Explore Harmony

I’m deeply saddened that my long-time partner, Rob, has received a substantial prison sentence, and I am writing to help in coming to terms with it for our friends.

In the past 3 years leading up to his conviction, he wasn’t able to say a single word publicly, as anything could be taken out of context.  Now that his Appeal Opening Brief has been filed, it’s a public document and can be viewed here.

This is my own simplified account to our community, illuminating the ethos of this case — how can anyone be safe in a giant, multi-tiered corporate machine that can turn on a dime against its own employees?  What are the limits of government overreach?

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Summary:

Consumer product companies often use direct mail to get their offer in front of potential buyers. Think of catalogs of home goods, baby products, vitamins and wine clubs. Companies create the product and the offer, get lists of consumer names and mailing addresses from several data companies, and use the U.S. postal service to mail out their offer.

A data/list company serves thousands of legitimate marketing clients and makes them promise to observe the law through a contract. Each marketer also has an agreement with the U.S. postal service, representing for their bulk mail permits that they are legitimate businesses.  Nobody working at the list company truly believed that it was their duty to police the mailers. 

Over a period of years, a few of the data company’s clients ran fraudulent businesses and got caught.  Those companies asked consumers for small amounts of money for sweepstakes and astrology — i.e. send us $20 in the mail in exchange for a chance to win a prize — but never intended to fulfill the offer.

The DOJ investigated those marketers, but they also investigated all of their vendors, including the list companies who ended up paying enormous fines.  

But it wasn’t enough.  You can’t put a corporation in prison, and a few “fall guys” were needed to be served up.  And who is a better “fall guy” than someone who had left the data company years earlier to work for a competitor?

Dozens of people worked in the data company to service the disreputable mailers(unknowingly) as part of their regular jobs, but only 2 individuals were prosecuted over a period of 7 years, my partner being one of them.  The only two people singled out had left the company years earlier. They were framed to take the fall.

And individuals in the C-suite were given a pass.    

Documents were retracted.

False testimonials were given.

Theatrics were performed (just like in the movies).

The most bizarre fact of this case — none of the fraudulent business owners got a prison sentence.

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A simple analogy could be this:  let’s say a person works at a car manufacturer.  They wholesale a car to a dealer, and a dealer sells it to an end user. The new car owner uses the vehicle to transport illegal goods … and the car manufacturer gets accused of being an accomplice.  Two employees from the car manufacturer are sent to prison.  

Surreal.  

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I’m writing this to hold up this man — strong, kind, loving and humble — whose professional life’s work has been to nurture and support people around him.  

Diamonds are created under extreme pressure, and I’ve had the privilege to watch one form in front of my very eyes.  

Thank you for your support!