The Reality of Bad Credit and How to Avoid Being a Felon Sentenced to Federal Prison

By Joeziel Vazquez, CEO & Board Certified Credit Consultant (BCCC, CCSC, CCRS)

17 Years Experience in Credit Consulting

Published: Jun 23, 2022 | Last Updated: 11/4/2025

Reading Time: 15 minutes

The Warning From Someone Who Knows What Prison Is Actually Like

I need to tell you something that might make you uncomfortable. But if you're reading this because you're desperate about your credit, drowning in debt, and someone just told you about CPNs or offered to sell you tradelines that will "change your life"—then you need to hear this from someone who actually knows what prison is like.

Yes, I've been to federal prison. Multiple times.

Not for credit fraud. Not for selling tradelines. Not for any of the things I'm about to warn you about. I was incarcerated while battling an addiction that nearly destroyed my life—a battle I've been winning one day at a time since March 5th, 2015. That's 3,535 days clean as I write this, and counting.

I've never hidden this. I've written about it. I've talked about it in interviews. And when industry trolls tried to use my criminal record as a weapon against me—thinking they found some devastating secret—I had to laugh. Because the thing about recovery is this: the truth isn't your enemy. It's your armor.

So when I tell you that buying a CPN or using purchased tradelines to get a mortgage you don't qualify for will land you in federal prison, I'm not speaking theoretically. I'm not reading from a legal textbook. I'm telling you about a place I've been. A place where doors close behind you with a sound you never forget. A place where you watch your family leave after visiting hours and don't know when you'll hold them again as a free person.

And I'm telling you—from the bottom of my heart, with every bit of credibility my past and my recovery have given me—no credit score is worth ending up there.

The Comments That Inspired This Article

Recently, someone left comments on one of my articles about tradelines. They were clearly from someone in the industry, angry that I was warning people about the risks. Let me share what they said, and then let me tell you why they're dangerously wrong.

The comment started with:

They thought this was a gotcha. Like they'd uncovered some scandal.

Here's my response: Yes, I've been to federal prison. Multiple times. While dealing with addiction. Never for anything related to credit. And you know what? That doesn't disqualify me from warning you. It makes me the most qualified person to warn you.

Because when I say prison isn't somewhere you want to experience, I'm not imagining it. I'm remembering it. The sound of those doors. The count times. The loss of control over every single aspect of your life. The way time moves differently when you can't just leave. The look on my family's faces through the glass.

So when I tell you to stay away from CPN schemes and fraudulent tradeline operations, I'm not being dramatic. I'm trying to save you from a nightmare you can't wake up from.

The commenter went on:

And this is where I need to stop the story for a moment and give you the facts that could save your freedom.

Let Me Tell You About David Day

In 2013, federal agents arrested eighteen people in a social security fraud scheme involving CPNs—Credit Privacy Numbers, those nine-digit numbers that scammers sell as a "fresh start" for your credit.

David Day was one of them. He was both a user and a seller. He thought he was helping people. Maybe he thought what he was doing was legal, or at least that he wouldn't get caught.

The federal judge sentenced him to over seven years in federal prison.

Seven years. Not seven months. Seven years of his life, gone. And here's what you need to understand: both the people selling CPNs and the people buying them were arrested. Because in the federal system, when you participate in fraud, you don't get to say "but I was just a customer." You're part of the conspiracy.

Then there's the Oklahoma City case from 2021. The Department of Justice press release read:

This wasn't someone running a scheme. This was someone who bought a CPN, someone who thought they were just getting a second chance, someone who probably had desperate reasons just like you might have right now.

Eighteen months in federal prison.

And let me tell you about Swatisha Keith. She bought a CPN off Craigslist—just trying to get a fresh start, trying to rebuild after bad credit destroyed her opportunities. A few months later, the FBI showed up at her office with an arrest warrant. She faced up to thirty years in federal prison. The CPN she'd purchased? A stolen Social Security number. She'd become part of an identity theft ring without even knowing it.

So when that commenter says "nobody has gone to prison," they're either lying or they're dangerously ignorant. And if they're selling tradelines or CPNs, they have every reason to lie.

The Federal Trade Commission Doesn't Play Games

Let me tell you about three cases that happened in the last five years. Not rumors. Not theories. Actual federal enforcement actions that destroyed businesses and ruined lives.

