M - The Mirror Magazine

Tuesday, 17 October 2000

Chantal McCorkle, 32, from Slough, is serving a 24-year sentence for fraud and money laundering in a maximum security prison in the US. Chantal says she was betrayed by her husband and is currently fighting for a retrial.

'Some nights I wake up terrified, staring at the grey stone prison wall, not knowing for a moment where I am. Then the reality hits me. It's been nearly two years since I was jailed and I still can't believe what has happened to me. If I serve my full sentence I will be 53 when I get out. Any hopes of having children will have gone.

'For ten years I lived in Florida with my husband William. He sold workbooks and videos that showed people how to find repossessed property and purchase it at a good price. He advertised the product on infomercials - a cross between an ad and a TV show, He asked me to appear in them, interviewing "satisfied customers", played by actors, about the product. We hired a helicopter and yacht as a backdrop. We didn't own them, we rented them. It's mainly for these reasons that we ended up in jail.

'The court didn't dispute that there were people who had made money with our product. But they believed we had misled customers by using the actors, the yacht and helicopter and were therefore guilty of fraud. So all the money we made from the business was fraudulently earned, and moving it from one place to another constituted money laundering. Every transaction made was considered a separate offence. Sentencing in the US works on a points system., and for each conviction I was given points. The total came to 40; 43 is life. I received seven points more than a second-degree murderer and four more than a child rapist. It added up to 24 years.

'I came to America when I was 19, to work for some family friends as a nanny for six months. I wasn't paid but I loved it. I met William in a nightclub. He was only two years older than me but seemed so mature. He swept me off my feet and we soon became very serious. I couldn't stay in the US with my temporary visa, so we decided to marry. It wasn't the romantic proposal I'd dreamed of but I loved William and I couldn't imagine my life without him.

'The first years were a struggle. We had no money and that led to dreadful fights. I thought about coming back to England many times. Then, in 1992, William started his workbook business. He worked so hard, putting every penny he made back into it. Things started to pick up and we bought our first two-bedroom house with a pool in Florida. We stopped fighting, and William was much happier. By 1996 we were taking weekend breaks in the Bahamas, I had a personal trainer, and could afford designer clothes and facials.

'My role in the business was administrative. I handled the payroll and bills, looked after the canteen and organized office parties. I was also president of the company, because William had been declared bankrupt in 1992, so he couldn't get the credit he needed. He would give me papers to sign and of course I did. I trusted him and never read any of them.

'In August 1996 it all went wrong. Business was booming but trouble with our phone lines meant we had difficulties sorting out the shipping orders and refunds. Customers complained to the state attorney's office, who served a subpoena on us and gave us three days to produce thousands of business and banking documents. William hired an attorney, who had the subpoena quashed, but gave them all the documents they needed.

'Within a few months the problem was sorted out. William bought me a horse and a Porsche. But on 9 May 1997, my nightmare began. At 7 am I heard the doorbell ring. As I opened the door, FBI agents came charging in, pointing guns and yelling. I was terrified. I thought someone had been murdered. They took the house apart and confiscated the cars, bank statements and credit cards. They wouldn't tell us why they were there. They searched the office until 8pm. I thought it was a mistake and @we'd get our things back soon.

'We asked for a hearing with a magistrate, and in June discovered we were under investigation by the criminal unit of the US tax service. In March 1998, almost a year later, our attorney called to say we had been indicted on 90 charges of fraud and money laundering. I couldn't believe it. We were taken in for questioning, shackled and handcuffed. I felt so scared and alone. I couldn't understand why I was being treated like this - I hadn't done anything. William said that we had nothing to worry about. We appeared before a judge who set ball at 3 million British pounds (about US$2 million). It would take a few days to get the money and we were kept in custody until it arrived. I was in shock. I kept saying to William, "Are we going to prison?" He didn't answer.

'They took us separately to the state prison, where I was stripped, hosed down and sprayed with louse killer. I was so terrified I kept throwing up. I was left naked with just a blanket and told to sleep on the floor.

'The trial was set for 1 September '98. I was very nervous but William's attorneys kept telling me it would be OK. It lasted ten weeks. Our attorneys decided that I shouldn't testify. They told me that if id, the prosecution would bring out all the papers I'd ever signed and question me about them. They never told the court I had no idea what was on them - they said the jury wouldn't believe me. I wish I hadn't listened to them. I didn't even realize that I was facing a long jail sentence.

'On 4 November the jury reached their verdict. I felt faint. William held my hand but I can't describe the fear I saw in his face. My heart started to race. The bailiff began reading William's counts. "Guilty, guilty, guilty..." We both started to cry. As they reached the nineteenth count William started shaking like he was having a seizure.

They took him out to get medical help and began to read my counts. "Guilty, guilty, guilty..." I will never forget it. My mum was crying at the back of the courtroom, and shouting, "You don't know what you're doing, I don't understand this country." I covered my ears. I was found guilty on 69 counts. I was handcuffed and put in a holding cell with my ankles shackled, then taken to the county jail, as was William, My attorneys told me he was OK, it was just shock. I was put in isolation on suicide watch. I lay there all night crying, cold and scared, the word "guilty" echoing through my head.

'The verdict was terrible, but even that didn't prepare me for sentencing. When they told us we were both going to jail for 24 years and four months I wanted to die. I still can't believe I am in prison and I refuse to accept that I will have to stay here. If I'm guilty of anything, it's being naive.

'I am currently at the maximum-security Tallahassee Prison in Florida. I sleep in a bunk bed in a room with 22 other women. People have been murdered here but I keep myself to myself. Every day breakfast is at 6:30 am. We're fed starchy things to keep us lethargic. Between 7:30 am and 11 am, I clean the sleeping area. It's one of the better jobs. Lunch is at 11:30 am, then I run in the exercise yard. We are locked up again between 3:30 pm and 5 pm. Dinner is at 5:30 pm and we're allowed out of the cell until 9:30 pm. I take a shower, read and learn Spanish to keep busy. At 11 pm the lights go out.

'Its so hard. I miss my family and the simple things like having a bath, going to the fridge, and calling people on the phone. I am in the process of divorcing William. He should never have let me take the blame. I knew nothing about his business, yet not once did he or his attorneys tell the court that. I am so hurt by this, because I did love him. I feel so alone. But I believe that someone will realize I shouldn't be here and I will be freed. That thought keeps me going.'

The McCorkles are awaiting the district judge’s decision on whether they will receive a retrial.