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Ask HN: Being incarcerated for 60 days for a victimless, non violent crime

18 points by thrwawayinc 12y ago

What do I do for my SaaS (collaboration) with no customers yet (should be accepting payments, integrating with Stripe by end of this month)? I have 2 contractors that could fix issues that could come up.

smt88 12y ago
Seems like you should report ASAP. What can you do while in jail? I honestly have no idea. Can you email?
anigbrowl 12y ago
You should disclose to any partner or investor, it would come up on a background check anyway and hiding it would look worse than whatever your offense is, most likely. As for your customers, it's none of their business. Not a lawyer, this isn't legal advice, pure intuitive response. Hope everything works out and you get back on track.
elwell 12y ago
Don't launch yet. Or 'unlaunch'.
- thrwawayinc 12y ago
  Can you elaborate?
  - davidw 12y ago
    I'd basically park everything until you're out and can really dig in 100%. You don't want to be going viral or getting publicity or anything like that when you are unable to handle it. If you can, I suppose I'd bite the bullet and get it over with as quickly as possible.
vishaldpatel 12y ago
In your position, I would: - Tell my co-founders about what happened. They'd already know well before the sentencing and we'd already have a plan in place in-case I did have to serve time. In any case, I'd tell them what happened and we'd have to figure out how to continue things without me, what will happen in the meantime and how I'll rejoin the team when I come back. Pretty much everything would be up for discussion at this early stage. Tying up loose ends and closing up shop for a couple of months would not be out of the question. Best wishes!
ddorian43 12y ago
Can you tell us what you did? it is a throwaway
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- bsder 12y ago
  Likely a second (third, etc) conviction for possession of pot.
- thrwawayinc 12y ago
  Failure to file tax returns.
  - smt88 12y ago
    I understand that no single person was harmed specifically, but that's not 100% a victimless crime. Other people's tax dollars went toward uncovering your failure, investigating you, filing charges, taking you through the court system, and then incarcerating you. That probably required far more money than you owed in taxes in the first place.
    - xtrumanx 12y ago
      I don't think you understand the term victimless crime. By your definition no crime is a victimless crime since all crime costs money to investigate.
      - davidw 12y ago
        The 'victim' is society at large, I guess. Imagine a country with 5 people, where 1 of them doesn't pay their share of taxes. Everyone else is that much poorer in terms of money available to spend on public projects. Or: imagine if no one paid their taxes. Jail time sounds kind of harsh where a fine might do, but we don't know the details, and that's not what the person is asking about anyway.
geofffox 12y ago
I did something remarkably stupid in the past. It's got to be disclosed first thing, right away. The past is now forever.
InclinedPlane 12y ago
Tell everyone who has a stake, including contractors, then push out the launch and try to pick up the pieces.
- thrwawayinc 12y ago
  I have about a month and a half to self report to start the sentence. I guess, I was wondering if I can do something productive for the business that could sustain my 60 day absence.
empressplay 12y ago
You'd be giving your startup the best chance if you're in a position to pore over analytics and rapidly bring in improvements based on user experiences, and you can't do that while you're in jail! If you could delay your "media launch" until you get out that'd probably be the best strategy.
- thrwawayinc 12y ago
  I have about another month and a half to start my sentence. And that's what I wanted to focus on for efforts for my startup. Initial feedback from users/visitors are already incorporated. We have used the service ourselves in developing the product (for about 6 months), and have a bunch of usability issues already uncovered. I agree that the "media launch" should be delayed.
Red_Tarsius 12y ago
I've never been to prison, but I read quite a bit about inmate culture and experiences. A few words of advice: - Don't gamble. - Don't trust anyone, no matter how friendly they are. - Don't accept "free" stuff. - Stand up for yourself, no matter the situation. - Respect deeply other people, but don't lower your status. - Mind. your. business. and expect other inmates to do the same. Sorry if they sound terribly cliché. We had motto in the Scouts: Estote Parati, "Be prepared". Read the bio and experiences of past inmates. You don't want to look scared and in culture shock mode when you get in. Wolves smell the lack of self-respect.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- Red_Tarsius 12y ago
  Why the downvote? I know I didn't answer his original question, but I was worried for the OP. If you think I gave bad advice, explain why.
  - thrwawayinc 12y ago
    Thank you. I did appreciate your inputs.
  - BorisMelnik 12y ago
    not a fan of the "downvote if you disagree" culture that is going on around here. I've been to jail and would agree with that. only thing I wouldnt agree with is stand up for yourself no matter what. there are times when walking away just works. sometimes people just want to be the alpha, and the smart thing to do (many times) is to let them do that.
  - bradleyland 12y ago
    He's going to jail for 60 days, not prison. Jail is usually a county lockup half full of people serving time for crimes similar to the OP. Usually, less than 1 year sentences. There are certainly groups you should avoid, but the majority of the people in our local jail are just normal people who got caught with a little marijuana, or racked up too many DUIs. In other words, they're a lot like the OP. IMO, there's no need for alarm when going to jail.
gorbachev 12y ago
Felony or misdemeanor? Makes a BIG difference, especially if your business is accepting payments. Sounds like misdemeanor, which should be ok.
unpaik 11y ago
Blasphemy?

