Latest / Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News / The PPP loans: Some won the lottery, some paid the ultimate price

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The PPP loans: Some won the lottery, some paid the ultimate price · Cultural Wars | America Out Loud News

0:13
Hello everyone, it's Burn Unscripted again.
0:16
And as always, I my week goes by
0:18
and I have a plan what I'm going
0:21
to talk about.
0:23
And then life gets in the way in
0:25
a really positive way.
0:26
People come into my life that I feel
0:29
you need to hear their stories.
0:31
I I wish our case was a one-off
0:33
with my husband.
0:36
It's far from it.
0:37
I have met some incredible people through our
0:39
journey.
0:40
And my husband will always say the people
0:43
we've met through this process were not only
0:45
angels, but the gifts that'll be part of
0:48
our lives forever.
0:50
And that's so true.
0:51
I mean, if you had told me five
0:54
and a half, six years ago that I'd
0:56
be spending a lot more time in DC
0:58
in the Capitol and speaking to congressmen and
1:00
going to the White House and doing all
1:02
these things, I would think you're crazy.
1:05
I would I would say I was on
1:07
a set, not doing the work on the
1:08
ground.
1:10
And you know, a lot of people uh
1:12
ask about how how do how did you
1:14
get your husband apart and how did you
1:16
get him his case vacated and all of
1:18
that?
1:20
And it and it really comes down to
1:23
you you have to be your own advocate.
1:25
You cannot rely on first of all the
1:28
the the truth, justice.
1:31
Uh that that was um you know, years
1:33
ago I realized that that didn't mean anything
1:36
when it comes to uh a specifically a
1:38
federal case.
1:41
Um one thing I noticed uh through my
1:44
years is that these cases often are kind
1:47
of one-offs in their theme.
1:50
Now follow me on this.
1:52
With my husband's case, it had to do
1:54
with China and it had to do with
1:56
distraction campaign about China surrounding the United States
1:58
lack of of fight when it came to
2:00
China.
2:03
And uh there's a crypto case, you know,
2:05
by the crypto in uh east eastern district
2:07
of New York that was again a insane
2:09
case, should never have been brought in the
2:11
first place.
2:14
And it seemed like a theme because this
2:15
can't be just one person you know being
2:17
targeted.
2:19
There must be a reason for it.
2:20
It it's it's uh there's not enough staff,
2:23
there's not enough researchers, there's not enough investigators.
2:26
So how do you what do you do?
2:27
Well, you we pull down one case to
2:29
set an example, uh, so to speak, instead
2:31
of actually doing the deep dives into these
2:33
cases and maybe finding the real criminals or
2:35
finding the pattern and stopping the pattern if
2:38
there is actually a crime.
2:40
So I have two special guests today, Aaron
2:43
and Chris Maiset, I make sure I said
2:47
it right, who is a and I've heard
2:50
a little bit about their story.
2:54
I mean, again, my my ex-feed is filled
2:57
with stories I try to follow.
3:02
Um this one in particular, you know, I
3:04
want to tell you guys that I had
3:07
seen the article about your story before I
3:10
knew that we had a connection with Cynthia
3:13
Hughes, who uh runs runs the Patriot Freedom
3:16
Project, but also weaponization watch.
3:19
I it it came into my feed in
3:22
a different way, which is interesting.
3:24
I feel like it was meant to be,
3:26
and I I read your story.
3:28
Um, I believe I reposted it, and then
3:31
I looked back at some videos and looked
3:33
said that you were in DC, Chris, and
3:36
you were at with Cynthia Hughes at the
3:39
uh in DC talking about your case.
3:42
So, first of all, welcome.
3:44
Thank you for doing this.
3:46
I hope to give you some time to
3:49
tell your story and make people aware.
3:52
Uh I think awareness is extremely important in
3:54
these weaponization cases because the more outraged people
3:57
are, the less it could happen.
3:59
So thank you for so much for joining
4:01
me today, both of you.
4:03
Thank you for having us.
4:04
Oh, it's my pleasure.
4:05
Before Chris gets started, maybe you don't even
4:07
know this, Martha, but um Chris sent me
4:09
your book.
4:12
And I read your book while I was
4:13
incarcerated.
4:15
And so how we came about to getting
4:16
to know some of the people that we
4:18
have in common is actually because of your
4:20
book.
4:22
Oh, wow.
4:22
So I knew you'd read the book, and
4:23
I didn't know.
4:24
I was gonna ask how it affected your
4:27
time away, and you were incarcerated, which is
4:30
outrageous, and we'll talk about that as well.
4:33
But how did you find out about my
4:35
book?
4:37
Oh, I think how did I?
4:41
Oh, so you were actually on Rogers Stones
4:43
program.
4:46
Uh like a month or so after I
4:47
was.
4:49
Okay.
4:50
And so I heard I heard it, and
4:51
then I I was I'm actually still in
4:53
the process of finishing up a book as
4:55
well.
4:57
I just want to see, I'm like, should
4:59
I wait to see how it really ends,
5:01
or should I just put it out now?
5:04
But um so I remember hearing you on
5:05
on Roger's program.
5:08
Um, well, I might as well Erin, I
5:10
was sending her books left and right, and
5:12
she loves the read.
5:14
So I'm like, well, I'll just send her
5:16
this book, and then uh it was after
5:18
she read it, she had some notes for
5:19
me, and there was a few people in
5:21
there.
5:23
She said you should probably look into one
5:25
of them was Michael Caputo, and um I
5:28
tied I tied that together because Michael and
5:30
Roger are like brothers.
5:33
So um like I said, like you said,
5:36
we can get into the whole advocating part
5:38
after people maybe what what the hell happened
5:41
to us.
5:44
But also, but but you know, I'm so
5:45
glad.
5:47
I mean, I I wanted to say that
5:49
I wrote the book for a few reasons.
5:52
First and foremost to get the truth of
5:54
the case out there because nobody was telling
5:56
the truth about our case, and it was
5:58
outrageous what was going on, not just with
6:01
our case, but the fact that we had
6:03
FBI agents working with the CCP in our
6:05
case and they were protecting the CCP and
6:07
nobody was reporting it.
6:09
I thought, how can this all be going
6:11
on and no one's talking about it?
6:14
And so I had so I wrote it
6:16
in, you know, under incredible duress and stress,
6:17
and but I knew it had to get
6:19
out.
6:21
So I'm so grateful that you were able
6:22
to.
6:23
I hope it gave you some hope and
6:26
uh and something because you know, if it
6:28
if if you go through these things, there
6:31
has to be purpose in it on the
6:33
other side.
6:36
Or or and you have to make it.
6:38
If if it's you could either, again, you
6:40
could go into retirement and be like, okay,
6:42
I'm done, I'm I'm exhausted and I have
6:44
to move on, but there's just too many
6:46
stories like yours that I think need to
6:47
be uh remedied.
6:49
And I hope to do that.
6:51
So can you just tell everyone um your
6:53
story, which is uh really I always say
6:56
it's crazy, but then I'm thinking here comes
6:58
another one.
7:00
Here comes another one, but this this is
7:01
But this is really I think when people
7:02
really I think when people hear your story,
7:03
hear your story, they're starting to understand now
7:05
they're starting to understand now the pattern.
7:05
the pattern.
7:08
So please share.
7:08
So please share.
