YouTube: Jeff Grant on Talking Catholic with David L. Gray, Thurs., Mar. 4, 2021
I wanted to talk white collar crime, justice and ministry. David wanted to talk about the church. Mostly, David won. Worth a listen.
Watch on YouTube:
Federal prison
Letters from Prison: Scott Farah
Scott Farah is currently incarcerated in the Satellite Camp at FCI Loretto in Cresson, Pennsylvania. He is a Member-in-Absentia of our online White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings. We will celebrate our 250th weekly meeting on Monday, March 29, 2021, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT; all Fellow Travelers are invited.
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I started my business in 1989. I owned an investment bank. Over the next twenty years, it became the largest investment bank in a small state, New Hampshire. I had offices in 18 states and, was doing well financially. However, I had a fatal flaw in my life, misplaced priorities. My priorities were business, family, God. I was a deacon in my church, well respected in the community. Had a wife and two great sons and all the money that I needed to live the lifestyle I wanted. Yet, because of my priorities being out of whack, I lost it all. After you reach a certain level of income, it no longer becomes about the money, it becomes about the deal. It actually becomes an addiction. You can’t think of anything but the next deal. An example, I was on a two week vacation with my wife, my cousin and his wife in Greece. I spent most of the vacation negotiating a deal back in the United States, even though I didn’t need the money! This type of behavior led me to begin “borrowing” money from client escrow accounts. Why? So I could do more deals. When the real estate market collapsed in 2009, I couldn’t put the money back and lost everything.
For 14 months between the time I closed the doors of my bank and the time that I came into prison, I was in “limbo land”. I came within a hair’s breadth of committing suicide. My wife of over 20 years left me. Because I was a big fish in a small pond, I was on the front page of the newspaper all the time. There were numerous reports on television. Per my attorney’s advice, I agreed to testify in the State congress as to how I did what I did. It was beyond painful. In the Bible there is a verse that states “Be sure that your sin will find you out”. I certainly can attest to the truth of that verse. I couldn’t even leave the place I was staying to go to the store, I was the most notorious person in the State of New Hampshire.
When I was at the bottom, I had a choice, kill myself or change my priorities, putting God first in my life. I chose the latter and, things have never been the same. Prior to coming into prison, my Uncle Dave, a missionary for over 60 years, told me to consider the prison as a mission field, to ask God to use me to help others. I talked to a couple of guys who had served time for white collar crimes. They told me that I should not associate with anyone,. to spend my time on my bunk or in the library. I determined to listen to my Uncle Dave’s advice. I thought that I was going to get a 9 year sentence and self-surrender to a camp Instead, the judge, due to political pressure, gave me 15 years and sent me to a low. Instead of walking out of the court and preparing to self-surrender, I was taken out of the courtroom in handcuffs and thrown into holding with about 20 other guys in prison for various sorts of crimes. As soon as the door slammed shut, three young men approached me, one white, one black and one Hispanic. They were all drug dealers and all headed to the Pen, the highest level of custody in the BOP. As they approached me, my first thought was that they were going to shake me down. Instead, they asked me if I were Scott Farah. When I said, “Yes”, they said they had been reading about me in the newspaper. They wanted to know if I would be willing to teach them about business. I was surprised but agreed. Those three young men took care of me for the two months I was in holding. In addition, they brought many others to learn about business. I had no way of making things right with the people I had hurt. However, by having this opportunity to help guys, I was able to start “giving back”.
When I got to the Low, I was, to say the least, concerned. I had heard all the stories about extortion and gang violence. I continued to follow my Uncle Dave’s advice and give back. Some of guys that arrived with me in the Low had been involved with my impromptu business classes. They spread the word and in less than a week I was teaching business classes. Within the first few months, the head of the Bloods, the head of the Colombian gang and the head of the Mexican gang in the prison were in my business classes. I never once had a problem in the years that I was in the Low. Because I was willing to give back, willing to help, willing to share my knowledge for free, guys not only respected me, they became my friends and protectors. The one time I was accosted by a gang was when the Arian Nation threatened me because I was teaching blacks and Hispanics. I told the head of the Colombians what had happened and I never heard from the Arian Nation boys again.