18 points by thrwawayinc 12y ago

smt88 12y ago

Seems like you should report ASAP. What can you do while in jail? I honestly have no idea. Can you email?

anigbrowl 12y ago

You should disclose to any partner or investor, it would come up on a background check anyway and hiding it would look worse than whatever your offense is, most likely. As for your customers, it's none of their business. Not a lawyer, this isn't legal advice, pure intuitive response. Hope everything works out and you get back on track.

elwell 12y ago

Don't launch yet. Or 'unlaunch'.

thrwawayinc 12y ago
Can you elaborate?
- davidw 12y ago
  I'd basically park everything until you're out and can really dig in 100%. You don't want to be going viral or getting publicity or anything like that when you are unable to handle it. If you can, I suppose I'd bite the bullet and get it over with as quickly as possible.

vishaldpatel 12y ago

In your position, I would: - Tell my co-founders about what happened. They'd already know well before the sentencing and we'd already have a plan in place in-case I did have to serve time. In any case, I'd tell them what happened and we'd have to figure out how to continue things without me, what will happen in the meantime and how I'll rejoin the team when I come back. Pretty much everything would be up for discussion at this early stage. Tying up loose ends and closing up shop for a couple of months would not be out of the question. Best wishes!

ddorian43 12y ago

Can you tell us what you did? it is a throwaway

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
bsder 12y ago
Likely a second (third, etc) conviction for possession of pot.
thrwawayinc 12y ago
Failure to file tax returns.
- smt88 12y ago
  I understand that no single person was harmed specifically, but that's not 100% a victimless crime. Other people's tax dollars went toward uncovering your failure, investigating you, filing charges, taking you through the court system, and then incarcerating you. That probably required far more money than you owed in taxes in the first place.
  - xtrumanx 12y ago
    I don't think you understand the term victimless crime. By your definition no crime is a victimless crime since all crime costs money to investigate.
    - davidw 12y ago
      The 'victim' is society at large, I guess. Imagine a country with 5 people, where 1 of them doesn't pay their share of taxes. Everyone else is that much poorer in terms of money available to spend on public projects. Or: imagine if no one paid their taxes. Jail time sounds kind of harsh where a fine might do, but we don't know the details, and that's not what the person is asking about anyway.

geofffox 12y ago

I did something remarkably stupid in the past. It's got to be disclosed first thing, right away. The past is now forever.

InclinedPlane 12y ago

Tell everyone who has a stake, including contractors, then push out the launch and try to pick up the pieces.

thrwawayinc 12y ago
I have about a month and a half to self report to start the sentence. I guess, I was wondering if I can do something productive for the business that could sustain my 60 day absence.

empressplay 12y ago

You'd be giving your startup the best chance if you're in a position to pore over analytics and rapidly bring in improvements based on user experiences, and you can't do that while you're in jail! If you could delay your "media launch" until you get out that'd probably be the best strategy.

thrwawayinc 12y ago
I have about another month and a half to start my sentence. And that's what I wanted to focus on for efforts for my startup. Initial feedback from users/visitors are already incorporated. We have used the service ourselves in developing the product (for about 6 months), and have a bunch of usability issues already uncovered. I agree that the "media launch" should be delayed.

Red_Tarsius 12y ago

I've never been to prison, but I read quite a bit about inmate culture and experiences. A few words of advice: - Don't gamble. - Don't trust anyone, no matter how friendly they are. - Don't accept "free" stuff. - Stand up for yourself, no matter the situation. - Respect deeply other people, but don't lower your status. - Mind. your. business. and expect other inmates to do the same. Sorry if they sound terribly cliché. We had motto in the Scouts: Estote Parati, "Be prepared". Read the bio and experiences of past inmates. You don't want to look scared and in culture shock mode when you get in. Wolves smell the lack of self-respect.

deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
Red_Tarsius 12y ago
Why the downvote? I know I didn't answer his original question, but I was worried for the OP. If you think I gave bad advice, explain why.
- thrwawayinc 12y ago
  Thank you. I did appreciate your inputs.
- BorisMelnik 12y ago
  not a fan of the "downvote if you disagree" culture that is going on around here. I've been to jail and would agree with that. only thing I wouldnt agree with is stand up for yourself no matter what. there are times when walking away just works. sometimes people just want to be the alpha, and the smart thing to do (many times) is to let them do that.
- bradleyland 12y ago
  He's going to jail for 60 days, not prison. Jail is usually a county lockup half full of people serving time for crimes similar to the OP. Usually, less than 1 year sentences. There are certainly groups you should avoid, but the majority of the people in our local jail are just normal people who got caught with a little marijuana, or racked up too many DUIs. In other words, they're a lot like the OP. IMO, there's no need for alarm when going to jail.

gorbachev 12y ago

Felony or misdemeanor? Makes a BIG difference, especially if your business is accepting payments. Sounds like misdemeanor, which should be ok.

unpaik 11y ago

Blasphemy?