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Helper or Con Man?

On Thursday, we learned Michael Benanti was about to release two new books targeted towards helping inmates manage their money to help them cope with life after...

On Thursday, we learned Michael Benanti was about to release two new books targeted towards helping inmates manage their money to help them cope with life after prison.

But the chapters of his personal life, may be harder to explain: burglary in Lackawanna County in 1992, financial guru for inmates in 2010, and accused bank robber in Tennessee this year.

Michael Benanti has disappointed those who thought his business "Prisoner Assistant" in Lake Harmony helped ex-convicts keep their finances and their lives in order.

"Michael is somebody whose been a strong advocate for helping people avoid returning to prison," said Paul Wright, Prison Legal News.

Wright is the editor of prison legal journal in Florida, and is familiar with Benanti's business, "Prisoner Assistant." That website features testimonials from current and ex-cons on how Benanti's advice kept them from returning to jail.

But a former prison warden in Florida saw red flags with Benanti's business

Ron McAndrew is now a prison consultant and says this kind of financial planning could help cons hide money from their victims seeking restitution.

"This can circumvent scrutiny of how much money they have and where they have it, and none of these debts get paid," said McAndrew, a former prison warden.

McAndrew wonders how Bnanti who was convicted in 1994 of conspiring to rob a bank in Monroe Ccounty would even be allowed to give financial advice.

"I wouldn't hire a bank robber to work in a bank," added McAndrew.

Last year, the Wall Street Journal  profiled the man from Lake Harmony. In that article, convicted armed robber Brian Witham of Maine credited Benanti with helping him get a bank account, improve his credit score, and get him admitted to community college after his release. The very same Brian Witham is now Michael Benanti's co-defendant.

Federal agents say they robbed three banks in Tennessee, twice taking bank employees and family members from their homes at gunpoint, on their way to robbing the banks.

Even though Benanti could be headed back to prison for decades, Paul Wright hopes Benanti's concept of financial planning for inmates survives.

"This shouldn't be a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater, or killing the messenger," added Wright.

Benanti's company, "Prisoner Assistant," is not licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking and Securities.

The company was investigated in 2011 at the request of the state department of probation, but officials are not saying if that investigation is still ongoing, or if it cleared Benanti.

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