7:10
Yeah, and actually when it's funny when I
7:10
Yeah, and actually when it's funny, when I
7:12
was in DC and I was with a
7:12
was in DC and I was with a
7:14
bunch of other people that were going through
7:14
bunch of other people that were going through
7:16
similar situations, all of them almost came up
7:16
similar situations, all of them almost came up
7:18
to me saying, Wait, I can't believe you
7:18
to me saying, Wait, I can't believe you
7:20
guys are going through what you're going through
7:20
guys are going through what you're going through
7:21
right now.
7:21
right now.
7:24
So um yeah, if you would have told
7:24
So yeah, if you would have told me
7:27
me in 2019, um
7:28
in 2019, um, the government, you know, targets
7:31
people or uses lawfare or weaponizes prosecutions.
7:35
I would have been like, you're crazy.
7:37
Like you they have to be going after
7:39
they have to have been doing their due
7:41
diligence and gone after these people because they're
7:42
they committed a crime.
7:45
But then once you are living it and
7:47
you see just how they twist and turn
7:50
and lie and cheat and steal, it's it's
7:52
crazy.
7:55
So for Aaron and I before COVID, we
7:57
uh we had a successful business, and we
8:00
actually my um I went to American Film
8:02
Institute long time ago, and my history was
8:05
in the film industry, but it got a
8:07
little shady there in the you know, the
8:10
early 2000s, and I didn't really like the
8:12
people, so I took a step back, but
8:14
in 2018, we decided to take a leap
8:17
together and uh get back into it because
8:19
I really love the I I'm passionate about
8:22
the the craft part of it, the business
8:24
side of the entertainment business, as I'm sure
8:27
you know, yes, no, it's not uh all
8:29
on the up and up.
8:32
Um so we had this project called Ohana
8:36
that um came into development late early 2018,
8:40
early 2019, and uh it was about um
8:43
it was a fictional character, but based around
8:47
factual events going on in Hawaii in the
8:51
1990s.
8:55
Um and it had it was about the
8:57
underworld, so it's about organized crime, government corruption,
8:59
and we did.
9:01
I mean, Aaron and I did a ton
9:04
of research on this, and we were working
9:07
with a producer that was also working at
9:10
Warner Brothers to kind of develop this and
9:13
just zone it in and make it a
9:17
perfect uh TV series, and um we were
9:20
also working with another company, Buffalo 8, they
9:23
do some of those smaller budget movies, um
9:26
uh more independent style uh stuff with their
9:30
with their financing up to COVID, and we
9:33
had a budget in place, COVID hit.
9:37
As you know, everything just kind of shut
9:39
down, especially here in California, but especially in
9:42
Hollywood, and our other our other money making
9:45
business that gave us the luxury of being
9:47
able to jump back into the film world
9:50
was we had a very successful catering company.
9:53
Um it's a passion of mine.
9:54
I love to cook.
9:56
So um, using that creativity on both ends
9:58
of the spectrum there.
10:00
Uh so everything was shut down.
10:03
Uh, as everybody knew during COVID, no one
10:06
knew what was going on.
10:08
We had equity in our house, so I
10:10
was almost about ready to just pull money
10:12
out, but then we heard about the PPP
10:14
program.
10:16
So I didn't just jump into it.
10:19
I reached out for I don't even know
10:22
how many weeks prior to even applying.
10:25
And I I wanted to make sure we
10:27
were doing everything correctly.
10:29
Our local banks said we don't know what
10:31
this program, the guidelines are so whack out
10:33
of whack, we're not even touching it yet.
10:36
Um but at that time I was I
10:39
was listening to the news, so you know,
10:41
the today show unfortunately, and uh getting advice
10:44
on just what to do.
10:46
And they said, you know, you can there's
10:48
banks out there in different states, you can
10:50
apply, just you know, it doesn't have to
10:51
be your local bank.
10:53
So I still started reaching out to other
10:55
banks that weren't in California and still in
10:57
California too.
10:59
And I was just opening up saying, Hey,
11:01
this is our situation, like you know, we
11:03
don't have historical payroll, but we do have
11:05
a budget.
11:07
Um well, are we are we qualified to
11:09
do this?
11:11
And a loan originator that actually was one
11:13
of the loan originators that did our loan,
11:16
wrote back and said, Yes, you can use
11:18
projections.
11:20
And Aaron and I have had multiple businesses
11:23
in the past and traditional SBA loans, they
11:25
want 24 months of projections, not just payroll,
11:28
but everything they want to make sure it's
11:31
a viable business and you have a plan
11:34
for them to basically give you a decent
11:36
rate loan.
11:39
Um, so when the loan originators said you
11:42
can go off of projections, it didn't raise
11:44
any red flags.
11:46
So that's when I said, okay, we'll apply.
11:49
And everything went smoothly with the applying.
11:52
We got the money, about 1.3 million dollars,
11:55
put it the majority of it into an
11:58
account for the production of this Ohana TV
12:01
series, and then the rest we we were
12:04
we were still allowed to pay ourselves.
12:06
So we kept what we thought was the
12:09
allowable payable amount to pay ourselves.
12:12
Because I'm like, I don't want the majority
12:13
of that money, that is not my money.
12:14
I don't want to accidentally use that debit
12:16
card and spend 10 of it, you know.
12:19
Exactly.
12:19
So, but then when you do that, that's
12:21
when the government comes after you and they
12:24
say, Well, that when you transfer that money
12:26
over to an account, that's money laundering, even
12:28
though you were doing it without any intent,
12:30
you were doing it to actually be proactive
12:32
on not spending what was not your money,
12:35
but they can flip it.
12:37
That's how they like to twist.
12:38
Yes, yes.
12:40
So late 2020, we shot a teaser trailer,
12:43
like a sizzle.
12:46
Um to attract um a couple actresses.
12:51
We were talking to um a producer that
12:53
was good friends with Kaylee Quoco to possibly
12:56
be the lead.
12:59
So we we went over to Hawaii with
13:01
my producing partner Aaron and a small crew
13:03
that was from Hawaii that were all out
13:04
of work, you know, that was during COVID
13:06
still.
13:09
So they were actually very thankful um that
13:11
we were shooting this teaser trailer and got
13:13
that done.
13:16
Uh my producing partner has a lot more
13:19
contacts in Hollywood, started kind of shopping it
13:22
around, and then it just went silent uh
13:25
early 2021, and then May 2021 hit, and
13:28
that's when we got the surprise.
13:32
We didn't get a surprise like you guys,
13:33
where we were house was raided, but we
13:35
did get a target letter.
13:37
When we got it, we still didn't know
13:38
what it was for.
13:40
Um, and it was still a kind of
13:41
a chaotic day.
13:43
Um wait, wait, wait, wait, so what can
13:45
you just tell me what month that was
13:47
in 2021?
13:49
May May.
13:50
May okay.
13:51
I'm um I'm taking notes.
13:53
Okay.
13:53
Yeah.
13:55
There's a reason I'm taking notes, but keep
13:56
going.
13:58
Um so there was a target letter, and
14:00
they you know, we had to basically we
14:00
And they you know, we had to basically
14:02
looked at our bank accounts and they had
14:02
we looked at our bank accounts and they
14:04
wiped out our bank accounts, our personal account,
14:04
had wiped out our bank accounts, our personal
14:06
everything.
14:06
account, everything.
14:09
Um they seized it or they emptied it.
14:09
Um they seized it or they emptied it,
14:11
they emptied it.