I have been in a camp for a number of years now. And, have continued to give back. I have seen lives change. One example, Bill, was a drug dealer. He was in his early 40’s when he came to the camp. Bill had never held a legal job. The only thing he knew how to do was sell drugs. He knew that when he went back out, he would be forced to return to that life. He knew that he was “doing life on the installment plan.” Bill wanted another option. I was able to offer him that option. He came to all my business classes and I helped him create a business plan. Bill has been out for two years now. He has a very successful towing business going. He now has three tow trucks and two guys working for him. He will never go back to selling drugs. Honestly, the feeling I get when I hear from Bill, (every time he contacts me he tells me how I saved his life), is better than any feeling I had when I “made the big deal” in my previous life. And Bill is just one of a number of guys who I have been able to help. This, quite simply, is true wealth
I will be out in less than a year and the focus of my life has changed. The driving force is not how much money I can make. How many deals I can complete, but rather, how many people like Bill I can help. I have, over the last few years, written a re-entry plan which is five books. This correspondence course is specifically is designed to help people like Bill learn everything necessary to succeed upon release. Currently, this correspondence course is in the approval process for both PELL Grants and the V.A. hopefully, within the next six months, inmates across the country will be able to receive this course for free. My goal is to help thousands if not tens of thousands of Bill’s. On a spiritual note, I have set up a plan whereby retired Pastors and Priests will be in email contact with inmates providing them with spiritual counsel. As anyone who has served time or has had a loved one serve time knows, the emotional and psychological strain of being in prison takes a terrible toll and inmates need access to help. On the other side of the table, many retired pastors and priests, my father is a prime example, want to be useful but are physically unable to pastor a church any more. I will have this program up and running within a few months of my release.
So, I am walking out of prison with a mission, a vision, and a far more rewarding life than I could have ever imagined. It’s a life that I am excited about, a life that will be a blessing to others, a life that no amount of money in the world could buy.
God Bless;
Scott Farah
Scott Farah can be reached at: Scott Farah, Reg. # 11229-049, FCI Loretto, Satellite Camp. PO Box 1000, Cresson, PA, 16630-1007
A Congregation of One: Keeping the Faith in Federal Prison, by Jeffrey Abramowitz, Guest Blogger
Jeffrey Abramowitz wrote this piece while he was incarcerated at U.S.P. Canaan in Pennsylvania. He is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings.
Reprinted from Thrive Global, Feb. 21, 2021
I am a Jewish person who was born and raised in a Conservative congregation. Even though Judaism is considered to be a communal religion, I now reside in a community of one. How can that be? I am a prisoner in a United States Federal Prison and currently have the distinction of being the only practicing, Jewish inmate. I arrived at USP Canaan – an irony in itself as Canaan is an important place in Jewish history – approximately four years ago, just before the Jewish holiday of Passover. Ashamed, disgraced, and void of all possessions, family, friends, colleagues and even my wife of twenty-four years, I was by definition a “lost soul,” searching for a reason to awake and rise each morning.
It must be made crystal clear that there are no excuses, rationalizations, or plausible justifications for my actions for which I pled guilty to in a court of law. Standing before my family, friends, clients and my community, it was time for me to accept responsibility for what I had done, try my best to learn the lessons that God intended by placing this difficult detour in my path, and find a way to move forward. This certainly is no easy task for a once respected attorney and member of both the Jewish and secular communities, who seemingly, had everything. To say I was lost is an understatement; I was in exile.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said “in the end, we remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.” No truer words have struck my ears. My legal troubles began over two years before the fateful day of my sentencing. Initially, my rabbi and a few friends from my congregation were supportive. As the legal process continued, I found myself no longer welcome in this sacred space and community I had once considered home. While I tried my best to understand and accept this as part of my punishment, I wondered how a place of worship that was once warm, inviting and rich with traditions, and that preaches inclusivity, could so abruptly close its doors on someone so in need of guidance.
After entering the criminal justice system, accepting responsibility for my actions, and trying to understand how and why this happened to me, I could not help but think that somehow, my Jewish faith, and even God, had failed me. This initial thought could not have been more wrong: it wasn’t God, my synagogue or anyone else that was culpable for my downfall, and no one besides myself could be responsible for mending my soul. It was up to only me. After months of struggling with my own Jewish identity at the beginning of my incarceration, I returned to my religion. However, my faith and practice looked drastically different this time – no minyan, no congregation, no traditions or rituals. Rather, it was just me in a cinderblock room with a prayer book – alone with God. Time has not healed the wounds that I have caused but it has given me the opportunity to learn lessons of humility, honesty, tolerance, and has blessed me with a chance to restart my life and to try to fix the pieces I had broken. Re-introducing Judaism was a part of this goal as my religion often preaches a doctrine of breaking and repairing. Jews have an appreciation for how a shattering can lead to a rebirth. Your whole world may be destroyed, only to be rebuilt. “Tikkun” or “to repair” is a central tenet of the Jewish ideology I was always taught. Similar to the floods that Noah faced and the destruction of the sacred Temple of Jerusalem, Jews have historically faced cataclysmic life events which required that we searched deep within ourselves for the wisdom and strength to survive and to grow. In this process, a new person is created. This was the evolution I yearned for in that cinderblock room we called the “chapel.”
