes. He created enormous wealth. But authorities didn’t like the model. Some people felt that he was earning too much money from people who could not afford to pay. Scott saw things differently. People in the marketplace were telling Scott that they needed liquidity. They just needed a bridge loan to help them get across the hump. They may have suffered from car trouble. They may have had an illness. They may need a short loan. Banks refused to lend to those people. Scott created a company that would fill the void. There was a lot of risk for that business. Many people chose to borrow money but they would not repay the loan. Scott didn’t sue th

Scott Tucker built a billion dollar business. He started with a single storefront. In this episode, the third episode in a multi-part series, we learn how. Despite his not being a good student, Scott Tucker always had ambition. Like many young entrepreneurs, he started with lawn mowing businesses that he launched as a child. While in college, Scott found an opportunity to get involved in real estate. Scouring the classified ads, he secured an opportunity that netted him more than $100,000 for six months work. Then he invested those resources to build other businesses. After a brief period in the car business, Scott discovered a new market. People were asking if they could provide him with a post dated check for a deposit. They needed a bit of liquidity until they received a paycheck. Scott decided to start a company. People could write a post-dated check for $120. It would not be good until the person’s payday. Scott would give the person $100 in exchange for that post dated check. That was how the payday loa

Billionaire Prepares for Prison, Episode 2   Scott Tucker is well known for building the Payday Loan industry. In the previous episode, we learned how Scott started this industry from scratch. Through hard work and building great teams, he built his company into mega organization. It employed thousands of people. His business generated billions in annual revenues. He earned hundreds of millions of dollars every year. Despite that success in business, Scott told us in episode 1 about his problems. He lost a case to the Federal Trade Commission. That case resulted in a judgment against him of more than $1 billion. Then a judge froze his assets. Without financial assets, Scott didn’t have resources to pay for his attorneys at trial. A jury convicted him of violating the Truth in Lending Act. Since his conviction, Scott has been on home confinement. Living on home confinement has been a struggle for Scott. He spoke about the ways that he has been preparing for the journey ahead. He exercises relentlessly. Sometim

Billionaire Going to Prison Scott Tucker Built the Payday Lending Industry. He started in this industry back in the mid 1990s. From scratch, he put a team together that resulted in his generating billions of dollars in revenues. Despite his efforts to live as a legitimate businessman, the authorities went after Scott. He has been battled in courts for decades. But in 2016, decisions started to go against him. He found big financial troubles when the Federal Trade Commission levied a fine of more than $1 billion. The troubles didn’t stop there. In early 2017, the federal government indicted Scott for violating a series of federal crimes. Those crimes included fraud and violations of the truth in lending act. As a result of his losing the judgment against the FTC, a judge froze all of Scott’s assets. They even seized more than $30 million that he put in trust accounts to pay his legal fees. Without financial resources, the court appointed a team of attorneys from the public defenders panel t represent him. Afte

Nicholas Mitsakos Prepares for Federal Prison   Authorities charged Nicholas Mitsakos with a crime related to securities fraud. He graduated from USC and he earned an MBA from Harvard. Despite those impressive credentials, he now must prepare to serve a 30-month sentence in federal prison. In today’s episode, Nicholas describes the dark feelings that accompanied his experience with the criminal justice system. For decades, he worked in the financial services industry with colleagues like Michael Milken. Nick said that his lawyer did not prepare him for the challenges ahead. Instead, he had to do his own research that would help his search for information. Nick’s lawyer recommended that he contact Justin Paperny. They began working on a strategy that would get him ready for the journey ahead. On January 5, Nicholas must surrender to the federal prison camp in Sheridan, Oregon. While there, he will work to prepare for the successful life he wants to lead upon release. In today’s podcast, we discuss strategies t

    If you’ve been listening to the past four episodes, you know that we’ve been offering a series to help those who want to prepare for prison. Learn how to master it quickly by following the guidance we offered. The first episode in the series explained the process of going in. In the second episode, we offered insight on how to influence the right decision makers. In the third episode, we covered custody and classification. In our fourth episode in the series, we spoke about the importance of preparing. Today brings our fifth and final episode in the series. We continue the theme of preparing, but this time by emphasizing how a personal narrative can help. Instead of complaining, start writing the next chapter of your life.   According to the Department of Justice, grand juries or prosecutors bring charges against more than 80,000 people every year. Statements made from our current Attorney General, suggest that those numbers will rise during the Trump administration. Documentation published on the Departm