14:12
They emptied it.
14:13
Wow.
14:13
Wow.
14:14
And then we found out that they put
14:14
And then we found out that they put
14:16
a Liz pendants on the house that we
14:16
a Liz pendants on the house that we
14:18
had bought in 2017, and we had done
14:18
had bought in 2017, and we had done
14:20
a lot of upgrades to it, and we
14:20
a lot of upgrades to it, and we
14:22
put a lot of money into it at
14:22
put a lot of money into it at
14:24
the time in 2021, it had over a
14:24
the time in 2021, it had over a
14:26
million dollars in equity.
14:26
million dollars in equity.
14:29
Um
14:29
Um put a Liz pendant on that so
14:31
we couldn't touch it.
14:32
So we had basically zero money to fight.
14:35
Wow.
14:36
Um, luckily at that time, a friend of
14:38
ours did give us some money to hire
14:41
uh some attorneys out of Los Angeles to
14:43
reply to the subpoena.
14:46
And when she had looked at it, she's
14:48
like, you know, they cast this big net.
14:50
There's this they did this task force to
14:52
go after all these, you know, like the
14:53
ones you saw on the news that worked
14:55
at Taco Bell and went and bought a
14:57
Lamborghini.
14:59
Like and I I agree, they needed to
15:00
go after a lot of those people.
15:02
I remember seeing that stuff on the news
15:04
back in 2020.
15:06
So now for us to be caught up
15:08
in it, it was being, it was just
15:10
it didn't make sense.
15:13
And we didn't know how serious it was
15:14
at the time.
15:17
Yeah, because it was like we didn't have
15:19
the FBI involved in our case.
15:21
This was the IRS.
15:22
Uh you know, so it was kind of
15:24
like, okay, so they're doing like an audit.
15:26
And this is basically asked for our bank
15:29
account records, tax records, you know, basic stuff
15:31
like that.
15:34
And we're like, here you go, here's all
15:34
of it.
15:35
Like, we have nothing to hide.
15:37
Yeah, and you handed all that over, and
15:39
you have to do that.
15:40
Yeah, and and the attorneys did that, and
15:42
uh, you know, they said, you know, you
15:44
kind of got caught up in this net.
15:47
Um they she also said though, I've never
15:49
dealt with a such an unprofessional AUSA in
15:52
her entire life.
15:55
And she's I mean, I you look her
15:57
up, and she she was attorney for bob
15:59
bosses in Chicago.
16:01
So and it was still crazy to be
16:04
like we had to hire somebody that does
16:06
represent people like that.
16:08
Like to be in that world too, is
16:10
a little a little nerve-wracking.
16:12
Like, why are we here?
16:14
Yeah.
16:14
Um, but then she said, you know what,
16:17
her and her or her partner that had
16:19
to represent Aaron, because you have to have
16:21
separate attorneys, said, you know, we can we're
16:23
we think we can take everything the email,
16:26
because we we had got an email during
16:28
COVID from the loan originator saying projection for
16:30
allowable.
16:33
Right.
16:33
So she's like, I think we can present
16:35
everything to him and you know, hopefully get
16:38
this resolved, but it's gonna be 50,000.
16:40
I'm like, well, we don't have any more
16:42
money, and we're we we're not the type
16:44
to go to parents to ask for that
16:46
kind of stuff.
16:48
And like Aaron said, we didn't know the
16:49
seriousness of this, right?
16:51
Um, because we hadn't been charged still.
16:54
So she said, Well, you're gonna have to
16:56
go to court appointment over in Hawaii, because
16:58
this actually came out of the district of
16:59
Hawaii where the TV show was gonna be
17:01
taking place as well.
17:04
And we're in California.
17:06
So we went to court appointed.
17:08
There's only one um uh public defender, public
17:12
defender, yeah.
17:16
Um, and then everyone else is a panel.
17:18
So Aaron got the the public defender.
17:21
I got my first panel attorney.
17:24
Aaron talked to hers, I think twice.
17:26
I never even could get a hold of
17:27
mine, and mind you, we hadn't been charged
17:28
yet.
17:30
She told me, let's just wait to hear
17:32
from the prosecutor, see what they're gonna do.
17:34
Yeah, yeah.
17:35
So a year goes by a year.
17:38
Uh we thought, okay, cool.
17:40
Like they got the out of the woods,
17:42
everything's cool, like everything's copacetic.
17:45
No.
17:46
No.
17:46
So then May of 2022, within a couple
17:49
days of when it happened.
17:52
Like the exact same date a year later.
17:54
Yeah.
17:55
And they're like, you're being indicted tomorrow.
17:57
And we're going to go.
17:57
Oh my gosh.
17:59
And here's the kicker.
18:01
We were never arrested.
18:02
We were never booked.
18:04
We did our indictment call.
18:06
The what is it, arraignment?
18:08
Yeah.
18:08
Over the phone.
18:10
Wow.
18:11
Yeah.
18:12
So it still didn't even feel it's all
18:14
very surreal.
18:16
Yeah.
18:17
Um then that's when this few years' journey
18:21
of going through attorneys in Hawaii that are
18:24
the court appointed, because Aaron pushed her public
18:27
defender.
18:31
I pushed mine because of the Liz pendants
18:32
they put on our house.
18:35
We were just asking questions, like and just
18:37
wanting to know the process.
18:39
Every kid nowhere.
18:41
They nowhere.
18:42
They would they would go to the court
18:43
task be removed.
18:44
Yeah, six months would go by.
18:45
They hadn't looked at the discovery, they hadn't
18:47
had any like phone calls with us, and
18:49
we're like, what are you doing?
18:51
And then they just removed themselves and we'd
18:53
start the process over again.
18:55
And another six months go by, same thing.
18:57
Yeah.
18:57
Were you uh were you allowed to look
18:59
at your discovery?
19:00
Yes.
19:00
Okay.
19:01
Aaron's attorney sent it to her.
19:02
My attorney still never sent it to them.
19:05
Okay, so you were you allowed to look
19:07
at your wife's discovery?
19:09
It was the same.
19:10
Yeah, Aaron, Aaron's the one that likes the
19:11
comb through all that stuff.
19:13
I hate doing that.
19:14
But they didn't, they didn't say you were
19:15
not allowed to do that.
19:17
Okay, okay.
19:17
I mean because believe me, I I wouldn't
19:19
be surprised if they did.
19:21
And that's kind of how crazy they can
19:23
get, you know, like God forbid you open
19:26
up an email with some discovery in it
19:28
that you weren't supposed to see, and now
19:30
then you got some charges with other, you
19:33
know, this is how they think, you know,
19:35
they they so uh, you know, in our
19:37
case, just so to give a comparison.
19:40
I was under the protective order by the
19:42
I was allowed to be under the protective
19:45
order to look at the discovery from my
19:47
husband's case, thankfully.
19:49
And you know, we would get some things
19:51
in the mail email, and I was like,
19:53
this isn't seem like this should be in
19:55
an email.
19:57
Like I feel like, all right, this is
19:58
this seems very sensitive or something like that,
20:00
whatever.
20:01
I mean, seemed odd that it was in
20:03
an email, and what they do, and again,
20:05
I'm not saying this is what happened.
20:06
I'm just saying that this can happen.
