alt2319

Yes. I have a federal felony conviction for fraud involving a computer, against a former employer. Good times.

I've worked for 2-4 companies since then, depending on how you count acquisitions. I've even been trusted to write code that has touched a lot of financial transactions for customers. I doubt I would have been able to stay employed if I didn't have some dedicated advocates, mostly at the CTO level.

At my last (very small) company, my background never even came up. No check at all.

I've also spent a few years scraping by as an indie mobile developer with up to 15 apps in the different stores. With just a bit of a corporate shield, nobody even needs to know who you are.

In the software/IT field, I've met and even worked with plenty of people with criminal records. Multiple DUIs. Two that were convicted of vehicular manslaughter or something similar. Plenty of drug offenses.

You may want to check out Underdog Devs. You're likely too experienced for their mentee program but at one time they had a good list of tech companies willing to hire people with criminal records.

> I guess the ex-admin wants to work in manual labor or fast food

You'd be surprised. I did something somewhat similar and was convicted of a federal felony. No fast food place or retailer would touch me with that record. But ironically I've found plenty of IT work with smaller companies.

Federal sentencing guidelines are pretty rigid and most computer fraud and abuse cases get the lowest end of the range.

The EFF has a good breakdown of weev's sentence and the D&D-like charts and calculations used to reach it. He got hammered for "special skill", "sophisticated means" and "means of identification" bonuses.

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/03/41-months-weev-underst...

Then there's no criminal intent (mens rea) and the law doesn't apply.

> I'd be very curious to hear what went on there on the people side of things.

It's important to study that in these cases. I was convicted in a similar case and am actually a chapter in a CERT book, but they never reached out to me for my input, so they're completely oblivious to my motives and missing key facts about the case. I'd write more about it or speak at conferences but I've been able to bury that past and move on. Maybe some day.

I think he had a similar case to mine where he felt he was stuck in a situation with his manager(s) and felt like he had no recourse. HR should be involved in employee reviews and should provide a way for the employee to give feedback on his own review.

Another aspect of it is education about the law. I see case after case where the defendant had no idea he could face federal charges at all, much less one that can result in such stiff penalties. (The penalties he was facing were much, much worse if he had been tried and convicted rather than taking this plea deal.) That could easily be part of any degree program and/or employee orientation.

US Code 1030(a)(5)(A) - http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1030

Edit: He plead to I think a single count of the following 18:1030(a)(5)(A) and 18:1030(c)(4)(A)(i)(I) and (B)

http://www.leagle.com/decision/In%20FDCO%2020160411834/U.S.%...

I have a federal felony conviction, for nearly the same exact offense that Jason is being charged with. I've worked for several software companies since my conviction, before starting my own. It definitely doesn't end your career.

Sometimes they prosecute these cases just to gain experience in prosecuting them.

It's hard to believe now, but some day this will all fade. I go days and weeks without even remembering that I'm a convicted federal felon. Today I only really think about it when I'm volunteering somewhere and it's time for a background check, when I think about travelling to Canada, or when I see a firearm I wish I could own. I've passed a half-dozen background checks and been able to volunteer without a problem, I think I could travel to Canada now but there's a chance they would deny me, but I doubt I'll ever get firearm ownership rights back.

I originally did mine through a church where the pastor was a former IT guy. Spent a lot of time doing his website, cabling, etc. Then the probation office (or at least my officer) changed their policy and I had to do neighborhood cleanup with the parks department instead. It also seems like I got more hours, maybe 200. Anyways, I spent a lot of days mowing medians, parks, vacant lots, picking up leaves, burying dead stray dogs, etc., mostly with guys with DUI convictions. Gives you a lot of time to think.

I hope your PO doesn't make you go to his office every month. I only had to do that a couple of times. But he had a knack for showing up at my house right when I got in the shower. You just have to suck it up, be humble, and do your best to show them that you just want to get through it without extra hassles.

I believe he got almost exactly what I got: six months "imprisonment" (served as home detention), five years probation, restitution ($9,000-ish for him), 100 hours of community service, and a few assorted court and administrative fees. Probably also had to pay fees for an ankle monitor system while on home detention, but not sure.

Unless it's changed, I think under the normal federal sentencing guidelines, that amount of "damage" doesn't even qualify for any prison time at all, but the specific offense overrides that to impose a minimum of six months. That's because of a little outcry in the 1990s over hackers not serving any time and the (maybe valid) perception that they actually benefited from the notoriety of a conviction.

Well he was kind of railroaded by a law that sucks. $9,000 in damages by planting 3 files on a website? Worse, it's impossible to argue intent / mens rea in these cases. It doesn't matter if your intent was to cause no damage because the crime isn't defined by the damage but by the access. As long as you intended to access the internet-connected device, and knew you were exceeding your permitted access, you're guilty. The "damage" doesn't have to be intentional.

The opportunity is gone now, but I really wish he'd fought this case and gotten it in front of a jury. It's very technical testimony and I think a jury could really question the damage amount. If it were below $5,000 this law doesn't apply. How much did it really cost? They had to delete 3 files and apply patches that they should have applied all along.