BoostMyScore and a guy named William O. Airy ran a massive operation starting around 2020. They charged people anywhere from three hundred twenty-five dollars to over four thousand dollars to be added as authorized users on strangers' credit cards. Their marketing promised "the amazing benefit of having another person's credit copied and pasted onto your credit report." They guaranteed credit score boosts of up to 120 points in less than two weeks.

The Federal Trade Commission sued them for violations of the FTC Act, the Credit Repair Organizations Act, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule. But here's the part that should terrify you: according to the complaint, they were coaching the people with good credit on how to conceal what was happening. They knew they were helping people commit fraud. They knew they were setting their customers up for criminal liability.

The business was shut down. Airy was barred from ever operating in credit repair again. And everyone who used their services? They're sitting there with purchased tradelines on their credit reports that could be discovered any time they apply for credit.

Then there's The Credit Game, which operated as Wholesale Tradelines before rebranding. The FTC alleged they brought in over fifteen million dollars selling these schemes. Fifteen million dollars of desperate people's money, people who thought they were getting help, people who were actually buying tickets to potential federal prosecution.

The defendants faced charges for violations of the FTC Act, CROA, the Business Opportunity Rule, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, and even the Covid Consumer Protection Act—because they preyed on people during a pandemic. The complaint said they filed bogus identity theft reports with the FTC, provided false information to credit bureaus, and encouraged their customers to dispute accurate information.

And here's what shows you how brazen these people were: they purchased the tradeline database from BoostMyScore after BoostMyScore had already been shut down by the FTC. They knew about the investigation. They knew about the enforcement action. They bought the database anyway and kept the scheme going.

Top Tradelines operated under multiple names—Deletion Experts, Inquiry Busters, you get the idea. They charged between two and three thousand dollars for their services. The FTC shut them down for deceptive marketing, false promises, illegal upfront fees, and failure to provide required disclosures under CROA.

So when someone tells you nobody gets in trouble for this, they're counting on you not doing your research. They're counting on your desperation overriding your judgment.

The Credit Privacy Number Lie

Let me be absolutely clear about something: Credit Privacy Numbers do not exist as legitimate government-issued identification.

The Federal Trade Commission says it. The Social Security Administration says it. The FBI says it. There is no such thing as a legal CPN.

When someone sells you a CPN, they're selling you one of two things: either a completely made-up number that will get you arrested the moment you try to use it, or—and this is worse—a stolen Social Security Number that probably belongs to a child, an elderly person, someone who's incarcerated, or someone who's deceased.

Think about that for a second. You're not just committing fraud. You're victimizing someone who can't protect themselves. You're stealing from a kid who hasn't even started their life yet, or from an elderly person who won't discover the fraud until their credit is destroyed, or from someone sitting in prison who's going to get out and find their identity was stolen while they couldn't even check their credit report.

The companies selling CPNs will tell you it's legal under the Privacy Act of 1974. They'll say you have the right to keep your Social Security Number private. And that's technically true—you can choose not to provide your SSN to third parties when it's not required by federal law.

But here's what they don't tell you: you can't substitute a fake number in its place. And applying for credit with anything other than your legitimate, government-issued SSN or ITIN is a federal crime. Multiple federal crimes, actually.

When you use a CPN on a credit application, you're committing identity theft. You're making false statements on a credit application, which is a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014 and carries up to thirty years in prison. You're committing Social Security fraud under 42 U.S.C. § 408, which adds another five years. If you sent the application through the mail, that's mail fraud. If you sent it electronically, that's wire fraud. If you obtained credit from a bank, that's bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344—up to thirty years in prison and up to a million dollars in fines.

These charges stack. The federal system doesn't pick one and let the others go. They charge you with everything, and these aren't state charges where you might get probation. These are federal felonies with mandatory minimum sentences.

And here's what nobody tells you about federal prison: there's no parole. You serve at least eighty-five percent of your sentence. A ten-year sentence means eight and a half years of your life, minimum. Not "maybe you'll get out early for good behavior." Not "maybe you'll get transferred to a halfway house." You do the time.

I know because I've been there. Different reasons, but same system. And I'm telling you—it's not worth it.

When Tradelines Become Federal Crimes

Now let me address the other part of that comment, because there's a lot of confusion about tradelines and authorized users, and some of it is deliberately created by people who profit from that confusion.