20:08
As we're talking about these cases, I think
20:11
people need to understand the tactics is that
20:13
if I opened that and sent it to
20:15
somebody and it was sensitive and they sent
20:18
it to me, quote unquote, oops by accident,
20:20
I'm now gonna get in trouble, even though
20:22
they sent it to me, you know, saying
20:25
it's oh, it's not sensitive, and it was,
20:27
and they go, Oh, sorry, we sent it.
20:29
It's it's sensitive.
20:30
And did you send it to anybody?
20:31
And you go, Oh, wait, I thought it
20:32
was not sensitive.
20:33
I thought I could share that with, you
20:35
know, let's say, I don't know, someone else,
20:37
our another attorney or whatever.
20:39
No, no, no.
20:40
So here you are, you're you're you're up
20:42
against every six months, you're starting from from
20:45
point zero again with new people, and you're
20:47
naive, which we all are, and you're starting
20:50
to learn their tactics, and you won't even
20:52
know all their tactics until this case is
20:55
over.
20:57
Like you won't really understand the full scope
20:59
of the tactics.
21:00
Of the tactics.
21:01
You're you are getting there.
21:01
You're you are getting there.
21:03
Um, but I'm glad, Aaron.
21:03
Um, but I'm glad, Aaron.
21:06
I mean, I'm imagining when you went through
21:06
I mean, I'm imagining when you went through
21:07
it that you were like, what is this
21:07
it that you're like, what is this case
21:08
case of wow?
21:08
of wow?
21:09
Why are we here?
21:09
Why are we here?
21:11
Right.
21:11
Right.
21:12
And I think now that I think back
21:12
And I think now that I think back
21:14
on it when you said that, I only
21:14
on it when you said that, I only
21:15
got it from my attorney.
21:15
got it from my attorney.
21:17
Your attorney never sent you the discovery.
21:17
Your attorney never sent you the discovery.
21:20
No.
21:20
No, yeah.
21:20
Yeah.
21:21
Right.
21:21
Right.
21:22
So it was just, it was unbelievable.
21:22
So it was just it was unbelievable.
21:24
Which is crazy, which is crazy.
21:24
Which is crazy, which is crazy.
21:25
I'm like, you're you have one job.
21:25
I'm like, you're you have one job.
21:28
Right.
21:28
Right.
21:28
Oh, like.
21:28
Oh, like send it over.
21:31
I use this analogy.
21:32
I've used it a few times on the
21:34
panel attorneys that are over in Hawaii because
21:37
the majority of them are personal injury.
21:39
Oh.
21:40
And it's literally like getting ready to go
21:41
on the triple bypass surgery and they gave
21:43
you a dentist.
21:45
Yeah.
21:46
This is not a case like this.
21:49
Yeah, they're like, well, they have a law
21:50
degree.
21:51
It's like, well, yeah, but have they handled
21:54
the white collar criminal case?
21:56
No.
21:57
And here you are.
21:58
People need to understand the government knows that
22:00
you, they've now taken your money.
22:03
So they know you have no money to
22:04
get an attorney.
22:05
You, you know, we that because our case
22:08
was not a financial case.
22:11
We did have to put up 500,000, and
22:12
we did have to put, but they didn't
22:14
seize our assets.
22:15
They did close our bank account.
22:16
They did, you know, say we had to
22:18
our bank account closed, you know, we were
22:20
debanked, but that wasn't because of the government.
22:22
That was just because our bank said we
22:24
don't want to work with you.
22:25
We don't want your business anymore.
22:26
We went through that a couple times.
22:28
Okay.
22:28
So you know, so you you uh when
22:32
were you uh convicted.
22:38
So to go on this journey a little
22:40
longer.
22:42
We went through the the court appointed attorneys,
22:45
and then finally Aaron's dad said, you know
22:48
what, you're gonna get nowhere.
22:51
So we we were able to hire a
22:53
private attorney.
22:55
Okay, we uh I'm not gonna name names,
22:57
but uh he basically I thought I was
22:58
gonna go see Bruce Willis and die hard,
23:00
and I went to see Bruce Willis in
23:02
one of his last movies.
23:04
Like I hear you.
23:05
He called it in.
23:07
I hear you.
23:07
It was uh very yeah.
23:11
Painful dad, my dad, you know, he's he
23:13
just turned 70 this year, but he's been
23:14
trying to retire.
23:16
And so he graciously gave us some of
23:20
his retire money, retirement money to retire attorney.
23:24
Yeah, right.
23:25
But at that time, that's when the uh
23:27
the prosecutor started to get more aggressive because
23:29
he knew we were fighters.
23:32
And he he I think he just wanted
23:33
us to be done.
23:34
So he he did a plea, offered a
23:38
plea, but with that offer, he also was
23:41
threatening more superseding charges, also threatening to charge
23:44
my mom, who's now 78.
23:48
And what was the reason behind charging your
23:49
mom?
23:50
What was the what were they what were
23:51
they what was what were they after?
23:52
What would what do they say they could
23:53
charge her with?
23:55
In the very beginning when we started our
23:57
catering company, the business was under her name.
24:00
And that's a whole different story.
24:01
It was later changed into our name like
24:03
a couple years later.
24:05
But they were gonna dust that off and
24:06
they were gonna use it because they're they're
24:07
disgusting.
24:08
Sorry, that was my I don't even know
24:10
if they were new about that.
24:12
I just think this AUSA was just threatening
24:14
everything left and right.
24:17
Yeah, we had the same thing.
24:18
We had people witnesses were were, you know,
24:20
I use the word threaten, meaning threatened with
24:22
charges.
24:24
Um, and they still wouldn't turn on my
24:26
husband, thank God, you know.
24:28
But this is tactics.
24:29
This is the this is the playbook.
24:31
Uh they get away with it, but um
24:32
continue.
24:34
Well, yeah, and you so they they threaten
24:36
that and uh we thought it was a
24:38
negotiation.
24:40
We thought the prosecutor presents the plea, our
24:42
attorney pushes back and says, you know, we
24:44
thought there was a negotiation.
24:46
Yeah, there was a negative.
24:51
No, our attorneys, I think we're sick of
24:52
us because we're we're fighters, like, and they
24:54
basically said, you know, if we go to
24:56
trial, one, you don't have any money to
24:57
do it because we literally did not, and
24:59
Aaron's had dad that did not have any
25:01
more money.
25:03
And two, you're from California, it's gonna take
25:04
in Hawaii.
25:05
They're gonna just they're gonna scalp you.
25:08
Right.
25:09
Like with everything they can, and you know,
25:11
and they say you're gonna look at this
25:14
many more years or this, and you like,
25:16
you know, they our attorneys did kind of
25:19
stretch it with us saying that you know,
25:21
you guys did pay back the majority of
25:23
the loan, so you know, we can we
25:26
can argue that at the sentencing if you
25:28
take the plea that you it would be
25:31
the actual loss instead of the intended loss,
25:33
and we're talking a difference between 1.3 million
25:36
dollars and a little under 200,000.
25:40
And they never did any of that.
25:41
I think they just told us that to
25:43
sell us on the plea to get us
25:45
out of their hair too.
25:46
Wow.
25:47
Um because they I this I don't think
25:50
anyone wanted to deal with the Hawaiian district.
25:52
Oh and then uh in the plea, there
25:55
was stuff written where I mean, people the
25:58
only people that get this kind of language
26:01
written from what I've dug up are career
26:04
criminals that have been in and out of
26:07
prison for decades, where this plea said we
26:10
weren't allowed to argue for a lower sentence.