It's also just weird how punishment scales work. I used to go to my probation officer's office and see all the other guys he was monitoring. Most were serious drug dealers or weapons violations. It seemed so out of whack. But then when I'd go do community service I'd see people sentenced to 20 hours of community service, hundreds of dollars in fines, and weeks in jail for crap like shoplifting a 99 cent air freshener or a pack of cigarettes.

I was going to suggest that you do some SEO work on your name but I don't know if it's possible to bury all that news coverage. I was able to bury mine with a mountain of other content but yours got more coverage. Eventually maybe you can push that stuff off the first page of results and present a better view of yourself to anyone that searches.

I should also add that I've been amazed by the number of gainfully employed people I've met that have felony convictions. It's a lot more common than you'd think. I even have two friends with vehicle-related homicide convictions (one DUI, one reckless driving) that are employed and another friend that has four DUI convictions but is employed in the IT field.

I've also been amazed at the jobs I've held and the work I was trusted with after my conviction. I've rolled out software at Fortune 500s and sensitive government agencies and survived a lot of corporate restructuring and mergers.

It's a federal felony. There's only one way to expunge that, a Presidential pardon. It's a long process and kind of a long shot. I haven't even applied for mine.

He should definitely apply for his rights restoration when eligible. I got mine done. Florida isn't currently restoring firearm ownership rights but that's good to get done if they ever start doing it again.

Do you still have to provide all of your email addresses to your PO every month? That sucked, especially on a hand-written form.

I was convicted of nearly the same offense over 10 years ago. Actually, I live in the same area and was prosecuted by the same exact attorney. I spent nearly $50,000 setting the precedent that allowed you to serve your six months in home detention rather than actual federal prison. You're welcome :).

First of all, you need to shift your story. You make it sound like you were persecuted for white hat actions. You weren't. You made a mistake, you learned a lot from it, you've changed, and nothing like that will ever happen again. That's your story. Write a letter of explanation and get some friends to review it. You should include the fact that you were never in prison and if you're able to pay restitution, make sure to explain that. Keep that letter handy and include it whenever you apply.

As for jobs, I've been able to stay employed by networking through friends. I doubt you'll be able to find and hold any IT job found through recruiters or job postings. Network like crazy. Get to as many Meetups as you can, visit hackerspaces (like FamiLAB), go to CodeCamp, BarCamp, startup events, etc. and volunteer to help with lots of things. Become that super-helpful guy that will do anything to make stuff work.

Anyone that hires or contracts you needs to know up front that they're going to have to deal with your probation officer. Mine actually visited my office and talked to my boss in person. It is possible to somewhat shield yourself with layers. Like if you have a friend running a consulting company, become a contractor or employee of his and he knows about your conviction and assumes the risk, but if he doesn't inform end customers, your probation office may be fine with that.

You can also go indie and build stuff. Apps, Wordpress themes, anything that can go on Kickstarter, ebooks, affiliate marketing websites, etc. All that direct-to-consumer stuff was great for survival-level income while I was recovering.

Check my comment history for other advice on this topic. I only use this account for posts like this.

Absolutely agree. The FBI agent investigating me was quite friendly on his first visit until I said I didn't want to talk to him without an attorney. He didn't even visit me until he'd spent a week talking to other people first, none of which mentioned it to me until much later. He was even less friendly in court.

It's no accident that they showed up dressed casually or that one "had" to use the restroom. Entirely planned. These are experienced investigators. The fact that multiple agents showed up is a bad sign. That means they're devoting some significant resources to this investigation.

I don't know if I would hire an attorney yet, but it might be time for everyone involved to ask around for recommendations and have some contact info for an attorney on hand in case you needed it.

Flickr has a massive amount of hardcore jpgs. That's where a lot of the images posted on Tumblr come from. Flickr just does a decent job of hiding it from the average user.

Here is a good (and mostly SFW as far as images) Flickr group that advises on how to work within Flickr's terms of service: http://www.flickr.com/groups/unsafe/

It will be hard at times. That's just the way things are. But there are definitely ways to make things work. I think the odds of getting a decent job with strangers are pretty low, but the more time passes, the easier it is for them to consider it a "youthful indiscretion". I've tried really hard to just suck it up and explain everything as how I made a mistake but took full responsibility and did everything I could to make it right.

I've mentioned on other threads that every single time I bring up my background, people have stories about other people they know or coworkers with criminal records. I have two friends with vehicular manslaughter convictions (one a DUI) and both hold decent jobs in the IT field. It hasn't been easy for them either, but they've fought their way back into the field with help from friends.

I can "ditto" most of that. I've had a federal felony conviction for computer fraud (against an ex-employer) for over 10 years now and have been employed for most of that time. I was terminated as soon as my case hit the news media, but I was able to find contract work with friends before my sentencing. I was able to pay my restitution in full, which really sucked financially, but was a great feeling and something I'm still proud to tell people. Not long after my probation ended, they offered to hire me full-time at a significant raise. They never did a background check.