Even though other incarcerated Jewish people have come and gone over the years, I am at least, for now, a congregation of one. Every Friday night, I enter a vacant, white, cinderblock room that has been transformed into our “chapel” because of the holy ceremonies that take place within its walls. This room contains holy books and religious texts for every religion imaginable. There’s a single bookshelf dedicated to Jewish prayer books and writings. While there is no Torah, we are given access to a locker which holds Matzah (used in place of Challah for Shabbat kiddush), two candlesticks (one of which has been broken after years of wear), two candles, several kippot, including one made of yarn by a fellow inmate who is practicing his crocheting. I begin my weekly Shabbat service in the same fashion as how the ceremony begins at my home synagogue: with the lighting of the candles. This practice is aided by a correctional officer who holds the lighter, as a fire source cannot be possessed or held by an incarcerated individual.
The service follows the Siddur and includes frequent pauses for reflection on the past, consideration of the realities of the present, and fixation on dreams of the future. My service includes personal touches – I always end with a prayer for my daughter and the singing of my favorite Jewish song, Hatikvah. The conclusion of the service requires the assistance of a non-Jewish inmate to blow out the Shabbat candles as the prison does not permit for them to burn out on their own, but Jewish custom prevents practicing Jews from extinguishing the candles. I conduct this Shabbat ritual every Friday night, and the tradition has come to mean more to me than any religious service I have ever attended with the exception of my daughter’s Bat Mitzvah in Israel. As each Jewish holiday approaches, I look once again at where I am and reevaluate my religious beliefs in light of my current journey. I’ve come to understand that religion cannot be used as a crutch as we walk through life, but should serve as the guidebook on the intensive, introspective labor we must practice in hopes of building a meaningful and purposeful existence. We cannot assume that religious beliefs will absolve us of our wrongs, provide us with a “get out of jail free” card or miraculously heal the wounds which our hands have created. Being a person of faith does not grant us universal forgiveness for our mistakes, but rather, a pathway to understanding how our errors can ultimately improve our lives.
When I pray during these sacred moments that I create, it is for those that I care most about in my life. Those that I have touched with my words, actions or mistakes and those who I hope can find it in their hearts to forgive. My prayers are for health and hope and happiness. They are for the things and experiences in my past which may mold who I am, and for the things yet to come which will help shape who I will be. My prayers are for strength, courage, and for the unwavering conviction that I always see my glass as half full, as I remain grateful for what I have and aware that things could always be far worse. As I continue my journey, I appreciate my ability to apply the lens of my Jewish faith to each challenge I face. I move forward knowing that the life I have been blessed with will not last an eternity. Instead, my goal in life is to be happy, to fill the world with friendship, love of mankind, compassion and reverence of the reality that our time on earth is limited and each second is far too precious to waste. Even in my congregation of one, my Jewish faith continues to support and sustain me.
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Jeffrey Abramowitz, J.D. is the Executive Director of Reentry Services for JEVS Human Services and Program Director of Looking Forward Philadelphia. Jeff was a 2018 Fellow for Justleadership USA, and has most recently served as the Director of Student Services & Workforce Development for Community Learning Center. Jeff was a trial lawyer in Philadelphia before poor choices in life and his professional career resulted in acceptance of responsibility and a five-year sentence in the federal prison system. Entering the criminal justice system allowed Jeff the opportunity to see the world with a new pair of glasses and find his passion for education and workforce development. In the short 4.5 years since Jeff has been home he has worked with over 4,000 individuals, spoken and lectured across the country to educators, administrators, communities, and those touched by our criminal justice system. Jeff proudly sits on the Executive Board of the Coalition on Basic Adult Education, COABE, where he serves as the chair of the Literacy Behind and Beyond the Walls Committee, was appointed to the Pennsylvania Reentry Council and serves as Chairman of the Employment Committee and Co-chairs the Reentry Committee for the PA Workforce Development Board. Jeff is active in the Philadelphia Reentry Coalition. Jeff serves on the board of directors of Community Forgiveness & Restoration, a member of NationSwell Council, and Advisory Board Member of Philadelphia Petey Greene Program. Jeff is presently a LINCS Reviewer, Literacy Information & Communication System, Resource Collection, for the Department of Education, and serves on the National Association of State Directors of Education, Barbara Bush Foundation Criminal Justice Work Group. Jeff is the producer and host of the award-winning weekly radio show “Looking Forward” on Philly Cam Radio WPPM 106.5FM. Jeffrey is a writer, keynote speaker and lecturer around the country on issues of adult education, workforce development and criminal justice. Jeff can be reached at: [email protected].