26:13
You had to stick with what the sentencing
26:14
guidelines were.
26:16
And our both our attorneys actually balked at
26:18
that and said, We've never seen this before.
26:21
Um but they didn't they couldn't take it
26:23
up.
26:24
So the prosecutor said it if you fight
26:26
it, if you do it, if you don't
26:28
sign the green, we're gonna supersede, we're gonna
26:30
charge your mom.
26:32
And oh yeah, if you ever bring up
26:34
the email about the loan originator telling you
26:36
to use projections to the court, we're gonna
26:38
drop the plea or we're gonna supersede or
26:41
we're gonna charge your mom.
26:43
Like it was just like triple down, quadruple
26:46
down, like well, again, uh going after your
26:48
mom, and this is such a tactic, and
26:51
it happened to Michael Flynn, and it's gonna
26:53
happen to other people.
26:56
We don't keep talking about this.
26:57
Stay tuned, don't go away.
26:58
We're gonna continue this conversation when we get
26:59
right back.
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Okay, we are back now.
30:54
And you know, I I see what's going
30:56
on here.
30:58
They the prosecution gets desperate, and they just
31:00
keep hitting you and hitting you and hitting
31:03
you.
31:05
Now they know they've got you in the
31:06
corner.
31:08
They've broken you financially, emotionally, they're going after
31:10
your family members.
31:12
I mean, these these are these are my
31:14
words.
31:16
These is mafia tactics.
31:18
Okay.
31:18
And they'll do anything to win.
31:21
They don't, it's all about the win.
31:24
And that's why they win 99% of their
31:25
cases.
31:26
Now, again, in the past, I have known
31:29
former U.S.
31:31
attorneys who are wonderful, incredibly uh talented attorneys
31:35
with integrity who are appalled at the behavior
31:39
of prosecutors in these cases, embarrassed by the
31:43
be of what these these how they're being
31:47
trained by their supervisors or their uh superiors
31:51
in their in the districts.
31:55
Uh and we need to, it needs somebody
31:57
needs to be held accountable at this point.
31:59
But right now you're fighting for your lives,
32:01
and I want to please tell everybody, you
32:04
know, what happened after you were I basically
32:06
pressured and beyond pressured to take this plea
32:09
and what the plea ended up the take
32:11
it or leave it was.
32:15
So, yeah, I mean we even said to
32:17
our attorneys we're like, this is extortion.
32:20
It is like, yeah, it's legal extortion.
32:23
Well, yeah, my attorney during the plea when
32:25
I was going back and forth with him
32:27
on the verbiage of this plea, like the
32:30
paperwork, he literally hung up on me.
32:32
Like I pissed them off that bad.
32:34
This is an attorney that's been practicing for
32:36
40 plus years.
32:39
Um, and hasn't very good name for himself,
32:41
but still, like he knew, and I I've
32:44
told this on a couple interviews before, like
32:47
the the day that we agreed to that
32:49
plea is the day that Trump took the
32:52
nomination to run for president again.
32:56
And I just said, you know what?
32:58
F it like there's no way we're gonna
32:59
win this in court.
33:01
We need to win this with people with
33:03
common sense.
33:05
And we we have to fight for a
33:06
pardon.
33:08
And I knew that the day that I
33:10
took the plea because I just knew that
33:12
there it was so one-sided.
33:15
And I don't know.
33:16
And I thought I was dumb at the
33:17
time.
33:18
I'm like, this must just be one-sided this
33:21
way because it's Hawaii, they're an island, nobody,
33:23
no checks and balances going on, but then
33:26
you meet people like you and everybody else,
33:28
and it's like, oh, no, this is systematically
33:31
going on.
33:34
It is.
33:34
And I think when Trump took the nomination,
33:38
and we, you know, when he, you know,
33:41
was gone.
33:44
I just say not lost.
33:45
I hate because he didn't lose the 2020
33:46
election, that's my opinion.
33:48
Uh, when he was gone out of office,
33:51
uh, you know, we the fight doesn't stop.
33:55
Right.
33:55
Uh, we were dealing with this with the
33:57
Biden administration, you know, all through those years.
33:59
But when when Trump was coming back in,
34:01
that gave us hope because I knew, and
34:04
I'm sure you felt the same way, whether
34:06
it's naive or not, that little uh little
34:09
ray of hope is what kept me going,
34:11
that he was running, and then he came
34:14
back and won.
34:17
It gave me hope that some common sense
34:19
was going to be heard in and somehow
34:21
I was gonna get to that desk in
34:22
the White House.
34:25
I was gonna find a way to do
34:25
it.
34:26
And um, you know, I don't think it
34:29
was, I think you reflecting on it now.
34:33
That was that glimmer of hope that you
34:34
needed to fight, right?
34:36
Would you say that?
34:37
I don't want to put words in your
34:39
mouth, but well, and it was that, and
34:41
then just the fact that he had gone
34:43
through the same thing.
34:45
The same thing, and then there's this interview
34:47
I had I saw of him, it was
34:48
after he actually won.
34:50
But it was before he took office, those
34:53
late 2024.
34:56
And uh he basically said I actually cut
34:58
a commercial and made it from some of
35:00
Made it from some of the clips that
35:00
the clips that he did, but he basically
35:02
he did, but he basically said how corrupt
35:03
said how corrupt the system is, how they'll
35:05
the system is, how they'll force you into
35:05
force you into a plea, how you know
35:07
a plea, how you know they play every
35:07
they play every dirty trick in the book,
35:10
dirty trick in the book, and you know,
35:10
and you know, he was mostly going towards
35:12
he was mostly going towards the talking about
35:12
the talking about the Jixers, but it resonated
35:15
the J Sixers, but it resonated with me.
35:15
with me.
35:17
And even I played that interview for our
35:17
And even I played that interview for our
35:20
kids when we had to tell them that
35:20
kids when we had to tell them that
35:22
Aaron was going away to camp.
35:22
Aaron was going away to a camp.
35:24
And I said, I'm gonna do everything I
35:24
And I said, I'm gonna do everything I
35:26
freaking can.
35:26
freaking can.
35:29
And you
35:29
And you know how I how strong I
35:32
am and how creative I am, but I'm
35:34
gonna do everything I can to get our
35:36
story to President Trump and get him hopefully
35:39
to fix this.
35:41
Good.
35:42
I said that but they but you you
35:43
are.
35:45
I mean, I when did before so when
35:48
you when you were what was the the
35:50
plea that was offered, and what did you
35:53
end up getting?
35:56
So we were charged with four counts in
35:58
the indictment.
36:00
Um conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud,
36:03
conspiracy to commit money laundering, and money laundering.
36:07
So the plea was we had to plead
36:09
guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and
36:12
conspiracy to commit money laundering.
36:14
That was the deal.
36:15
And who were you supposedly conspiring with?
36:17
Each other.
36:18
Ah, got it.
36:19
That's what that's see.
36:21
See how funny that is.
36:22
It's like, yeah, yeah, okay, keep going.
36:24
Yeah, and we talked to many, many attorneys,
36:26
and I I want to say almost every
36:29
single one said to me, they never go
36:31
after the wife, they never go after the
36:33
wife.
36:36
Why are they coming after you?
36:38
And I think it was just to break
36:39
us.
36:42
Well, it's too well, and also two is
36:44
a conspiracy.