Being added as an authorized user on someone's credit card is legal. Always has been. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act of 1974 protects this practice. Parents add their kids to help them build credit. Spouses add each other. Banks themselves promote authorized user programs as a way to help family members establish credit history.

Nobody's going to prison for that.

But here's where it crosses the line, and this is what that commenter either doesn't understand or is deliberately ignoring: when you pay strangers hundreds or thousands of dollars to temporarily add you as an authorized user, and then you use that artificially inflated credit score to get a loan or mortgage you wouldn't otherwise qualify for, you've committed bank fraud.

Let me walk you through how this works and why it's illegal.

You have a credit score of 550. You can't get approved for a mortgage, can't get a car loan, can't even get a decent credit card. Someone tells you about tradeline companies—pay them fifteen hundred dollars, they'll add you to a stranger's credit card with a twenty-thousand-dollar limit and perfect payment history. Your score jumps to 680. Suddenly you're "prime credit."

You apply for that mortgage. You fill out the application. You submit your credit report showing that beautiful 680 score. You don't mention that your score is artificially inflated. You don't tell the underwriter that you paid for those accounts. You don't disclose that you have zero access to those credit cards and will be removed in sixty to ninety days.

The bank approves your loan based on creditworthiness you don't actually have.

That's bank fraud. That's 18 U.S.C. § 1344. That's up to thirty years in federal prison and up to a million dollars in fines.

"But," you might say, "the lender can see that I'm an authorized user. It's right there on the credit report. How is it fraud if they can see it?"

Because the fraud isn't about hiding that you're an authorized user. The fraud is about misrepresenting your actual creditworthiness. You're presenting yourself as someone with a 680 credit score and strong credit history when you actually have a 550 score and you paid to temporarily boost it. You obtained credit under false pretenses.

And here's when it becomes a criminal matter rather than just a civil issue: when you default on that loan. Because when you default, the lender investigates. They want to know how you got approved. They discover the purchased tradelines. They realize you committed fraud to obtain the loan. And they report it to federal investigators.

That's when your life falls apart.

The federal conviction rate is over ninety-nine percent. When they decide to prosecute you, you're going to be convicted. And unlike state courts where you might negotiate a plea to probation, federal prosecutors don't play games. They stack charges, they use sentencing guidelines that mandate prison time, and they make examples out of people.

What The Federal Trade Commission Actually Said

The commenter claimed that tradeline sales are clearly legal and that banks and credit bureaus know it happens and don't care. Let me tell you what the FTC actually said, because their position has evolved dramatically over the last few years.

Back in 2008, during congressional hearings about authorized user tradelines, an FTC spokesman named Frank Dorman made a statement that tradeline companies have been quoting ever since. He said, "What I've gathered from attorneys here is that it appears to be legal, technically… However, the agency is not saying that it is legal."

That was seventeen years ago. A lot has changed since then.

Starting in 2019 with the Top Tradelines case, the FTC began making a very different argument: If the authorized user doesn't have access to the card—and in a piggybacking arrangement for money, they don't—then it's not really an authorized user. That means untrue information is being reported to the credit bureaus. And causing untrue information to be reported to credit bureaus is a violation of the Credit Repair Organizations Act.

They made this exact argument in Top Tradelines in 2019. They made it again in BoostMyScore in 2020. They made it again in The Credit Game in 2022.

And they're winning these cases. They're shutting down these businesses. They're getting monetary settlements. They're barring people from ever operating in credit repair again.

The legal ground is shifting. Fast. And if you're standing on it when it collapses, you're going down with it.

The "Thirty-Three Percent" Lie

The commenter made another argument that sounds reasonable on the surface but falls apart the moment you think about it. They said: "If it were fraudulent or illegal to apply for financing with an authorized user account on your credit report, then about 33% of American citizens would be locked up because that's how many people are or have been authorized users."

This is a deliberate confusion of two completely different things.

Yes, about thirty-three percent of Americans with credit files have been authorized users at some point. You know who those people are? Teenagers added by their parents. Spouses added by their partners. Adult children helping elderly parents manage accounts. People in actual relationships with actual access to actual credit cards.

That's not fraud. That's not illegal. Nobody's going to prison for that.