Criminal Justice Cafe Podcast: Jacqueline Polverari Interviews Ashley Furst from a Federal Halfway House
In this episode, Jacquie has a discussion with Ashley Furst, who is currently released from Federal prison and residing in a Federal halfway house.
Jacquie and Ashley are both members of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, and is a multiple time guest on White Collar Week.
Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.
Watch on YouTube:
Jacqueline Polverari:
Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.
Jacqueline has over 25 years’ experience as a professional with proven successes in business leadership, mentoring and therapeutic environments. Her experience working with trauma culminated after spending almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women and observing the trauma women experience related to being incarcerated. She has since dedicated herself to Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry services with a special focus on trauma and reentry services for women relating to incarceration. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, JustLeadershipUSA and #Cut50 and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country. She most recently designed and hosted the first retreat for women convicted of a white-collar crime in the country in October 2019. Jacqueline is working diligently to continue her education and has returned to school to obtain her Doctoral Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Criminal Justice.
For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 25, Guest: Seth Williams, Former Philadelphia D.A., Pt. 2
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
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Podcast Ep. 25, Guest: Seth Williams, Former Philadelphia D.A., Part Two
Today on the podcast we have Seth Williams. In a two-part interview, Seth describes his fall from grace from being elected the first African-American District Attorney of Philadelphia, America’s 5th largest city, to being tried for corruption charges, to becoming a Federal inmate serving 5 months of his 60-month sentence in solitary confinement, to his new life of faith and service.
A member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings, Seth goes into stunning detail about his poor choices, prosecution, prison experience and his lessons learned.
So, coming up. Seth Williams. Former Philadelphia D.A. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff
Click here to watch/listen to Part One of this interview!!
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
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If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.
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Guests on this Episode:
Seth Williams
Seth Williams is looking for new opportunities in criminal justice reform, crime prevention, recidivism reduction, reentry, teaching, and workforce readiness.
An accomplished leader and strategic visionary who identifies opportunities for program, productivity, performance, training, and educational improvement. Excellent interpersonal, research, analytic, planning, and implementation skills. Strong ability to relate to a wide variety of people and to develop effective strategic plans that produce results. Proud father, Army Vet, gym rat, avid saxophonist, recently re-committed Christian. With a singularly unique perspective of the criminal justice system as a former District Attorney, criminal defense attorney, and federal inmate. Finally living a life of authenticity!
Contact Information:
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You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Information About our White Collar Support Group…
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Click image for interview
Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:
Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.
Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.
CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.
Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here.
Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.
Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.
Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.
Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.
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Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:
Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff
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All Episodes:
Link here to Podcast Ep. 24, Ex-Philadelphia D.A., Seth Williams, Part One
Link here to Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg
Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy
Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO
Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee
Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix
Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola
Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim
Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood
Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott
Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine
Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland
Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb
Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett
Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria
Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin
Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz
Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney
Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group
Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?
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Jeff Grant
What is the White Collar Justice Community?
Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.
If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…
Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.
Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.
Blessings, לשלום
Jeff
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
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Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!
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Follow White Collar Week on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week
Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek
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Follow Jeff Grant on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant
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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?
Email us! [email protected]
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Credits:
Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Production: Chloe Coppola
Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com
Video Engineering: Todd Nixon
Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com
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It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.
All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 24, Seth Williams, Former Philadelphia D.A., Pt. 1
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
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Podcast Ep. 24, Guest: Seth Williams, Former Philadelphia D.A., Part One
Today on the podcast we have Seth Williams. In a two-part interview, Seth describes his fall from grace from being elected the first African-American District Attorney of Philadelphia, America’s 5th largest city, to being tried for corruption charges, to becoming a Federal inmate serving 5 months of his 60-month sentence in solitary confinement, to his new life of faith and service.
A member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings, Seth goes into stunning detail about his poor choices, prosecution, prison experience and his lessons learned.
So, coming up. Seth Williams. Former Philadelphia D.A. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff
Click here to watch/listen to Part Two of this interview!!
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
______________________________
If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.
______________________________
Guests on this Episode:
Seth Williams
Seth Williams is looking for new opportunities in criminal justice reform, crime prevention, recidivism reduction, reentry, teaching, and workforce readiness.
An accomplished leader and strategic visionary who identifies opportunities for program, productivity, performance, training, and educational improvement. Excellent interpersonal, research, analytic, planning, and implementation skills. Strong ability to relate to a wide variety of people and to develop effective strategic plans that produce results. Proud father, Army Vet, gym rat, avid saxophonist, recently re-committed Christian. With a singularly unique perspective of the criminal justice system as a former District Attorney, criminal defense attorney, and federal inmate. Finally living a life of authenticity!