36:47
They didn't have they the more I hate
36:49
to say this, but and I heard we
36:51
heard this way in the beginning.
36:54
Uh the you're a number, one two is
36:56
better than one, right?
37:00
And you know, it makes more news.
37:02
It's a couple, it's a married couple, you
37:03
know.
37:05
Okay, so that's the conspiracy.
37:07
So you pled guilty.
37:08
And so what did you end up?
37:09
What did they end up bringing down on
37:11
both of you guys?
37:13
So our sentencing hearing, we only went to
37:16
Hawaii and sat in the courtroom twice, and
37:19
it was the change of plea hearing in
37:22
August of 2024, and then the sentencing hearing
37:25
January 9th of 2025.
37:29
And for those that don't remember, January 9th
37:31
was the dedicated day for the memorial for
37:33
Jimmy Carter.
37:36
So President Biden shut down every single federal
37:39
building courthouse, everything like that.
37:42
That was all supposed to be closed, except
37:45
for the federal courthouse in Hawaii.
37:50
So and we were the only ones there.
37:52
We were the only ones there.
37:53
We walk up, security literally says, here come
37:55
the Mizes, and we're like, Are you kidding
37:57
me?
37:59
Like, we couldn't even believe that they were
38:00
still open.
38:02
But we knew at that point that Trump
38:05
was going to be in office soon.
38:07
And I'm guessing they just wanted to get
38:09
us done and over with before Trump got
38:10
in.
38:12
Oh, yes, that's true.
38:15
Yeah, because that that uh not the assistant
38:17
attorney, but the lead, the attorney for that
38:19
district, she had already quit.
38:22
Yeah, he'd already resigned.
38:23
When, you know, before Trump even took office,
38:26
so I mean, they're obviously we know Hawaii
38:29
is just like California, and they're very blue.
38:33
Wow.
38:34
So I got 27 months and Chris got
38:35
36.
38:37
Oh boy.
38:39
And when did you have to report what
38:41
was the month?
38:44
January of 2025.
38:46
So we're sentenced January 9th, and the judge
38:48
is gonna give me one week to self-surrender,
38:50
and I looked at my attorney and he's
38:53
like, they haven't even told their kids, and
38:55
so he's like, All right, I'll give you
38:57
two weeks.
39:00
Holy smokes.
39:02
That's like unheard of.
39:03
Everyone listening to this, that is insane.
39:09
That is not normal.
39:11
Yeah, even for the federal government with the
39:14
most evil people on the planet.
39:17
That is let me backtrack a little bit.
39:20
Yeah.
39:21
So when we went to the plea change
39:23
of plea hearing in August, at the end
39:26
of that hearing, the judge looks at us
39:29
and he says, Well, one of you might
39:32
consider going in early.
39:35
And we looked at our attorneys, and our
39:37
attorneys looked at us and we're like, what
39:39
does that mean?
39:44
Well, we didn't know that start serving time
39:46
for even being sentenced.
39:48
Oh my gosh.
39:50
Like he was just in this mad rush
39:52
to put us away.
39:54
Put yeah, before President Trump got it something.
39:58
Yeah, I don't know what.
39:59
Well, it was an optics case, it's a
40:01
PPP loan case.
40:03
Um, and I wish, you know, I I
40:06
want people to understand something.
40:10
Um, I've done a lot of research on
40:12
PPP loans.
40:14
That's a story for another day.
40:17
Uh and in Georgia, um the amount of
40:22
forgiveness of PPP loans in this country is
40:27
a number that I is beyond, okay.
40:33
People with uh fake LLCs were getting millions
40:35
of dollars and they were forgiven, loans were
40:37
forgiven.
40:40
There were nonprofits, NGOs, I mean, getting millions
40:44
and millions of dollars, forgiven loans, okay.
40:49
Pro Publica, which is a uh uh, you
40:52
know, we did it did an article all
40:55
about PPP loans and who was forgetting and
40:58
you can search the PPP loans per state
41:01
and what was forgiven, and the money laundering,
41:04
the real money laundering that was going on
41:07
with PPP loans is documented, and here they
41:10
come after a family for optics, and to
41:13
me, this is my perception of what I'm
41:16
hearing to make us make it make uh
41:19
uh an example out of a uh a
41:22
family.
41:26
I mean, I it is outrageous.
41:30
Uh I I mean, I'm I shouldn't even
41:33
say I'm shocked, but the amount of the
41:36
callousness, I'm telling you, the evil behind this
41:39
goes beyond earthly to me.
41:42
I think it is driven by something really
41:44
dark.
41:45
Uh that the those of us on this
41:47
conversation don't understand because we could never behave
41:50
that way.
41:52
Uh so they put you in what where
41:54
were you?
41:56
What's this is a you let Aaron say
41:58
this story.
41:59
This is a good number after what the
42:00
This is a good number after what the
42:01
judge did for sentencing.
42:01
judge did for sentencing.
42:03
So also at that time there were the
42:03
So at that time there were the fires
42:05
fires going on in LA.
42:05
going on in LA.
42:07
So the judge is like, well, I'm not
42:07
So the judge is like, Well, I'm not
42:09
gonna send you to LA because the fires
42:09
gonna send you to LA because the fires
42:10
are going on.
42:10
are going on.
42:12
I'm like, okay.
42:12
I'm like, okay.
42:14
So he said that I needed to self-surrender
42:14
So he said that I needed to self-surrender
42:18
to the Marshall's office in Fresno.
42:18
to the marshals office in Fresno.
42:22
So where we live in California is two
42:22
So where we live in California is two
42:24
hours away from Fresno.
42:24
hours away from Fresno.
42:26
Not that LA is close either.
42:26
Not that LA is close either.
42:28
We're like right in the middle of the
42:28
We're like right in the middle of the
42:29
state.
42:29
state along the coast.
42:31
And so I called ahead of time because
42:34
everything, all the research I'd done, everything I
42:38
read said that you know, you should be
42:41
able to self-surrender to your designated facility.
42:45
Correct.
42:46
So the reason that I had to self-surrender
42:48
to the marshals office was because the BOP
42:50
did not have enough time to designate me
42:52
to a facility.
42:55
Um, I think in general, when you're sentenced
42:58
in that situation, they give you anywhere from
43:01
six to eight weeks to self-surrender.
43:04
That's right.
43:05
And it takes the BOP, I want to
43:09
say probably four to designate you sometimes quicker.
43:13
I I don't know, depending on the circumstances.
43:16
So I called the Fresno office, and they're
43:18
like, We don't know who you are, what
43:21
you want, you know.
43:24
If you if you get designated beforehand, then
43:27
go to that facility.
43:30
Okay.
43:31
So I checked that morning.
43:34
This is January 23rd, 2025.
43:38
No designation yet.
43:40
So Chris and I get in the car,
43:43
we drop the kids off at school.
43:46
I wanted to kind of do a little
43:48
band-aid rip-off.
43:49
Like, I'm all I'm not, I don't want
43:51
to make it this long, drawn out goodbye.
43:52
Like, I like the kids, we all cried,
43:54
got in the car and we drove to
43:55
Fresno.
43:57
Show up to the marshal's office and they're
43:59
like, Why are you here?
44:01
And I'm like, court ordered, supposed to self-surrender.
44:05
He's and they're like, nobody self-surrenders here.
44:07
So they had to like scramble and figure
44:09
out like if I was even in the
44:10
right place.
