“The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”
There is great wisdom in these famous words, spoken by the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. more than a half century ago. In many ways, the quote’s essential truth can be applied to the life of Dartanyon A. Williams, whose journey from federal prison inmate to successful entrepreneur is a story of spiritual redemption, moral achievement — and triumph.
There was a time when few predicted an arc of lifetime success for Dartanyon, known to his friends as DAW. At 23, he was the mastermind of a multi-million-dollar criminal enterprise. Soon he would be arrested and jailed, spending a total of eight years in federal prison, three of which were spent in punitive solitary confinement. He would later retell the events of this deep valley in his life in a two-part memoir, The Master Identity Thief: Testimony and Solutions of an Expert Witness.
The title of this fascinating, best-selling memoir hints at the happy ending for the redemption story: It was Dartanyon’s years in the world of digital fraud that gave him the skill to fight back against criminal cyber enterprises — and the understanding to appreciate the magnitude of the problem.
Harnessing his knowledge and talents to help others, he founded DuckPond Technologies Inc., a Baton Rouge start-up specializing in the development of cybersecurity solutions for consumers and businesses.
His expertise has also earned him consultancies with the FBI, Secret Service, Louisiana State Police, Louisiana AG’s Office and the U.S. Attorney Offices for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana.
As Chief Executive and Innovation Officer (CEIO) for DuckPond Technologies, Dartanyon creates innovative products, services, and strategies with a focus on cybersecurity, gamification economics, fintech products, and enterprise software specific to payment card fraud, check authentication, gun safety and control, payment network security, autonomous automobile technology, and remote voting technology.
“I wanted to improve and enhance the quality of life for my children, my family, and my community in acceptance of my calling through redemption to serve.
I founded DuckPond Technologies to develop my ideas for combating fraud more intelligently and insightfully, and to either invent or leverage the incredible technology that now exists to prevent fraudulent transactions before they happen,” he explained in an interview with financialit.net.
Almost 42 million Americans were victims of identity fraud in 2021, costing consumers $52 billion in total losses, according to a new report co-sponsored by AARP. This massive loss highlights the need for greater security.
It’s an issue Dartanyon addresses with his intimate knowledge, which led him to detail 60 legislative proposals in the appendices of his memoir, breaking down how law enforcement and political leaders can improve their strategies to reduce identity theft and increase gun safety and control by combining sound policies and sane legislation with innovative technology.
Today, DuckPond Technologies has 10 pending patents, 9 of which focus on consumer protection. He filed all of these patents in 2019 when founding DuckPond prior to releasing his memoir in 2020, where he transferred personal ownership of the patents to DuckPond with the goal of bringing them to market. Currently, DuckPond Technologies features three products in development, including a mobile game series titled Hip-Hop Sportz, remote voting technology called VirtuVoter, and next generation fintech that aims to eliminate payment card fraud designated as CNPN (Sin-Pin).
Outside of his professional pursuits, Dartanyon is engaged with his community and involved with multiple initiatives with the goal of making the world a better place. He is particularly passionate about encouraging members of diverse communities to become entrepreneurs, reducing his thoughts to his sophomore literary project titled Entreprenetics, which is on track for international distribution in the summer of 2023. Dartanyon has also hinted at the idea of re-entering the stage of politics following his campaign for U.S. Congress in 2020 to serve his community by leveraging technology in new and exciting ways.
“I am still interested in public service. If not on the front lines fighting for technological achievement and advancement, you can most definitely expect to see more social action and initiatives from me in the future,” he recently told kickassentrepreneur.com.
For his many admirers, and detractors, that next chapter would be the latest proof that the redeeming power of Yahshua’s shed blood is real and the arc of Dartanyon’s life story continues to inspire, uplift and amaze.
