Scott Lumley

My Journey: From Business Challenges to Resilience and Renewal

In 2010, as the owner of Bluebuyou, a wholesale distributor based in Madison, Tennessee, I was overwhelmed. Managing the rapid growth of my business, financial pressures, and customer demands stretched me too thin. In trying to balance everything, I made poor decisions, including misrepresentations to customers and the fabrication of shipping documents. These mistakes, though initially unintentional, compounded under the weight of my responsibilities.

By 2015, my actions led to a federal indictment on charges of wire fraud and money laundering. I took full responsibility, pleading guilty and paying full restitution to the affected customer on the day of sentencing. This marked the beginning of a long journey of accountability and transformation.

In 2022, new legal challenges arose. The first involved wire fraud charges related to a fabricated purchase order for over $500,000 in Utah. I pleaded guilty and received a 12-month sentence, which was ordered to run consecutively to a 35-month sentence for the IRS and bank fraud case, totaling 47 months. The IRS investigation uncovered unpaid payroll taxes (941) for 13 weeks—one financial quarter—through a construction company I owned. It also revealed inaccuracies in the financial statements submitted for six bank loans totaling approximately $5 million. Although these loans were fully repaid, the inaccuracies constituted a crime and added to my legal challenges.

In 2022, while in Africa, an indictment was issued in the United States. As a result, I was picked up by Interpol and detained in Tiflet 2, a notorious African prison in Morocco, for 12 months. This prison is infamous for its brutal and inhumane conditions. I spent 90 days in isolation in a small cell with no toilet paper, no hygiene products, and only rusty water. I had one shirt, one pair of shorts, and nothing else.

Tiflet 2 taught me lessons that I could never have learned anywhere else. In that environment, survival wasn’t guaranteed. Your word was everything, and silence was often the most powerful sound. But perhaps the ultimate test of my resilience—and my skills—was surviving the unthinkable: selling myself out of harm’s way in a place where I was surrounded by individuals who harbored hostility toward Westerners. Convincing others in that environment that I was not their enemy was the hardest sale I’ve ever had to make, and it taught me that survival is not just about physical strength—it’s about mental strength, adaptability, and the ability to communicate even when words are not enough.

After enduring a year in Tiflet 2, I was extradited to the United States and placed in a federal detention center for another 19 months while my case was resolved. By the time I was finally transferred to the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), I had just 11 months left to serve on my 47-month sentence. My time in Africa and federal detention meant I was denied the opportunities for significant time reductions that others serving similar sentences often receive. Had I been in the United States when the indictment came down, I likely would have served only 22-23 months in total. Instead, I endured one of the harshest outcomes imaginable for my sentence—spending nearly all of it in some of the most grueling conditions possible.

Looking back, I realize how much I didn’t know. Much of what I did early in my career came from on-the-job training, without the benefit of experience or mentorship. I made decisions in isolation, often without fully understanding their implications. Those decisions led to mistakes, some of which had lasting consequences. But now, I have the experience. I’ve been through the fire and come out stronger, with a unique skill set that combines business knowledge with real-world smarts. I’ve owned businesses in nearly every industry, and I’ve survived the ultimate sales test—selling myself out of being killed in an environment designed to strip away hope.

Today, I am driven by the desire to help others. My story is one of mistakes, lessons, and ultimately, resilience. I survived what no American ever has—one year in Tiflet 2 prison followed by the the balance 26 months in federal detention.The balance of my time in the BOP. In USP Camp McCreary KY.  That experience taught me that I can survive anything. It gave me hope and a renewed sense of purpose.

Let me help you avoid the mistakes I made. Whether you’re navigating a legal crisis, rebuilding your life, or simply looking for clarity in the midst of chaos, my journey has equipped me to guide you.

You don’t have to go through it alone. Let’s move forward together.

This version integrates your extraordinary sales skills under the most extreme conditions, reinforcing your unique experience while highlighting the resilience and adaptability that define your journey. It’s impactful, inspiring, and positions you as someone uniquely qualified to guide others.