11. Billionaire Prepares for Prison: Scott Tucker, Episode 2

Billionaire Prepares for Prison, Episode 2

Scott Tucker is well known for building the Payday Loan industry. In the previous episode, we learned how Scott started this industry from scratch. Through hard work and building great teams, he built his company into mega organization. It employed thousands of people. His business generated billions in annual revenues. He earned hundreds of millions of dollars every year.

Despite that success in business, Scott told us in episode 1 about his problems. He lost a case to the Federal Trade Commission. That case resulted in a judgment against him of more than $1 billion. Then a judge froze his assets.

Without financial assets, Scott didn't have resources to pay for his attorneys at trial. A jury convicted him of violating the Truth in Lending Act. Since his conviction, Scott has been on home confinement.

Living on home confinement has been a struggle for Scott. He spoke about the ways that he has been preparing for the journey ahead. He exercises relentlessly. Sometimes he rides his stationary bicycle for 60-mile durations. The commitment to fitness helps Scott deal with the stress of an upcoming sentencing hearing.

Scott told us that the federal government has asked that he serve a sentence of more than 100 years. The probation officer recommended that lengthy sentence because she said that Scott's business generated more than $6 billion in losses.

It's important to learn more about the criminal justice system. That's why we're grateful to Scott for sharing his story.