CEO of MSP Compulinx Stuck In Jail

Almost two weeks after his arrest, Terrence Chalk, CEO of managed services provider Compulinx, remains in the Westchester County jail in Valhalla, N.Y., unable to come up with the money to post his bail or formally retain private council.

Chalk, who is well known in the channel, was arrested Oct. 31 and charged with conspiracy and credit card fraud for allegedly making false statements on loan applications for lines of credit and credit cards, according to the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. The eight count indictment also alleges that Chalk's nephew Damon Chalk played a part in the conspiracy.

Terrence Chalk is being held pending a $250,000 bond, and he said he needs about $2,500 to retain the lawyer he wants to represent him: White Plains attorney Mayo Bartlett, former chief of the Bias Crimes Unit of the Westchester County District Attorney's Office. Chalk's nephew is being held without bond, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Chalk told CRN during visiting hours at the Westchester County jail Friday that he is innocent. Wearing the standard-issue orange jump suit of an inmate but looking confident and determined to clear his name, Chalk said the charges against him were false. Not wanting to damage what will ultimately be his defense, Chalk did not provide details to prove his innocence.

But he did say that people who he thought he could trust betrayed him.

"This whole thing is political," he said, adding that he's never been arrested in his life.

Chalk told CRN he knew federal investigators had him and his White Plains, N.Y., MSP business under surveillance for the past three years.

Investigators approached many Compulinx employees looking for information and then told them they had to quit their jobs there or face being hit with charges related to the eventual indictment against Chalk, he said.

Because he believed he was doing nothing wrong and was not concerned about being charged with any crime, Chalk kept things business as usual, he said. One lesson he has learned is that he should have gotten a lawyer sooner so he could begin to possibly weaken the case that was being built against him, he said.

The $250,000 bond that stands between Chalk and the outside world is unusually high, Mayo Bartlett told CRN. "I don't see [Chalk] as a flight risk, so the size of the bond surprised me," he said.

Wade Oxley, a 23-year-old sales representative at Compulinx who was only employed there for about a month before Chalk was arrested, arrived to visit Chalk in jail Friday. CRN met Oxley outside the jail in the line to visit inmates.

CRN visited Chalk along with Oxley in order for Chalk -- who, like all other inmates, is allowed only two personal visits a week -- to still have a visit left for his girlfriend to see him Saturday.

NEXT: What's Happening Back At Compulinx?

Compulinx is currently running on autopilot in taking care of its customers, said Oxley.

The business offers remote IT monitoring and network management, much of which is automated and continues to run, said Oxley.

Most Compulinx customers have direct deposit payment remittance plans that should still be billing them, he said.

Employees are afraid to return to work, said Oxley, who is finishing his MBA degree and has taken another job selling insurance.

Oxley descibed himself as Chalk's protege, someone who Chalk took under his wing. Oxley and Chalk carpooled to work most mornings. During the visit with Chalk, Oxley assured Chalk that the CEO's BMW had been reclaimed by Oxley from police impound.

During the visit, Chalk was adament about not selling the freshly liberated BMW as a way to raise money to pay Bartlett or make bail. "Don't sell the car," Chalk repeated to Oxley.

Oxley said he was never contacted by investigators either before or after Chalk's arrest.

A small group of friends of Chalk are working to raise the $2,500 needed to retain Bartlett as Chalk's lawyer, but the effort is slow and unorganized, said Oxley. Raising the $10,000 needed to secure a bail bond to get Chalk out of jail appears impossible right now, said Oxley.

Chalk said his estranged wife is not cooperating with efforts to help him. In-fighting between Chalk's family is hindering efforts by family members who would like to offer financial support to him, he said.

If he remains in jail, Chalk will have to wait there until Jan. 12 to see the evidence being used against him, he said. He has spoken already to a public defender, who encouraged him cop a plea bargain by admitting guilt, said Chalk.

Chalk said that his nephew, who is being held indefinitely without the prospect of bail, is routinely encouraged to confess guilt in the case.

If convicted, Chalk faces a maximum sentence of 165 years in prison and $5.5 million in fines. His nephew faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine, according to the according to the U.S. Attorney's office.