Contact Information:
______________________
You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Information About our White Collar Support Group…
____________________________
Click image for interview
Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:
Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.
Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.
CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.
Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here.
Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.
Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.
Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.
Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.
______________________________
Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:
Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff
______________________________
All Episodes:
Link here to Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg
Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy
Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO
Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee
Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix
Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola
Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim
Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood
Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott
Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine
Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland
Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb
Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett
Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria
Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin
Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz
Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney
Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group
Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?
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Jeff Grant
What is the White Collar Justice Community?
Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.
If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…
Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.
Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.
Blessings, לשלום
Jeff
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
_________________________
Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!
_________________________
Follow White Collar Week on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week
Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek
_________________________
Follow Jeff Grant on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant
_________________________
Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?
Email us! [email protected]
_________________________
Credits:
Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Production: Chloe Coppola
Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com
Video Engineering: Todd Nixon
Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com
_________________________
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.
All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.
The Happy Self Podcast with Tracy Fox: Interview with Jeff Grant: Navigating White Collar Crime & The Aftermath, Episode 37
Huge thanks to Tracy Fox for having me as her guest on her podcast, The Happy Self. This was one of my favorite interviews, definitely worth a listen if you, a friend, family member, colleague or client have a white collar justice issue.
Tracy Fox is regarded as a Top Executive Coach teaching personal and professional success and happiness both at home and in the work place. Tracy is a sought after Speaker, Bestselling Author of Four Books and an NYU Certified Executive Coach specializing in helping people maximize their potential.
Tracy works with men and women individually as a Personal Coach and with Top CEOs, Managers, Elite Athletes and Artists in an Executive Coach capacity. She has spoken at over 100 locations including Corporate Retreats, National Meetings and Retail Locations such as Lord & Taylor and Equinox Luxury. Gyms. Additionally, Tracy was recently hired as the Executive Coach for Jersey Mikes Corporate Office in Manasquan, NJ and was also just awarded the Woman of Distinction by the YWCA.
Tracy can be reached on her website: tracyfox.net
Watch on YouTube (short clip):
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
About Jeff Grant:
Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is an ordained minister with over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 18+ years), and executive & religious leadership. He works with people prosecuted for white collar crimes (and their families) who want to come out of isolation and join a supportive community that will help them navigate their journeys through the criminal justice system – to new ethical, productive, joyful lives on the other side of their issues.
As an ordained minister, conversations and communications between Jeff and those he serves fall under state clergy privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with Jeff while in active prosecution or litigation situations. Not a prison consultant; not a prison coach.
Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he regularly uses his experience and background to guide people faithfully forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them from making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame.
After an addiction to prescription opioids and serving almost fourteen months in a Federal prison for a white-collar crime he committed when he was a lawyer, Jeff started his own reentry – earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York, with a focus in Christian Social Ethics. After graduating from divinity school, Jeff was called to serve at an inner city church in Bridgeport, CT as Associate Minister and Director of Prison Ministries. He, and his wife and partner-in-ministry Lynn Springer, then co-founded Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. (Greenwich, CT), the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice/economy exiled community.
Jeff can be reached on the ministry’s website, prisonist.org.
Criminal Justice Cafe Podcast: Jacqueline Polverari Interviews Holli Houghton, of Pink Lady Prison Consultants
Congratulations to our friend and colleague, Jacqueline Polverari, on her new podcast Criminal Justice Cafe. In this episode, Jacquie has a discussion with Holli Houghton, Executive Director of Pink Lady Prison Consultants, about women feeling isolated and alone while incarcerated as their families and loved ones live their lives on the outside.
Jacquie is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets online on Zoom on Monday evenings, and is a multiple time guest on White Collar Week. Holli Houghton is a past guest on White Collar Week.
Criminal Justice Cafe: Transparent conversations about controversial subjects within the Criminal Justice System… from the inside out.
Watch on YouTube:
Holli Coulman
Holli Coulman a college-educated professional spent the better part of her career carving out a name for herself in highly competitive corporate arenas. While in her well-earned role at a strategic tech company, Holli’s integrity became compromised as she soon would become the target of a federal investigation. Coming under direct fire for financial fraud-related charges, she was forced to accept a guilty plea and subsequently, was convicted of one count of wire fraud. She spent the next 15 months in the Women’s Camp at FCC Victorville, California, 2 months in the Solitary Housing Unit (SHU) at the San Bernardino County Jail, and the final 3 months at a Halfway House.
Though steeped in a whirlwind of life-altering change and hardship, Holli did not spend her time unwisely. She earned her American Bar Association Paralegal Certification and in April of 2017 was given the opportunity to work for a reputable law firm, and is now working at the Dallas County Public Defender’s Office. Finding power in the written word, Holli started a popular blog on big issues such as women’s safety while incarcerated and related subject matter. This act of civil advocacy resulted in a Bureau of Prisons retaliatory- based punishment of two months in solitary confinement. These and other experiences will be chronicled in her much-anticipated book debut, “True Injustice” that will be published in December 2020.