44:12
I don't remember.
44:13
Did I bring the paperwork with me?
44:15
I remember that.
44:16
I know they they're like, let's see if
44:17
you've been designated and we'll just let you
44:19
go there.
44:20
I'm like, yeah, because even if it's you
44:23
didn't get designated anywhere in California, my buddy
44:25
has a plane in 30 minutes from there.
44:27
I'm like, I take her anywhere, like he's
44:30
in was not designated.
44:32
So they're like, okay, you two say goodbye.
44:36
We'll keep you here until we figure out
44:38
what to do with you.
44:39
That's what they do.
44:41
Keep going.
44:42
So quick teary goodbye to Chris.
44:46
Um, he dropped me off with a Bible,
44:48
a plain wedding band, and then I had
44:50
like legal paperwork and uh like a handful
44:52
of pictures.
44:55
So I am shackled.
44:59
I think they just shackled my feet at
45:02
the Marshalls, put me in a cell three
45:04
hours by myself.
45:07
So I did take that time to read
45:08
my Bible, and I feel like that was
45:10
good preparation.
45:13
Because when they transferred me, they took me
45:15
to Fresno County jail.
45:18
Yeah.
45:20
Um, I've never been in trouble before.
45:22
I've barely had a parking ticket.
45:25
So I get to the Fresno County jail,
45:26
they're like, you can't keep any of that
45:28
stuff.
45:30
Right.
45:31
I was like, what?
45:32
So they took my Bible, they took my
45:34
legal paperwork, they took my wedding band.
45:36
Oh, I also have um prescription eyeglasses.
45:40
They let me keep those, and then I
45:42
I sleep with like a retainer.
45:45
So um, the retainer, the ring and the
45:49
eyeglass case got kept in my property.
45:53
So they throw me in a holding cell,
45:55
and I'll try and make this the expedited
45:56
version.
45:58
I'm in there for 20 hours.
46:01
Um there are most likely prostitutes, drug addicts,
46:05
yeah, domestic violence.
46:09
I would say they're not the victims.
46:11
There were women in there that were there
46:13
for committing domestic violence against their partners.
46:16
And who else?
46:17
Who else?
46:18
I don't, I can't even imagine.
46:20
Yeah.
46:20
Um, it was the most disgusting, filthy place
46:23
I'd ever been.
46:26
It was obviously just cement everywhere, but it
46:28
was like dried feces on the wall because
46:30
there's a toilet in the middle of the
46:31
room.
46:33
Um anyone who has not had to use
46:36
an open toilet in front of a room
46:38
full of people, consider yourself blessed.
46:40
Oh, yes, it's just not uh it was
46:42
unbelievable.
46:44
I I can't even well, I can only
46:46
compare it to I want to just double
46:48
back with this for a second because when
46:51
my husband was in Michigan in the federal
46:53
facility, someone that he met in there who
46:56
was a very nice guy who was shouldn't
46:58
have been there either.
47:01
He was a white collar guy, somehow ended
47:03
up in this low security.
47:05
He did the same thing, he went to
47:08
Soral Surrender to the Marshalls, they put him
47:11
in this like horrific place with uh awful,
47:14
like locked behind gang members, yes.
47:17
Well, my husband was with those guys too,
47:20
but the the level like of security, you
47:23
know, because here he's trying to do the
47:25
right thing, self-surrender, and if we didn't have
47:28
a designation either, by the way.
47:30
Mike didn't know where he was going either.
47:32
Nobody told us, no one told us.
47:34
So someone said, turn yourself into the marshals
47:36
in Brooklyn.
47:38
Mike's like, heck no, I'm not doing that.
47:39
I'm gonna end up in in Brooklyn.
47:42
Forget it for for a few weeks, and
47:43
I'm gonna be I'm gonna get killed.
47:45
I'm a cop, retired cop, they're gonna kill
47:46
me.
47:48
And the BOP let that happen.
47:50
Like that, that yeah, that is a is
47:53
a disgusting viol human rights violation a thousand
47:56
times over.
47:59
Okay.
48:00
So this is not uncommon.
48:02
I want people to understand something.
48:03
The story you're hearing now happens all the
48:05
time.
48:08
The fact that you don't get a destination,
48:10
you can't be, you know, prepare to leave
48:12
your children.
48:15
You become a piece of paperwork behind closed
48:17
doors somewhere that and then and nobody cares
48:18
about you instantly.
48:20
Instantly, instantly.
48:22
You you have no you there's no humanity,
48:24
you were just a number.
48:26
Because here's the here's the reality.
48:28
Yes, there's a lot of people in prison
48:30
who are horrible people who deserve to be
48:32
there.
48:34
And when these numbers come in and these
48:36
cases come in, they put you all in
48:39
the same bowl, the same bucket.
48:42
And I don't care.
48:43
There's a should be a process.
48:45
Forget about it, whether you agree or disagree
48:46
about that.
48:48
There should be a process that why shouldn't
48:50
you have gotten the same process as someone
48:53
else who did get it?
48:56
Not because they're they're they may be guilty,
48:57
but they got the process.
48:59
You see what I point, and you didn't,
49:00
And you didn't.
49:01
and it's how long were you in that
49:02
And it's how long were you in that?
49:04
18 days?
49:05
18 days.
49:07
Oh.
49:07
Oh, yeah.
49:08
Yeah.
49:09
And uh, like every day I was calling
49:09
And like every day I was calling Chris.
49:10
Chris, and I'm like, you gotta get me
49:11
And I'm like, you gotta get me out
49:11
out of here.
49:11
of here.
49:12
Like there were it was violent.
49:12
Like there were it was violent, it was
49:14
It was people detoxing from drugs.
49:15
people detoxing from drugs.
49:17
There were other people doing drugs.
49:17
There were other people doing drugs.
49:19
It was, you know, there was sex.
49:19
It was, you know, there was sex, like
49:21
Like, yeah.
49:22
yeah, and this isn't a quote unquote pod.
49:22
And this isn't a quote unquote pod.
49:24
So I was in a two story room
49:24
So I was in a two-story room with
49:27
with 70.
49:28
72 other women.
49:31
And there was not an empty bed.
49:33
And you're in there all day.
49:35
This isn't a five-story building downtown Fresno where
49:37
there's no natural light.
49:40
The fluorescent lighting is on for 20 out
49:43
of 24 hours a day.
49:45
They feed you undeniable, like unidentifiable food.
49:49
I do not even know what I was
49:49
eating.
49:50
And I'm not a picky eater, like us
49:51
Chris.
49:52
I will pretty much eat anything.
49:54
But this this was not human food.
49:56
No, it was disgusting.
49:59
So finally, yeah, after 18 days.
50:05
I told you to file a couple remedies
50:06
to get us to the marshals.
50:09
Yeah, like that.
50:10
Yeah, and you do what you can.
50:11
You do what you can.
50:12
Ironically, right after that is when you called
50:13
me.
50:15
Well, and there was another lady that was
50:16
in there that had already been there for
50:18
like 45 days, and she was a federal
50:20
hold as well.
50:22
Like she was waiting to be transferred.
50:23
And I was like, How long have you
50:24
been here?
50:25
Because technically the BOP only has 30 days
50:28
to transfer you out of a non-BOP facility.
50:32
Well, let me get let me get let
50:32
me guess.
