Sentencing and Life After
By Diane Wells • December 28, 2020 •Writers in Residence
Since this is my last Ms. JD post, I want to share with you the way that my 6.5-year federal criminal case concluded. I had been convicted of a crime I didn't commit. I heard the prosecutor call my case "contentious". I knew I was completely biased, but how odd for a prosecutor that needs to prove my guilt beyond a reasonable doubt to refer to my case as contentious. It doesn't compute which was like most of the case. Now, I was sitting in the Courtroom waiting to be sentenced. My co-defendant was with me. Our families filled the…
Testified
By Diane Wells • October 25, 2020
I am writing about my criminal trial many years ago. When this whole debacle first began, I said that if it came to it that I would testify in my own defense. Part of me hoped and prayed it would never come to that, fortunately, as time passed another part of me became stronger, and more realistic about what it was like to be in the criminal justice system. I hated more than I could say that I was in this situation, but I would never be able to live with myself if I hadn’t done everything I could to stand…
The Prosecution Rests
By Diane Wells • September 28, 2020
I am telling the story of my criminal prosecution regarding being charged for managing a venture capital fund with others. This blog is a summary of the prosecution’s witnesses. Per their charges, the prosecution was supposed to prove that I was in a conspiracy to launder money. Money laundering is defined as the concealment of the origins of illegally obtained money, typically by means of transfers involving foreign banks or legitimate businesses. A conspiracy is a secret plan by one or more people to do something unlawful and they take some action towards that plan. We started the trial with the unexpected…
Prosecution Witnesses at My Trial
By Diane Wells • August 26, 2020 •Writers in Residence
I am describing the prosecution’s presentation to the Court at my criminal trial. As hard as it is, I am doing my best to not present a one-sided case. The prosecution had about 10 witnesses at trial who were investors in a Fund that I administrated as part of a five-person committee. None of the witnesses were people I had asked them to invest. Some of them I talked with about their paperwork because that was my job. There were three men from the committee testifying against me. There were a travel agent and banker who testified. There was one…
Freedom and July 4th
By Diane Wells • July 30, 2020
Freedom is something I sat and thought about more than ever this year around July 4th. There were more than enough reasons to do so. I get a bit overwhelmed by how important and fragile freedom has become to me. There was a stretch of time when I was being prosecuted for a crime I didn’t commit that I didn’t feel free, so maybe I’m barely qualified to write about it. My six-year experience pales in comparison with those who have always been unjustly confined, figuratively, or literally. Most people that have freedom can’t/don’t truly understand the far-reaching effects of…
To Plead or Not to Plead
By Diane Wells • June 26, 2020
Curious, I looked in the dictionary for the definition of a plea. If it’s unrelated to “law” it is, “a request made in an urgent and emotional manner”. If the definition of “plea” is related to law, a plea is defined as, “a formal statement by or on behalf of a defendant or prisoner, stating guilt or innocence in response to a charge, offering an allegation of fact, or claiming that a point of law should apply”. I contend that a realistic definition of a plea agreement in our criminal justice system falls between these two definitions. To argue that succumbing to a plea…
Motion to Dismiss Due to Perjured Grand Jury Testimony
By Diane Wells • May 24, 2020
We barely found out that our Motion to Dismiss due to the destruction of documents was denied when we learned that Scott, my former Fund III colleague and one of the Government's cooperating witnesses, lied under oath. Scott testified to the Grand Jury to get me charged and now, he had been charged with perjury. He immediately pled guilty. This development seemed so ironic since Scott was the only one of the Fund III management committee that was offered an immunity deal and all he had to do was tell the truth and cooperate. I was always puzzled by the…
Motion to Dismiss due to Destruction of all Original Business Records
By Diane Wells • April 25, 2020
It was a beautiful Saturday morning in the spring of 2005 and under normal circumstances, I would have been out with my three kids going to the park, setting up playdates, exploring and the like, but as hard as I tried nothing felt normal. I was a defendant in a criminal case that I had no idea what things were going to happen and when. At that time, my activities were a juggling act combining me working and playing with the kids as much as I felt I could afford given Court deadlines and projects that my attorney gave me. …
Getting to Know the Government’s Case Against Me
By Diane Wells • March 25, 2020 •Writers in Residence
The next series of events in my case included a meeting with the Government, 302's and Brad's (a close friend who was an investor) interview. Criminal charges were brought against me regarding my position as the Fund's administrator. There were five people on the Fund committee plus the owner of the broker-dealer that were all considered part of the Fund. We all worked together but were charged with different crimes, except Brent and I. Stan was the owner of the broker-dealer that sponsored the Fund. Stan had been investigated or charged with many crimes with various companies and personal matters over…