Presently, Holli Coulman is one of the most notable and respected Women’s Prison Consultants. Through various prison consultancy platforms, she navigates families and individuals through the difficulty of incarceration. Her services stretch far beyond education and awareness. Holli’s services include prison pre-and-post release strategies, clemency procedures, appeals, coursework, and compassionate releases. Known for leading the dialogue for women’s prison reform, Holli is often requested to be a speaker at many leading women’s conferences. Holli maintains an active presence in organizations that champion her causes, including the WPA, and also the Voice of Women.
Websites:
Wall Street Prison Consultants
Pink Lady Prison Consultants
Podcasts:
Lions of Liberty Podcast
The Quicky Podcast
Media:
https://www.insideedition.com/prison-guards-will-try-to-rattle-felicity-huffman-says-former-inmate-55973
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/09/12/it-was-horrifying-ex-inmates-describe-fate-that-may-await-felicity-huffman-lori-loughlin-other-parents-in-college-scandal/
https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/10/15/felicity-huffmans-first-day-in-federal-prison-strip-search-resentment-from-some-inmates-likely/
Jacqueline Polverari:
Jacqueline Polverari, MBA, MSW is the founder and Executive Director of Evolution Reentry Services, focusing on the needs of women who have been impacted by the Criminal Justice System.
Jacqueline has over 25 years’ experience as a professional with proven successes in business leadership, mentoring and therapeutic environments. Her experience working with trauma culminated after spending almost a year in Danbury Federal Prison Camp for Women and observing the trauma women experience related to being incarcerated. She has since dedicated herself to Criminal Justice Reform and Reentry services with a special focus on trauma and reentry services for women relating to incarceration. Jacqueline is an active member of the National Association of Social Workers, JustLeadershipUSA and #Cut50 and speaks at conferences and symposiums throughout the country. She most recently designed and hosted the first retreat for women convicted of a white-collar crime in the country in October 2019. Jacqueline is working diligently to continue her education and has returned to school to obtain her Doctoral Degree in Social Work with a concentration in Criminal Justice.
For more information or to schedule a speaking engagement you can reach Jacqueline Polverari: evolutionreentry.com, [email protected].
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 23, The Vanishing Trial, Robert Katzberg
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant
It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
_______________________
Podcast Ep. 23, Guest: The Vanishing Trial, with Robert Katzberg
Today on the podcast we have Bob Katzberg, a dean of the White Collar Bar who has seen it all as both a federal prosecutor in the EDNY and as a criminal defense trial lawyer.
I was so taken with Bob’s book, The Vanishing Trial, that I sent it to every single one of our White Collar Support Group members currently serving in prison. In it, Bob explains how and why the Federal criminal justice system went from 10% of all cases being tried before juries to less than 2% of all cases now being tried before juries. And how the cards are now stacked against defendants, forcing them into plea bargains.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are being prosecuted for a white collar crime, or any crime, this episode is a must-watch or listen-to.
So, coming up. Bob Katzberg. The Vanishing Trial. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff
Listen on Apple Podcasts:
Listen on Spotify:
Listen on SoundCloud:
Watch on YouTube:
______________________________
If you have a friend, family member, colleague or client with a white collar justice issue, please forward this post; they can reach us anytime – day or night! Our contact info: http://prisonist.org/contact-us.
______________________________
Guests on this Episode:
Robert Katzberg
Robert Katzberg, a cum laude graduate of George Washington University Law School and a member of its Law Review, began his career as a law clerk to the Honorable Oliver Gasch on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. He then served as an Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, where his prosecution of political corruption and financial crimes earned him the coveted Attorney General’s Special Achievement Award. For the next four decades, as a partner in Kaplan & Katzberg, a white collar criminal law boutique, he defended clients in high-profile cases in New York City and throughout the country. A Southern District of New York federal prosecutor described him as “the best cross-examiner” he had ever seen, and as a “formidable adversary” who “commands the courtroom.” Mr. Katzberg is now consulting counsel to Holland & Knight, an international law firm. He and his wife, Leslie, now live in Southern California.
Contact Information:
Purchase The Vanishing Trial on Amazon, link here.
[email protected]
https://www.hklaw.com/en/professionals/k/katzberg-robert
Also, Forbes: Walt Pavlo’s review of Bob’s book, The Vanishing Trial. Link here.
______________________
You can find all episodes of our podcast “White Collar Week with Jeff Grant” on our website prisonist.org, our Facebook page, Podbean, YouTube (video), SoundCloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, LinkedIn, Instagram and Twitter.
