Simple answer: yes. I was a cheater in CoD1, stopped cheating, don't cheat anymore.
As for the people who have been cheating in APB for years, I don't know what their mindset is. I don't know if they are obsessed and ''under the influence'' of cheats, but cheating for years and years and not get banned is actually not their fault. If they were caught, they would probably think about the time & money invested in the game and not take a chance at cheating knowing they can actually get banned. If not, by all means cheat on. If cheaters can still dominate districts and not get banned, what's the point to stop now? I believe cheating for X number of years just makes you believe everyone else must be using cheats since they have been using them for so long, so why not continue? If by a miracle they get banned they will just say I had a heck of a ride with cheats in this sub 1000 population game, and move on with their lives unaffected. It's way cheaper than doping in professional sports and there is way **** more on the line and they are still doing it. It's the nature of people. Some will try to exploit the system to achieve their goals, and some will work their patootie off to achieve the same goals.
But yes, ex-cheaters can become clean.