Not to cast any kind of aspersions on this man's character, but you don't have to be scrupulous or skilled to make a lot of money. Plenty of companies are run for and by criminals, and some of them would doubtlessly not have a problem with and maybe even desire to hire people with a criminal past (though perhaps not with a record).

Arguably, plenty of corporations are engaging in behavior that's unethical (like spying on their users, trying to manipulate them through advertising, or selling products that harm or even kill people) and that if it isn't illegal already should be. Many such organizations and the people that work for them are very successful, are rewarded handsomely for their work, and are lauded by society at large.

Many criminals would feel right at home in such organizations, which do whatever they need (sometimes within the bounds of the law and sometimes beyond it) to make money.

On the other hand, just because you've been convicted of a crime doesn't mean you've done anything wrong. Plenty of people are or have been on jail for victimless crimes (like marijuana possession) or crimes that should never have been crimes at all (like sitting in the front of a bus or drinking from the wrong water fountain at certain times in American history, having a stigmatized sexual orientation in certain parts of the world, protesting abuses, or trying to shelter innocent people who would have been killed had they been turned over to the authorities), or been the victim of judicial injustice (like being convicted by a biased jury or based on falsified evidence of a crime you didn't commit). So yes, you could technically be "a criminal", but either be innocent or even justifiably proud of what you did, and any decent company should be glad to have you.