[TomDevino]

Hi,

20 years ago I was convicted of 1 count of Federal Credit Card Fraud, Class A Felony. I paid all the monies taken and received only 2 years probation. I am in the process of becoming a Medical Doctor in USA. I only had 1 DWI conviction since then, 11 years ago.

My questions are:

What do you think my chances are of getting licensed?

Is there a chance to seal the convictions since they are very old?

Thanks in advance,

Tom

[excon]

What do you think my chances are of getting licensed?

Hello Tom:

I'd say your chances are 60/40 WITH a good lawyer. I'd say they are 10/90 against you WITHOUT a lawyer.

Expunged records are hidden from the public - not licensing agencies. So, they'll see your record.

excon

[TomDevino]

Thanks excon. Its just 60/40 odds with 4 years of medical school to go plus 80,000$ later, those odds are kind of rough. I am a gambling man, and I am not sure if I would take that bet.

They cloned a goat but why can't they perfect fingerprint transplant surgery already?!

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

I'm just guessing. Maybe your state is easy, or maybe your state just had a doctor convicted of some nefarious activity.

Look, I HOPE you get your license... I just wanted to prepare you for the worst. I don't think the licensing board is going to be looking at how much you spent to go to school. I think they'll be concentrating on your past. I think it's going to be like a trial all over again. I think you've got people on the licensing board who HATE people, and are on the board because they can't make in the marketplace... I think these are people who LOVE to have power over others... I think these people have the same personalities as many parole boards I've faced...

Frankly, the DWI might cause as much trouble as the felony...

Get yourself a GOOD lawyer.

excon

[TomDevino]

excon,

I hear what you are saying. That's why I am trying to get this sorted out before spending the time and money on med school. I was already accepted into Med School but now trying to see if its worth even going there. I tried in 1999 to get the conviction sealed but every lawyer just laughed at me after reading the case and wouldn't touch it with a 30 foot pole. After listening to lawyers, the medical board will see all my arrests anyway from fingerprints, whether they were sealed or dismissed. I doubt any Medical Board in any state will want to hear that when I just turned 18, I broke into a credit reporting agency, printed thousands of credit cards, and stole close to a million dollars. Its not as though it's a momentary lapse of judgment like Drunk Driving, but it was a long, well planned scheme to... well... anyhow... 20 years of proper living without ever again trying to take what is not mine don't count I guess. I will talk to the lawyers again, but frankly after reading what I wrote, and I was on the Medical Board I probably would deny my own application as well. But I am not giving up. That's for loosers.

[excon]

Hello again, tom:

The severity of your crime has NOTHING to do with expungement... If it did, NOBODY would ever get their records expunged...

Actually, 20 years of proper living DOES matter. You just need a lawyer who understands that...

But, of course, you haven't even gone to school yet, and you want to cross your t's before you even write your paper...

If it were me, and I did what you did 20 years ago, (which ain't nothing, by the way), I'd forge on ahead. I'd KNOW I'd be a good doctor, and I'd KNOW that I'm deserving of a license, and that I'll get one.

Frankly, going through school WITHOUT knowing if you could get your license, will STAND in your stead...

excon

[TomDevino]

Hello excon,

Thanks for the good words. You make sense. I don't want to invest time for nothing. I am 37 and 4 years are important to me!

Well, wish me luck. Thanks again for your advice.