But when you pay a stranger fifteen hundred dollars to add you to their credit card for sixty days so you can artificially inflate your score to get a loan—that's different. You're not in a relationship with that person. You don't have access to the card. You can't use it. You won't even know if they miss a payment until it destroys your score. The sole purpose of the arrangement is to manipulate your credit score to deceive lenders.

That's fraud.

The difference between legitimate authorized users and commercial tradeline schemes is the difference between your parent teaching you to drive in their car and you paying a stranger to take your driving test for you. One is help. One is fraud.

Don't let anyone confuse the two.

My Past Is My Qualification, Not My Disqualification

I want to come back to something that the industry critics love to bring up, thinking it's going to discredit me. They whisper about my criminal record. They share it in private groups like they've uncovered something shocking. "Did you see he's been to prison?" "Did you know about his addiction?"

And I always want to ask them: Did you even read my articles? Because I've never hidden any of it.

Here's what recovery from addiction teaches you: Every single manipulation tactic. Every justification for bad behavior. Every lie you tell yourself when you know you're doing something wrong but you're desperate enough to do it anyway. Every predator who sees vulnerability and moves in for the kill.

I can spot a credit repair scam in seconds because I've seen every version of "this one's different" and "trust me, it's legal" and "everyone's doing it, you're just going to get left behind if you don't."

I know what desperation feels like. I know what it's like when you're so deep in a hole that any rope looks like salvation, even if it's tied to an anchor. I understand why someone drowning in bad credit and denied opportunities would jump at the promise of a fresh start, even if that little voice in their head says something's not right.

And I know what happens when you ignore that voice. I know what consequences feel like. I know what it costs.

So when someone tries to use my past against me, they're actually proving why you should listen to me. Because unlike the people selling CPNs and tradelines who've never faced consequences, I know exactly what prison is. I know what you lose. I know what it does to your family.

And I'm telling you—run from anyone offering you these schemes. Run fast. Run far.

Because I've been where you could end up, and it's not somewhere you ever want to be.

What Legitimate Credit Repair Actually Looks Like

I know what you're thinking. "Okay, so all these quick fixes are illegal. But my credit is destroyed. What am I supposed to do?"

And that's a fair question. So let me tell you what actually works, what's completely legal, and what will build sustainable credit that won't land you in federal court.

First, get your credit reports and actually read them. Not the scores—the actual reports. You can get them free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Go through every single item. Look for errors. Wrong addresses, accounts that aren't yours, balances that are incorrect, late payments that didn't happen, accounts from identity theft.

Dispute the errors. Just the errors. Not the accurate negative information—disputing accurate information is what got The Credit Game in trouble. But genuine errors? Dispute them. Document everything. Follow up.

Second, make every single payment on time from this moment forward. Your payment history is thirty-five percent of your credit score. It's the single biggest factor. Set up automatic payments if you have to. Pay the minimums if that's all you can afford, but pay them on time. Every time. No exceptions.

Third, pay down your credit card balances. Your credit utilization—how much of your available credit you're using—is thirty percent of your score. If your cards are maxed out, pay them down. Even getting below seventy percent helps. Getting below thirty percent helps more. Below ten percent is ideal.

Can't pay them all at once? Pay them down gradually. Pay more than the minimum. Pay twice a month if that helps keep the balance lower. Call your credit card companies and ask for credit limit increases on cards that are in good standing—that reduces your utilization ratio without requiring you to pay anything.

Fourth, if you have family or close friends with good credit, ask about being added as an authorized user. This is legal. This is legitimate. The difference is: it should be someone who actually knows you, who you have a real relationship with, who you might actually use the card with their permission in an emergency. Not some stranger who's collecting a fee.

Fifth, consider a secured credit card. You put down two or three hundred dollars as a deposit. That becomes your credit limit. You use the card for small purchases and pay it off every month. After six to twelve months of perfect payments, most secured cards graduate to unsecured cards and you get your deposit back. It builds real credit history.

Sixth, look into credit builder loans at credit unions. These are specifically designed for people rebuilding credit. You make payments into a savings account, and when the loan term ends, you get the money back. Meanwhile, you're building payment history.

Is this slower than buying a CPN or purchasing tradelines? Yes.

Does it take discipline and consistency? Yes.

Will you see results in thirty days? Probably not.

But you know what you won't see? FBI agents at your office. Federal prosecutors reading your charges. A judge sentencing you to years in prison. Your family's faces through prison glass.