50:33
They're using the natural emergency of the fires,
50:35
you know, they're God knows what else to
50:37
it's it it it they have every excuse
50:39
in the book not to do the right
50:41
thing and not to do their job, you
50:43
know.
50:45
It's horrifying.
50:47
Well, we must have done something right because
50:49
her, me, and then one other guy got
50:52
shackled and put in a transport van.
50:55
And I I asked the guy, I'm all
50:57
when did you get here?
51:00
And it was it was before me as
51:02
well.
51:04
And I'm like, okay.
51:05
So I think I was the determining factor
51:06
to get us all out of here.
51:08
Okay.
51:12
Good.
51:13
So rights attorney.
51:14
Good.
51:15
Well, look, I want to, you know, we
51:18
have so much to talk about, and I
51:20
I think I want to I want to
51:23
um I'm glad that you're home now, and
51:26
I know there's been advocates before.
51:29
I only have a few more minutes, and
51:31
I want to make sure everybody knows that
51:33
right now what's happening.
51:35
Obviously, you've pardoned is been it put in
51:37
for you, right, Chris.
51:38
It's still you have not you have not
51:40
gone in uh to serve any time yet.
51:43
Aaron has gotten home, thank God with some
51:45
advocacy.
51:47
Um, I think we should give some, you
51:50
know, some indication that you know Chris has
51:53
been pounding the pavement and doing things outside
51:56
the box to get attention from people who
51:59
is also Roger Stone was phencredible for us.
52:02
Michael Caputo is an angel from heaven.
52:04
I mean, you got Cynthia Hughes from Patriot
52:06
Freedom Project weaponization.
52:09
Um you're still in the fight, and we're
52:11
if people want to hear more about your
52:13
story, because again, we can talk so much
52:15
about this, and I want to speak speak
52:17
more, but right now you're you're waiting for
52:19
that pardon to come through so that you
52:21
do not have to go leave your family
52:23
again.
52:26
So can you just tell everybody uh the
52:28
best place for them to learn?
52:30
I'll put everything the links in my in
52:32
the story for this podcast, but the best
52:34
place for people to hear about your story
52:36
and support you.
52:38
Yeah, I mean, I think the best place
52:41
and where most of it's been going on
52:43
because there's most of the politics are on
52:45
X.
52:48
So they can find me at real Christmas
52:50
A.
52:54
Um, that's my handle.
52:57
And I mean, it goes.
52:59
I have all the all the different articles
53:01
and interviews with Roger Stone and just all
53:04
the stuff I've done, like billboards and ran
53:06
commercials.
53:09
Which I love that.
53:09
I love that you guys the billboard so
53:11
that Alice Alice Johnson would see it.
53:14
I I think was brilliant.
53:16
And I love that.
53:17
Do you tell how you got Roger Stone's
53:18
attention?
53:20
Yeah, so I uh a lot I know
53:22
a lot of people use the cameo act
53:25
to, and I'm I'm sure Roger hates me
53:27
telling me this story, but uh but I'm
53:29
sure he's had to shut down his cameo
53:31
for a little bit, but you know, everyone
53:33
uses cameo to ask a celebrity or someone
53:35
for a birthday or anniversary wish, and you
53:37
know, I saw him on there, and I'm
53:39
like, well, you know, I'm gonna tell them
53:41
what happened to us.
53:43
And uh, you know, a few days went
53:45
by, and I see a thing pop up
53:47
on my screen saying Roger Stone cancel your
53:49
cameo.
53:51
I'm like, what?
53:52
And then I look and then he DM'd
53:55
me on cameo and he said, Here's my
53:57
cell phone number, we need to talk.
53:59
Wow, I'm not gonna take your money.
54:02
Yeah, and then and then he's like, I
54:03
don't want any money from you.
54:04
He said that up front.
54:06
He's like, I this I saw what they
54:07
uh these I'm trying to get the quote
54:09
exactly.
54:11
He knows, let's put it this way he
54:12
lived in, yeah.
54:13
He called, he's like, he called these the
54:15
the bastards for one.
54:16
He's like these bastards tried to take me
54:17
down.
54:18
I'm seeing what they're trying to do to
54:19
your family, and I want to help you
54:21
guys.
54:22
There you go.
54:23
Um he was the first one, and uh,
54:26
you know, he's been there throughout, and he
54:29
just had Aaron and I on a couple
54:32
weeks ago after she got out on his
54:35
radio program again, and it's kind of lit
54:38
another little fire, and good, you know, we're
54:41
just gotta keep pushing and hoping that you
54:43
know it gets to like you said, gets
54:46
to Trump's desk.
54:50
That's it.
54:51
That's it.
54:51
But doing things like this, and and you're
54:53
your advocacy for your family and getting the
54:55
word out is I did, you know, I
54:56
I didn't take my foot off the gas
54:58
for five and a half years, almost six
55:00
years.
55:01
I did not not one day, and I
55:03
was never gonna give up until there was
55:05
some justice, and we're still working on that,
55:07
but but it it did it did work,
55:09
you know.
55:11
I didn't, I didn't um I never stopped,
55:13
and you're never stopping.
55:16
It was a lot of healing ahead of
55:17
you.
55:18
I hope to be a part of your
55:20
friends, friendship group and family.
55:22
Uh, we are part of this crazy family
55:23
now together.
55:25
I I really I'm here for you both,
55:27
uh, and your family, and uh there'll be
55:30
more to talk about.
55:32
And let's do this again.
55:34
And and I hope the next time we
55:36
talk, there's even more good news.
55:37
Let's pray.
55:38
And and I I promise you, every day
55:41
goes by once this is completely over in
55:43
your review mirror and the healing begins, you
55:45
become the winners in the story.
55:48
It may not feel like it right now,
55:49
and it may take some time, but you
55:51
didn't stop fighting.
55:53
And your advocacy for others, even if just
55:56
through your story alone is gonna change lives.
55:59
And uh, I I promise you that's where
56:00
I I promise you that's where it's going
56:01
it's gonna be eventually.
56:01
to be eventually.
56:02
So I God bless you both.
56:02
So I God bless you both.
56:04
And I hope to meet you very soon.
56:04
And um, I hope to meet you very
56:07
And we can celebrate, celebrate, celebrate and bond
56:07
soon, and we can celebrate, celebrate, celebrate and
56:09
over this, this uh, you know, this I
56:09
and bond over this uh you know, this
56:12
hate to use the word, it's like a
56:12
I hate to use the word, it's like
56:14
horrific journey uh that God put us through
56:14
a horrific journey uh that God put us
56:16
the test.
56:17
through the test, and God never he gives
56:19
And God never gives you the struggles.
56:19
you the struggles.
56:22
Um, but I always prayed every day.
56:22
Um, but I always prayed every day.
56:23
God just when I put my feet on
56:23
God just when I put my feet on
56:25
the ground before I start the day, just
56:25
the ground before I start the day, just
56:26
put me in the right direction.
56:26
put me in the right direction, and he
56:27
always did.
56:27
And he always did.
56:29
So and it wasn't.
56:29
So, and it wasn't easy, but but it
56:30
was the right, he did put me in
56:32
the right place.
56:34
So thank you both for joining me today.
56:37
And I look forward to more and better
56:40
news uh in the future about your story.
56:43
Well, thank you so much, Martha.
56:44
We appreciate your time.
56:45
Anytime.
56:46
Take care.
56:46
See you soon.
56:47
Bye.