Since then I survived two corporate acquisitions, multiple new bosses, new CEOs, etc. Every time I sweated it out waiting to see if my background would come up. I actually heard about conversations with two incoming CEOs about me and both basically responded "he's paid his debts" or something similar. They didn't really care as long as I was trouble-free since then and had been working hard.

I finally got laid off with quite a few others after almost 10 years there. I have a few different friends that know my background that would love to hire me for their growing startups, but instead I finally started my own mobile app company and have grown it to almost paying all of our bills. In the app store, nobody even needs to knows your name.

You can look at some of my post history here for advice, but in general, you need to expand your circle of friends as much as possible and let them know you are looking for work. Volunteer at things and go to meetups and developer user groups. There will always be people and companies that will refuse to hire you, but there are a decent percentage that will hire you. You just need to increase the number of people you know and the number of potential job openings.

I should also add that I've had almost no issues volunteering for many different organizations that require background checks. I just disclose my background and write an explanation. It sucks every time, but I've never been turned down. I've coached sports at the YMCA, led scouts, taught Sunday school for kids, etc. Every one of those has built my personal character references as well.

I also made a point of being very active online with my real name. Now when someone Googles me, they have to dig through many pages of material to find any press coverage of my conviction.

Just hang it there and keep chipping away at it. I used to think about my conviction every single day. Now I can go a week or more without even remembering it.

I believe your bigger issue is that some countries won't allow some convicted felons to enter - particularly Canada.

Which is why congress inserted a mandatory minimum 6 month prison term for some 1030 offenses and why they keep pushing for more.

http://www.volokh.com/2011/05/24/congress-considers-increasi...

I have a very similar federal felony conviction that Aaron was facing and have been able to find employment in the software field. It's not as easy as it would be without the conviction, but it's a lot easier than I ever thought it would be. I doubt McDonalds would hire me with my record, but I've worked on software used by government agencies and Fortune 500 companies.

Yes. I was able to find employment as a felon, even while I was on probation, partially because of becoming a cliche - a "born again Christian". I honestly did find religion (a big surprise to me) but I didn't realize what a benefit that can have for employment. I even ran into some of my senior management at my church (I was there first). It sucks to even hint of that as sort of a scam, but it happens all the time. Or maybe just check out some churches and truthfully find something. Evangelical Christians tend to love stories of guys that have made mistakes and have turned their lives around.

Well, I don't pin a lot of Amazon links, but I make a bit from the ones I have pinned. I grind out about $200 a month now mostly from other affiliate programs and I'm not really trying. It's a side income that I keep thinking about expanding since it's working. I need to teach my kids to do it...

It takes forever to get paid though - maybe 3-4 month lag time.

Well 1030(a) violations didn't used to have a mandatory minimum sentence, but they got added after congress was afraid Kevin Mitnick could launch nuclear missiles from a pay phone.

When I was charged with a 1030(a) crime, I faced a mandatory minimum of 6 months in prison. No plea bargain could reduce that. If I was convicted, I was likely facing the exact same sentence because my damages were so low that I wouldn't normally qualify for any prison time at all under federal sentencing guidelines. So the main reason to plea bargain was to avoid paying an attorney or using a public defender. It also got the case over within 6 months rather than 2 years so I could move on with my life quicker.

It could get even worse as Congress keeps wanting to increase the mandatory minimums and don't really understand the laws or the internet. http://www.volokh.com/2011/05/24/congress-considers-increasi...

I'm a convicted federal felon. To top it off, it's a computer fraud conviction involving a former employer.

I used to think I'd never even be able to flip burgers for pay. I'm actually probably right - McDonalds would never hire me. But since my conviction I've worked a decent string of IT jobs.

First, he needs to understand that there are a lot of people with a criminal record. I've met plenty of people with criminal records (mostly DUI, fraud, and drug charges) that have been able to find normal work, raise kids, volunteer, etc. Every time I tell someone my story, they tell me that their gainfully employed brother / uncle / co-worker / etc. has a criminal record that I used to think would force someone into washing dishes for the rest of their career.

Second, he needs to make a clean break with anyone shady. I've had tempting inquiries and offers from friends-of-friends. He needs to find new friends. Take up a hobby, join a church, go to user groups and meetups, go back to school, etc. Something to find a new set of friends that will occupy his time with things that won't land him in trouble.

He should be able to leave Indiana, especially if he has work lined up. I'm a little unclear on that since I wasn't in the state system, but I think he can be somehow transferred to another jurisdiction's probation office or remotely report in.

I don't agree that his only chance is writing code, but it's certainly not a bad approach. I'd particularly suggest mobile apps. It's not steady work, but jobs on Fiverr.com could bring in some cash while he looks. There's also affiliate blogging / Pinterest Pinning. I could probably sit in a public library, pinning Amazon links a few hours a day and earn enough to get by.