Information About our White Collar Support Group…
____________________________
Click image for interview
Info on SBA PPP & EIDL Loan Fraud:
Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking COVID-19 Relief Money: by Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.. Link to article here.
The Philadelphia Inquirer: Steal Money from the Feds? First, Meet Jeff Grant, an Ex-Con who Committed Loan Fraud, by Erin Arvedlund: Link to article here.
Hannah Smolinski YouTube: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.
CFO Dive: After Serving Time, Fraudster Cautions Against PPP, Other Emergency Loans, by Robert Freedman. Link to article here.
Fraud Stories Podcast with Mark Lurie: SBA/PPP Loan Fraud with Guest: Jeff Grant. Link to podcast here.
Forbes: As Law Enforcement Pursues SBA Loan Fraud, Jeff Grant Talks Redemption, by Kelly Phillips Erb. Link to article here.
Taxgirl Podcast: Jeff Grant talks Desperation and Loans in a Time of Crisis with Kelly Phillips Erb on Her Podcast. Link to article and podcast here.
Business Talk with Jim Campbell: Jeff Grant Talks with Jim About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud and What to Know When Taking Coronavirus Relief Money, Biz Talk Radio Network, Broadcast from 1490 AM WGCH Greenwich, CT. Listen on YouTube here.
Babz Rawls Ivy Show: Babz Rawls Ivy & Jeff Grant Talk SBA / PPP Loan Fraud and 7 Things to Know Before You Take Coronavirus Relief Money, WNHH 103.5 FM New Haven. Watch on YouTube here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO: Link here.
White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Episode 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest Kelly Phillips Erb. Link here.
______________________________
Louis Reed/Babz Rawls Ivy PSA:
Some very kind words from my dear friends Louis L. Reed and Babz Rawls Ivy in this brief PSA. Thank you Louis and Babz! – Jeff
______________________________
All Episodes:
Link here to Podcast Ep. 22: The Goddess, with Guest: Babz Rawls Ivy
Link here to Podcast Ep. 21: All Things SBA, PPP & EIDL, with Guest: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO
Link here to Podcast Ep. 20: Reinventing Yourself After Prison, with Guests: Glenn E. Martin & Richard Bronson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 19: Insider Trading Charges Dismissed, with Guest: Richard Lee
Link here to Podcast Ep. 18: Is Your Life a Movie? The Producers, with Guests: Lydia B. Smith, Bethany Jones & Will Nix
Link here to Podcast Ep. 17: #TruthHeals, Systemic Abuse & Institutional Reform with Guest: Vanessa Osage, feat. Guest Co-Host Chloe Coppola
Link here to Podcast Ep. 16: Politicians, Prison & Penitence, with Guest: Bridgeport, CT Mayor Joseph Ganim
Link here to Podcast Ep. 15: A Brave Talk About Suicide, with Guests Bob Flanagan, Elizabeth Kelley, & Meredith Atwood
Link here to Podcast Ep. 14: Recovery & Neighborhood, with Guest: TNP’s Tom Scott
Link here to Podcast Ep. 13: Everything but Bridgegate, with Guest: Bill Baroni
Link here to Podcast Ep. 12: The Truth Tellers, with Guests: Holli Coulman & Larry Levine
Link here to Podcast Ep. 11: Blank Canvas, with Guest: Craig Stanland
Link here to Podcast Ep. 10: The Ministers, with Guests: Father Joe Ciccone & Father Rix Thorsell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 09: Small Business Edition, with Guest: Taxgirl Kelly Phillips Erb
Link here to Podcast Ep. 08: The Academics, with Guests: Cathryn Lavery, Jessica Henry, Jay Kennedy & Erin Harbinson
Link here to Podcast Ep. 07: White Collar Wives. with Guests: Lynn Springer, Cassie Monaco & Julie Bennett. Special Guest: Skylar Cluett
Link here to Podcast Ep. 06: Madoff Talks, with Guest: Jim Campbell
Link here to Podcast Ep. 05: Trauma and Healing when Mom goes to Prison, with Guests: Jacqueline Polverari and Her Daughters, Alexa & Maria
Link here to Podcast Ep. 04: One-on-One with Tipper X, with Guest: Tom Hardin
Link here to Podcast Ep. 03: Compassionate Lawyering, with Guests: Chris Poulos, Corey Brinson, Bob Herbst & George Hritz
Link here to Podcast Ep. 02: Substance Abuse & Recovery During COVID-19, with Guests: Trevor Shevin & Joshua Cagney
Link here to Podcast Ep. 01: An Evening with Our White Collar Support Group, with Guests: 16 Members of Our White Collar Support Group
Link here to Podcast Ep. 00: White Collar Week with Jeff Grant: What is White Collar Week?
