How I Ended Up in Federal Prison & Survived | Najla

Locked In with Ian Bick

Ian Bick

Society & Culture

4.8 • 743 Ratings

🗓️ 23 November 2025

⏱️ 76 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Najla was born in New York but grew up in North Carolina, where a turbulent and abusive childhood pushed her to survive by any means necessary. On her own at a young age, she turned to scams to fund her lifestyle and escape the chaos at home. What started as small hustles quickly grew into full-blown bank fraud that eventually landed her in federal prison. Najla’s story is one of pain, survival, and transformation — from a broken childhood to facing the harsh reality of prison life, and ultimately finding strength through redemption. Her journey exposes the dark truth behind white-collar crime, fraud, and the system that punishes survival. #LockedInWithIanBick #TrueCrime #WhiteCollarCrime #FederalPrison #FraudStory #BankFraud #RealStories #RedemptionStory Thank you to BLUECHEW & DAWS for sponsoring this episode: BlueChew: Visit https://bluechew.com/ and use promo code LOCKEDIN at checkout to get your first month of BlueChew & pay five bucks for shipping. DAWS: Go to http://www.daws.org/ to donate, adopt or send items from their wishlist. Connect with Najla: https://www.instagram.com/iamnajlawakeela?igsh=MXgxbnY5dDZrOXNkNg== Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?hl=en https://ianbick.com/ Shop Locked In Merch: http://www.ianbick.com/shop Timestamps: 00:00 – Intro: Who Is Naja & What Her Story Is About 00:32 – Naja’s Early Life, Family Background & Childhood 02:54 – Growing Up: Abuse, Isolation, Moving & Instability 09:24 – Moments of Happiness & Early Independence 10:31 – Orlando Teen Years & Becoming a Teen Mom 13:12 – Struggling for Survival: Money Issues & Social Security 14:53 – Turning to Crime: First Scams, Fraud & Hustles 19:39 – How Check Fraud Works: Naja’s Early Schemes 21:54 – Escalation: Leveling Up Into Bigger Scams 26:14 – The $900,000 Fraud Scheme & Getting Caught 31:43 – Arrest, Federal Charges, Prison Time & Testifying 33:58 – Life in Federal Prison: Daily Reality, Hustles & Survival 38:19 – Prison Fights, Conflict & How She Survived 42:32 – Prison Mentality, Family Issues & Preparing for Release 47:08 – Getting Out: Recidivism, Relapse & Second Chances 51:42 – Her Final Prison Stint & Choosing to Change Her Life 56:39 – Starting Over: Homeless Shelter, Struggle & Cosmetology School 01:01:26 – Moving to Atlanta & Fully Rebuilding Her Life 01:03:46 – Overcoming a Criminal Record & Finding Opportunity 01:05:04 – Owning Her Past: Disclosure, Stigma & Testimony 01:09:03 – Reflections: Lessons, Growth & Advice to Her Younger Self 01:11:54 – Family Estrangement, Healing & Forgiveness 01:14:07 – Closing Thoughts & Final Message Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	gave me account numbers for some executives at Bank of America.
0:03.7	So how does this escalate?
0:04.9	How does it go from just doing four or five hundred bucks, cashing it in? Where does it go? I beat that lady down and they came in. The guards cased me. Did you have any relationships with any of the women? No, they tried. They tried to come in my room. Najla Arrington grew up in an abusive home and turned to scams and fraud just to survive.
0:24.0	By her early 20s, she was running a full-blown bank fraud scheme that landed her in federal prison.
0:30.0	This is how a girl trying to escape her childhood ended up in one of the biggest mistakes of her life and how she's rebuilding everything from the ground up.
0:38.1	Also, everyone, new Lockton merch just dropped.
0:41.2	Use code Locked in 20 to get 20% off your order.
0:44.8	We have new hoodies.
0:46.1	We have new beanies and we have the signed locked in figures.
0:50.3	Every order comes with stickers and wristbands.
0:53.3	Go check it out.
0:54.3	And we will also be running a 50% off storewide Black Friday sale this coming Friday for Black Friday.
1:02.9	Go check it out.
1:03.9	Thanks, guys.
1:07.8	Najla, welcome to Lockton.
1:09.4	Thanks so much for coming out here today.
1:10.7	Straight from Atlanta. Yes. And thanks to Mary for connecting us. Shout out to Mary. She's gave us so many awesome guests, especially a lot of the female guests, which is great. It's great to form those bonds and relationships and have them on the show. Yeah. I got to see her last night at hang time and Bridgeport.
1:27.8	Yes.
1:29.0	I saw that on her story.
1:29.3	Yeah.
1:30.5	Did you ever go to one of those?
1:32.8	I have not, but I need to make my way.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ian Bick, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ian Bick and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.