Show notes
Michael Wayne grew up in Mississippi, attended the Naval Academy, left after his father died, built a career in business and investments while running a hedge fund for fifteen years, spent twenty-five years as a clandestine CIA contractor operating across some of the most sensitive and most dangerous missions available — and then went to Ukraine after the 2022 Russian invasion to organize humanitarian aid, evacuate women and children from combat zones, train Ukrainian soldiers, and deliver equipment to the front line before discovering widespread corruption tied to Ukraine aid that he says reached powerful US politicians. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, he shares what twenty-five years as a CIA contractor actually looked like from the inside, what changed after 9/11 in the intelligence world, what the Ukraine work actually involved, what the corruption he discovered actually implicated, and what the DOJ prosecution that followed his decision to push back against that corruption actually produced — including a wire fraud conviction, a federal prison sentence at FPC Montgomery, and what he believes was a deliberate government effort to make him a convicted felon before he could become a whistleblower.
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#TrueCrime #espionage #cia #prisonstory
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Connect with Michael Wayne:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialmichaelwayne/
Website: https://officialmichaelwayne.com/
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Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick:
https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en
https://ianbick.com/
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro and Guest Introduction
01:31 Family and Entrepreneurship
05:00 The Call to the Naval Academy
12:42 The Challenges of the Naval Academy
15:17 Leaving Annapolis After Two Years
17:51 The Tragic Loss of His Father
21:41 The Funeral and a Call from the Captain
24:23 Choosing Family Over Country
28:55 Rethinking Leaving Annapolis
31:14 The Plan to Return Falls Apart
36:24 The Decision to Stay Out of the Military
37:57 Mississippi State and Running the Family Business
41:17 Sponsor Break: Cash App Security
44:27 College Life and Degrees
55:36 Buying Properties and Developing a Strategy
01:00:20 Moving to Atlanta and Sports Betting
01:03:30 The Unexpected Call from an Agency
01:08:40 The First Interview for a CIA Contractor
01:14:40 The Path to Becoming a Contractor
01:19:03 Interviews and the Training Invitation
01:24:05 Paramilitary Training and Selection
01:29:07 Understanding Classification and Compartmentalization
01:34:55 The Intensity of the Initial Training
01:39:19 Field Exercises and Testing Survival Skills
01:47:26 The Importance of Knowing Your Limits
02:01:20 Working as a Paramilitary Contractor
02:04:20 A Career of Off-the-Books Missions
02:07:09 Getting Shot and the Impact of 9/11
02:12:30 The Post-9/11 World and the War on Terror
02:24:03 A Screenplay That Predicted 9/11
02:31:10 Transitioning to a New Role and Grad School
02:37:50 Living as a NOC (Non-Official Cover)
02:42:10 The Intensity of the NOC World
02:47:51 Running a Hedge Fund as Cover
02:57:21 Making Money and Helping a Nonprofit
03:02:41 Volunteering in Ukraine After the Invasion
03:05:00 The Corrupt Side of Humanitarian Aid
03:10:34 Protecting Aid and Empowering People
03:15:14 The Hidden World of Powerful Elites
03:21:18 Learning You're a Target
03:28:08 The Plan to Discredit Him
03:34:55 A New SEC Inquiry and the Missing Questions
03:39:01 The Target Letter and the DOJ
03:44:37 Attempting to Investigate the Management Company
03:50:59 The Reverse Proffer: The DOJ's Show of Force
03:57:20 Realizing the System Can't Be Beaten
04:01:44 The Threats That Forced His Hand
04:03:42 The Strategic Choice to Plead Guilty
04:08:35 The Courtroom Deal and Sentencing Guidelines
04:12:00 The Aftermath of the Guilty Plea
04:16:08 The Hit to His Reputation
04:18:24 The FBI Agent and the Press Release
04:22:47 Dealing with the PSR and Sentencing
04:27:44 The Leak and the Fallout
04:31:14 The PSR: A Document Full of Falsehoods
04:35:35 The Sentencing Hearing
04:40:20 The Judge's Unusual Statement
04:45:36 Getting a Year and a Day
04:50:00 A Trip to Federal Prison Camp
04:56:30 The Confusing Charges and the Real Crime
05:04:20 The Plea Deal and the Missing Documentation
05:09:30 The Sentencing Hearing and a Shoutout to the Judge
05:12:10 The Camp: A Place for the Forgotten
05:16:08 Life After Prison and the Supervised Release
05:21:01 The CIA and the Burning of Bridges
05:25:20 Finding a New Path Post-Prison
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