We’re now into episode four of Prison Professors’ five-part series on How to Master Prison. Those who aren’t going into the prison system may find more interest in our interviews. Our team works with people from all types of backgrounds. Some face charges or served time for white-collar crimes. Others served time for drug offenses, or even violent crimes. Our interviews with those people show that regardless of what bad decisions a person has made in the past, it’s never too early and it’s never too late to begin sowing seeds for a better life.   In this series, we’re offering content that will help people before they go into the criminal justice system. We know there’s a lot of fear and anxiety about prison. Our team knows how to overcome it. And it’s a bit thing to overcome the fear of prison, especially for those who don’t know anything about it.   Howard Phillips Lovecraft, an American fiction writer, wrote a line that brought is often quoted:   “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear,” he wr

Are you facing a term in federal prison? I’m Michael Santos, and along with my two co-founders, Shon Hopwood and Justin Paperny, we want to help you master the system. The more you know about the system, the better you can position yourself to succeed.   We’re now in our third episode of our five-part series, How to Master Prison. In our two previous episodes, we offered some insight. We discussed the process that brings someone into the system. Then we discussed how people going into the system should work to influence leaders. In this episode, we cover Custody and Classification. Those who have never been to federal prison may not know anything about custody and classification systems. But understanding the system can make all the difference in the world.   It’s something that each of our partners knows a lot about. For those who are reading the chapters independently, rather than sequentially, I encourage you to tune into earlier episodes to learn about the members of our Prison Professors team. All reader

I’m Michael Santos with Prison Professors. Along with my partners, Shon Hopwood and Justin Paperny, we’re glad to provide more information about how to prepare for the prison journey. Earlier episodes have given extensive biographical information on us. Complete your own due diligence. You’ll see why we’re exceptionally well qualified to help anyone who is going into the system.   More importantly, we’re well qualified to help people who want to get out of the prison system successfully. Each of us succeeded after prison because we understood how to make good decisions as we worked our way through the journey. Always remember, the right decision at the wrong time is the wrong decision.   This episode is part of our series that we’re calling how to prepare for prison. In the previous episode, we explained a bit about the process. As Dr. Stephen Covey advised in his best-selling book, it’s always best to seek to understand before we seek to be understood.   In this segment of the Prison Professors podcast, we’r

I’m Michael Santos and I want to welcome you to another Prison Professors podcast episode. Earlier episodes provided you with the background information on my partners and me. Today we’re recording a series of five podcasts that will help our listeners understand a bit more about the process of going into the criminal justice system.   As of now, I have five episodes planned. They include the following:   Understanding the Process Understanding the stakeholders Understanding the custody and classification system How to Prepare for Prison Why Writing a Narrative Can Assist You Through the Journey   Understanding the Process   We’re going to start by paraphrasing Stephen Covey. In his timeless bestseller, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Dr. Covey advised that we should try to understand before we try to be understood.   That guidance applies to anyone who wants to master prison. We’re recording this series of episodes of the Prison Professors podcast specifically for people who anticipate that th

Justin Paperny is a co-founder of Prison Professors. He leads our marketing and consulting divisions. Justin Paperny went to federal prison after he pleaded guilty to violating securities laws. As a graduate of the University of Southern California, Justin, and a licensed stockbroker, Justin didn’t have insight. As a white collar offender, he didn’t know where to turn for guidance. Without guidance, he was lost, without a pathway to prepare. Justin surrendered to the minimum-security federal prison camp in Taft, California. He didn’t have a plan. In his interview today on the Prison Professors podcast, Justin describes his initial thoughts. He wanted to spend time exercising. He simply wanted the time to pass. During his first several weeks in prison, Justin says that he found a new path. He describes learning how to serve his sentence in a deliberate manner. Insteading of waiting for time to pass, he started working toward goals. Those goals would lead Justin to return to society successfully. The methodical

Hello, hello. My name is Michael Santos and I welcome you to our new Prison Professors podcast. As stated in the intro, I’m part of a team that includes two co-founders, Shon Hopwood and Justin Paperny. Every day we’ll publish a new Prison Professors episode. What do we mean by every day? We mean every day. Why would we do this? Well, we have a lot of reasons. Primarily, we want to teach our audience about America’s prison system, the people it holds, and strategies for growing through prison successfully.  Over the past few years, we’ve seen a lot more interest in the prison system. The big interest began when Michele Alexander published her amazing book, The New Jim Crow. Ms. Alexander’s book launched an entire movement that brought awareness to mass incarceration. Since then, Netflix dramatized Piper Kernan’s book, Orange is the New Black. At the same time, television networks began publishing all types of shows that sensationalized the prison experience. Recently, Ear Hustle became all the rage by profili