Diane Wells

I didn’t know what a “302” was. Like a lot of the case, I figured it out as we went along. My basic understanding is that an FBI 302 is a report generated from interviewing a potential witness. There was an agreement for “open discovery” between the defense and prosecution. Putting my naivety to work, … read more

One moment you are charged and very soon after comes the first plea deal. Simply, the prosecutor offers a guilty plea in return for a reduction of the severity of the charges, dismissal of charges and recommendations from the prosecutor regarding sentencing for the defendant or some other concession. What part of the crime can … read more

The Grand Jury handed down a true bill. I was officially indicted. It was hard for Dan to tell me I got charged. He knew how likely it was to happen, but Dan never took away my hope. He stopped just short of that. It was unspoken but a fundamental part of the trust and … read more

Brent Testifying In spite of being a target of a federal criminal investigation, Brent made a rare appearance testifying at the Grand Jury. He provided a very thorough presentation explaining that there was no diversion, no intent, no gain, etc.. and that all the investments made by the Fund committee were authorized. I remember hearing … read more

What little I understood about a prosecutor’s job was from casually watching movies or the local news. My elusive starting point for “who is a prosecutor” was that he/she was a person who conducted a thorough investigation and after all the facts were examined, decided whether to charge someone with a crime. That wasn’t quite … read more

I hired Dan as my legal representative to hopefully implore the Government to look at the facts and realize that I was not involved in a crime. Being a target began to permeate facets of my life and the investigation phase was now in play. I didn’t know how substantive the investigation had been to … read more

The day I got the call from the prosecutor, a letter stating the same information was waiting for me in my mailbox. It was the beginning of me no longer enjoying that short walk to see what was in the mailbox. First, I noticed the return address address, the United States Of America. I took … read more

I don’t know what to do, but I had to do something. The only person that truly would understand the bombshell that just happened was Brent. Brent had been the attorney for the fund I was working for which was now the subject of a federal criminal investigation. At the very least, Brent would care … read more

Leaning against the building that I might not be working in anymore and having just hung up from listening to a prosecutor, I felt like I was barely breathing. I had to have a reality check. My head bent down, I whispered aloud that a prosecutor had just called and told me that I was … read more

It all began with a simple call. I was sitting at my desk on the third floor of the bank building in downtown Raleigh, NC. I worked as a trust advisor in the bank’s trust department. I had been there for a few years. I was good at my job and liked it. The phone … read more

I have three categories that I will write about in this blog. The case is my criminal case that began in 2004 and ended in 2010. It is filled with twists and turns. It’s hard to recall how many times my attorney said that it was such an unusual case. I had no perspective on … read more