Being accused of a crime is traumatic - to say the least. Once accused your life is never the same again. When someone faces the power, the onslaught really, of a Prosecutor from the United States Justice Department and is not only ill-prepared emotionally but unable to gather together millions of dollars – literally millions – you are likely going to prison.
Being accused of a crime is traumatic - to say the least. Once accused your life is never the same again. When someone faces the power, the onslaught really, of a Prosecutor from the United States Justice Department and is not only ill-prepared emotionally but unable to gather together millions of dollars – literally tens of millions – you are likely going to prison. It truly is amazing (and you'd be forgiven to not believe it) that depending on the crime, the very wealthy can literally buy their way out of prison-time.
Most of those accused, especially when they believe they are innocent, cannot accept that the wheels of justice can turn totally against them. It’s near impossible to wrap your head around such an outcome. Unfortunately, as time goes by the Court of Public Opinion has not only found you guilty (immediately) but demands that you are drawn and quartered, And why should they not? They have read one version of events - the prosecutors - and the accused dare does not say anything lest it become distorted, and then perverted, by those same people who are pursuing you. At the same time, the innocent people involved (referred to as ‘victims’) are asked by the media to give their version of events.
As Gane's legal case continued, one of his long-standing clients was asked her opinion of the accusations against him. Her response was (in that same court of public opinion) devastating. To paraphrase her: “Mr. Gane told me he would put his own mother into this company!" In fact, what this woman had been told by Gane had been in reference to a Fixed (guaranteed) Annuity –which is in fact, guaranteed - and that she had purchased a year prior! After reading what is considered ‘slanted’ news coverage, it is no wonder that anyone would feel betrayed.
The irony of the case against Gane was one that neither the government - nor the local media - ever put forth: the very day that the government conducted their search warrant was the day people would have begun to receive their money back!
Gane had been working on the permanent funding for the company for over a year by that point and as the Feds were going through his offices, taking documents, paperwork, computers and cell phones, the office phones were ringing incessantly. Many of those calls were from the attorneys whom Gane had set up appointments with that day (scheduled that day - May 15th 2008 - at 11am) to begin the transfer of money back to the investors, who were soon to be labeled as 'victim's' by the government!
When one narrative is put forth, this by the government, that a 'financial guy' was running a Ponzi scheme, the public is inflamed. And who can blame them? To have come forward with the complete truth - that in fact people would have received their money paid back in full - would not have.
Not many days after the government's search warrant execution it was discovered that in fact malfeasance was going on - by three of Gane's brokers!
In order to induce investors, the three individuals lied and mislead them. When it was discovered that they had been deceiving the investors, they pointed to Gane, who they said, instructed them to do so!
During the government's investigation Gane continued to vehemently protest his innocence and submitted to two separate Polygraph exams. He passed them both!
One of the great puzzles that those who lead a ‘normal’ life find impossible to accept is – “If someone is innocent why would they plead to a crime?” This is an absolutely valid question. It needs to be addressed absolutely. The answer, however, is simple – losing at trial will very likely result in a much harsher (read: longer) sentence. But let’s look at this further………
Michael Jordan is considered the greatest Basketball player of all time. His winning average on the court was 65.9% Tom Brady, considered the greatest quarterback of all time, had a winning average of 75.4%. Babe Ruth, considered Baseball’s greatest player, had a winning average of 67.1% Federal Prosecutors (according to the Pew Research Center) have a conviction rate of 99.6%! Let’s look at this unemotionally – No-one is that good!
Currently there are over 3,000 crimes listed in the U.S. Code making it extremely easy for someone to be charged with an offense. When compiling statistics for the 80,000 individuals facing Federal charges in 2018, (the latest data available, Pew Research Center) 2% (1,600) chose to go to trial. Of those 1,600 people fewer than 1% (16) resulted in an acquittal! 16 people were found not guilty – out of 80,000!!
While he was in prison, Gane made up his mind that something, anything, needed to be done to address the injustice of a system that can casually discard someone’s life.
Instead of becoming bitter, he became passionate about prison reform as well as intending to offer mentorship for those, like him, who were terrified of entering prison. Prisoncology (prisoncology.com) is an organization which has taken on the mission of assisting someone about to report to prison - as well as their families. It is not only a pre-entry for the soon-to-be-incarcerated but is at the vanguard of prison reform. All of this at no charge to the client or their loved ones.
For many years Gane enjoyed a sterling reputation among his peers in the business community of Western New York.