That's worth waiting for. That's worth the work.

If You've Already Made A Mistake

Look, maybe you're reading this and your stomach just dropped. Maybe you already bought a CPN. Maybe you already purchased tradelines and used them to get a loan.

First, breathe.

Second, stop immediately. If you bought a CPN, don't use it. Don't apply for anything with it. Don't give it to anyone. If you purchased tradelines and you're thinking about applying for a mortgage or car loan, don't. Wait until they fall off your report naturally.

Third, talk to a criminal defense attorney. Not a credit repair company. Not a financial advisor. A criminal defense attorney who handles federal cases. Tell them everything. Attorney-client privilege means they can't report you, and they can advise you on your actual legal exposure and what steps to take.

Fourth, report the company that sold you the CPN or tradelines. Go to FTC.gov/complaint. Report them. You might save the next person from making your mistake. You might also establish that you were a victim of their fraud, which could matter later if charges ever come up.

Fifth, document everything. Save every email, every receipt, every text message, every piece of advertising they sent you. Document what they told you, what they promised, what they claimed was legal. If you end up facing charges, you want to be able to show that you were deceived, that they told you it was legal, that you weren't knowingly committing fraud.

And sixth, get right with your actual credit the legal way. Start making on-time payments. Start disputing errors. Start building real, sustainable credit. Because whether you face legal consequences or not, you still need to fix your credit situation, and this time you need to do it right.

I'm not going to lie to you—if you used a CPN or purchased tradelines to get credit and then defaulted, you could be in serious trouble. But facing it head-on, getting legal advice, and cooperating if you're ever contacted by investigators is always better than running or hoping it goes away.

The federal system doesn't forget. But it does sometimes show leniency to people who come forward, who were victims of fraud themselves, who cooperate and make things right.

What This All Comes Down To

Let me bring this full circle.

I wrote this article because someone in the tradeline industry thought they could discredit my warnings by pointing out that I've been to prison. Like my past somehow invalidated my message.

But my message is this: I know what prison is like. And no credit score is worth experiencing it.

I've been in federal prison. I've lived through addiction. I've made terrible mistakes and paid terrible prices. And the reason I can warn you with such certainty is because I'm not theorizing. I'm not reading from legal textbooks. I'm telling you from lived experience.

When you're desperate, when your credit is destroyed, when you can't get approved for anything and you feel like you're being punished forever for past mistakes—I understand that desperation. I've been desperate. I've been at the point where any solution sounds good, where you tell yourself "just this once," where you convince yourself that it can't really be as bad as people say.

But it is.

Credit Privacy Numbers are not a gray area. They're not a loophole. They're not a secret that the government doesn't want you to know about. They're federal crimes. Multiple federal crimes. Buying one, using one, applying for credit with one—all federal felonies.

Purchased tradelines exist in a gray area that's rapidly closing. The FTC is shutting down companies. They're evolving their legal position. And more importantly, if you use purchased tradelines to fraudulently obtain credit, you've committed bank fraud. Not a gray area. Not a maybe. Bank fraud. Federal crime. Prison time.

The people selling these services know this. They know they're operating on the edge of criminality. They know their customers are at risk. And they don't care. They take your money, boost your score temporarily, and when you end up facing federal charges, they're long gone.

Your credit will improve over time if you work at it legitimately. Most negative marks fall off after seven years. Payment history gradually improves with consistent on-time payments. Credit utilization improves as you pay down balances. You can rebuild. Legally. Sustainably.

But if you go to federal prison for credit fraud, that follows you forever. Not seven years. Forever. A federal felony conviction destroys employment opportunities, housing options, professional licenses, your ability to get credit for the rest of your life. And the time you serve? That's time you can never get back.

I'm 3,535 days clean as I write this. Every one of those days has been a choice. Every one of those days has been worth it. And every one of those days has given me clarity about what matters and what doesn't.

Your credit score doesn't matter more than your freedom. Your credit score doesn't matter more than being there for your family. Your credit score doesn't matter more than sleeping peacefully at night knowing you're not waiting for federal agents to show up.

Fix your credit the right way. It takes longer. It's harder. But it's the only way that doesn't risk destroying your entire life.