Having been invited to serve on numerous Boards of Directors, Gane felt he needed to give back to the community for the many blessings he'd received over those years. As the owner of his Brokerage firm, Gane maintained multiple offices throughout the East Coast.
"I had no clue what was going on and to say I was completely taken by surprise would be a true understatement," Gane observed. "As I parked my car that morning, one of the agents was already opening my door. “And you are…” he asked. “Guy Gane” I answered. "Ahhh Mr. Gane, we’ve been waiting for you……” So began an odyssey that spanned well over a decade.
A few months after that momentous spring day, Gane suffered a massive heart attack on July 24th, 2008.
In his own words, "I had attributed the chest pains I'd been having for a few weeks (prior to that July morning) to stress and worry over my situation. By this point I had been made aware of the accusations the government had accused me of but believing in the verse found in scripture “the truth will set you free” I went about pretending that everything would turn out right. After all, I believed in “Truth, Justice and the American Way". I recall the nurse that morning in the ER saying something along the lines of “Welcome back. We brought you back with the paddles”, as she was placing an oxygen mask over my face. As the days went by and I was allowed to return home, I recall thinking “Well, I guess I’ve hit rock bottom. It can’t get any worse than dying! Or so I thought......."
A few weeks later Gane was informed that he was now the target of the United States Attorney’s Office. By this point in his journey, the life he once led was long gone. “'Friends' had long since vanished." Gane observed. "I was a pariah. The government had frozen all of my assets, and I was forced to rely on being defended by a Public Defender. “You should plead” was all I heard from him. I repeatedly told him “I’m not pleading to something I didn’t do. I want to go to trial.” There was no way I was going to leave my home, my children and my wife. Especially when he told me that he was trying to make a deal where I would “only” get somewhere around 5-7 years in prison!!! That was, by the way, if I took a plea-deal prior to being indicted....."
As he continued to maintain his innocence, Gane was given two Polygraph (Lie-detector) tests – one being a traditional ‘wired up’ test and the other a Voice Stress Analysis - and passed both!
Regardless, a few years later he was indicted. Finally understanding the power that the American Justice System holds, and what he really could now be facing by losing at trial, months later Gane “accepted” a plea deal to Money Laundering and Mail Fraud. If you’re tempted to say, “Why would anyone admit to something they really didn’t do?”, Gane strongly encourages you to read the Blog at Prisoncology and scroll down to the heading Federal Sentencing Guidelines. It is eye-opening to say the least.
On September 14th, 2011, Guy Gane received a bone-crushing sentence of 13 years, spending almost 2 of them at a Low Facility – known in prison slang as “Behind the Fence” and the remaining years at a Prison Camp. Being a white-collar offender, he came to know the anguish felt by those who now face the unthinkable: prison. Sitting in lockup, Gane determined that he would make something good out of the experience. That sounds kind of crazy – after all what good can come out of prison?
Gane related, "Soon after arriving I developed long-range goals that would bring me to a completely new level. Ones that frankly I never thought about before. For starters, I was the proverbial “nice guy”. In other words, I allowed myself to be the guy who never said no. There are phrases for people like that and I thought that always being that nice guy would get me far. It would be an over-statement to say “Yea, it landed me in prison!” - but not by much!! Make no mistake – prison is a dangerous place. There you are either the predator or the prey. I determined that I was NOT going to be the prey....."
Deciding to get healthy. Gane lost over 100 pounds, his strenuous workouts became known throughout the yard, and after his work assignment was in the weight pit and cardio room 6 days a week. Gane, who is now an ordained Chaplain, also became very active in Christian Ministry, he taught classes, mentored inmates and wrote two books as well. But all of this took place after he entered prison. As Gane has said, "I was ill prepared - no, make that completely naïve - as to what to expect once I entered the prison block."
Gane decided to construct a comprehensive course on surviving-and even sharpening and strengthening oneself for what lies ahead and to completely acquaint and condition someone about to enter prison for this next ‘journey’ in their life and not walk blindly into the terrifying unknown as he did.
Today, Guy W. Gane, Jr. is an Author, a Speaker, a Certified Life Coach (and Fitness Trainer as well) and an entrepreneur. He has dedicated his life now to helping others through the experiences he went through.
As Gane related to us "I can say with complete candor that I am the guy whose ‘been there, done that’ and my goal now is to take years off the learning curve of someone's life."
If there is a better way to turn a reversal into something that ultimately benefits others, we're not aware of it.