And if you don't believe me, if you think I'm exaggerating, if you think "it won't happen to me"—just remember: David Day thought that too. Swatisha Keith thought that too. Everyone sitting in federal prison for credit fraud thought that too.

Don't be next.

Legal Disclaimers

This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have questions about your specific situation or have already engaged in any of the practices described, consult immediately with a qualified criminal defense attorney.

Credit repair disclaimer: You have the right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report yourself at no cost. Any claims made by credit repair services should be carefully evaluated. Be wary of any company that:

• Asks you to pay before services are rendered

• Doesn't inform you of your legal rights

• Recommends that you dispute accurate information

• Suggests you create a new credit identity

• Advises you to give false information on credit applications

If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, please reach out for help:

• SAMHSA National Helpline: 1-800-662-4357 (free, confidential, 24/7)

• Narcotics Anonymous: NA.org

• Alcoholics Anonymous: AA.org

Recovery is possible. I'm proof. March 5th, 2015 - 3,535+ days clean and counting.

Sources and References

1. Federal Trade Commission. "Credit Repair: How To Help Yourself." ftc.gov/credit-repair

2. Federal Trade Commission v. BoostMyScore. Case No. 1:20-cv-00423 (D. Colo. 2020). https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2020/03/credit-repair-company-settles-ftc-charges-it-deceived-consumers-telling-them-piggybacking-others

3. Federal Trade Commission v. The Credit Game. "FTC Acts to Shut Down 'The Credit Game' for Running a Bogus Credit Repair Scheme." May 2022. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2022/05/ftc-acts-shut-down-credit-game-running-bogus-credit-repair-scheme-fleeced-consumers

4. Federal Trade Commission v. Top Tradelines. "FTC Stops Operators of Fake Credit Repair Scheme." June 2019. https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2019/06/ftc-stops-operators-fake-credit-repair-scheme

5. SentiLink. "What is a Credit Privacy Number (CPN), and Why Are They Illegal?" resources.sentilink.com

6. Department of Justice. "Oklahoma City Man Receives 18 Months in Prison for Use of Credit Profile Numbers." 2021.

7. Experian. "Why You Should Avoid Buying Tradelines." June 2023. https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/are-buying-tradelines-legal/

8. Federal Reserve Board. "Study on Credit Risk and Credit Scoring." 2010.

9. Aura. "What Is a CPN or Credit Protection Number?" https://www.aura.com/learn/cpn-number-scams

10. Bankrate. "What is a credit privacy number?" June 2025. https://www.bankrate.com/personal-finance/credit/what-is-a-credit-privacy-number/

11. WalletHub. "What Is a CPN? Fraud Just Waiting to Happen." September 2025. https://wallethub.com/edu/cs/cpn-number/25930

12. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Public statements on CPN fraud and identity theft schemes.

13. Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA), 15 U.S.C. § 1679 et seq.

14. Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA), 15 U.S.C. § 1691 et seq.

15. Bank Fraud Statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1344

16. Social Security Number Misuse, 42 U.S.C. § 408

17. False Statements on Credit Applications, 18 U.S.C. § 1014

18. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. "What you should know about adding someone as an authorized user." consumerfinance.gov

19. St. Louis Federal Reserve. "The Old, Young & Incarcerated: Latest CPN Identity Theft Victims." April 2025. https://www.stlouisfed.org/community-development/publications/bridges/the-old-the-young-and-the-incarcerated-latest-id-theft-victims

20. Vazquez, Joeziel. "Credit Repair Scams Exposed: Industry Experts & Double Agents Investigation." Credlocity. https://www.credlocity.com/post/credit-repair-scams-exposed-industry-experts-double-agents-investigation

About the Author

Joeziel Vazquez is the CEO of Credlocity and a Board Certified Credit Consultant with credentials including BCCC (Board Certified Credit Consultant), CCSC (Certified Credit Score Consultant), and CCRS (Certified Credit Repair Specialist). With 17 years of experience in the credit industry, Joeziel has helped thousands of clients legally and ethically improve their credit while educating consumers about the dangers of credit repair scams.

A recovering addict clean since March 5th, 2015, Joeziel brings unique perspective and lived experience to his warnings about the criminal justice system. His past experiences give him the ability to spot predatory behavior and manipulation tactics, and his commitment to transparency and truth makes him a trusted voice in consumer protection.

Connect with him on LinkedIn.