______________________________
Jeff Grant
What is the White Collar Justice Community?
Welcome to White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, a podcast serving the white collar justice community. It’s the isolation that destroys us. The solution is in community.
If you are interested in this podcast, then you are probably already a member of the white collar justice community – even if you don’t quite know it yet. Our community is certainly made up of people being prosecuted, or who have already been prosecuted, for white collar crimes. But it is also made up of the spouses, children and families of those prosecuted for white collar crimes – these are the first victims of white collar crime. And the community also consists of the other victims, both direct and indirect, and those in the wider white collar ecosystem like friends, colleagues, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, law enforcement, academics, researchers. Investigators, mitigation experts, corrections officers, parole & probation officers, reentry professionals, mental health care professionals, drug and alcohol counselors – and ministers, chaplains and advocates for criminal and social justice reform. The list goes on and on…
Our mission is to introduce you to other members of the white collar justice community, to hear their very personal stories, and hopefully gain a broader perspective of what this is really all about. Maybe this will inspire some deeper thoughts and introspection? Maybe it will inspire some empathy and compassion for people you might otherwise resent or dismiss? And maybe it will help lift us all out of our own isolation and into community, so we can learn to live again in the sunshine of the spirit.
Along the way, I’ll share with you some of the things I’ve learned in my own journey from successful lawyer, to prescription opioid addict, white collar crime, suicide attempt, disbarment, destruction of my marriage, and the almost 14 months I served in a Federal prison. And also my recovery, love story I share with my wife Lynn Springer, after prison earning a Master of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary in NYC, pastoring in an inner city church in Bridgeport CT, and then co-founding with Lynn in Greenwich CT, Progressive Prison Ministries, the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. It’s been quite a ride, but I firmly believe that the best is yet to come.
So I invite you to come along with me as we experience something new, and bold, and different – a podcast that serves the entire white collar justice community. I hope you will join me.
Blessings, לשלום
Jeff
Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Co-host, The Criminal Justice Insider Podcast
Host, White Collar Week
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists/jeff-grant-woodbury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
_________________________
Thank you for listening to White Collar Week.
Please subscribe, rate and review the podcast if you loved it – it helps others suffering in silence find us if they need us!
_________________________
Follow White Collar Week on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week
Facebook: https://facebook.com/whitecollarweek
Twitter: https://twitter.com/whitecollarweek
Instagram: https://instagram.com/whitecollarweek
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/whitecollarweek
_________________________
Follow Jeff Grant on Social:
Web: https://prisonist.org
Facebook: https://Facebook.com/revjeffgrant
Twitter: https://twitter.com/revjeffgrant
Instagram: https://instagram.com/revjeffgrant
LinkedIn: https://linkedin/revjeffgrant
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Want to be a guest on the Show? Have a connection you’d like to make?
Email us! [email protected]
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Credits:
Host: Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div.
Production: Chloe Coppola
Audio Engineering: George Antonios: https://georgeantonios.com
Video Engineering: Todd Nixon
Art Direction: Greyskye Marketing, LLC: https://greyskye.com
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It’s the Isolation that Destroys Us. The Solution is in Community.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is the world’s first ministry supporting the white collar justice community. Founded by husband and wife, Jeff Grant and Lynn Springer in Greenwich CT in 2012, we incorporated as a nonprofit in Connecticut in 2014, and received 501(c)(3) status in 2015. Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 17+ years), and executive and religious leadership. As Jeff was incarcerated for a white-collar crime he committed in 2001, he and Lynn have a first-hand perspective on the trials and tribulations that white-collar families have to endure as they navigate the criminal justice system and life beyond.
Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc. is nonsectarian, serving those of all faiths, or no faith whatsoever. To date we have helped over three hundred fifty (350) individuals, and their families, to accept responsibility for their actions and to acknowledge the pain they have caused to others. In accordance with our commitment to restorative justice, we counsel our members to make amends as a first step in changing their lives and moving towards a new spiritual way of living centered on hope, care, compassion, tolerance, empathy and service to others. Our team has grown to over ten people, most with advanced degrees, all of whom are currently volunteering their time and resources.
Progressive Prison Ministries’ goal is to provide spiritual solutions and emotional support to those who are feeling alone, isolated, and hopeless. We have found that these individuals are suffering from a void but are stuck, and don’t know what to do about it. Our objective is to help them find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what may seem like insurmountable problems. Many of those we counsel are in a place where their previous lives have come to an end due to their transgressions. In many cases their legal problems have led to divorce, estrangement from their children, families, friends and support communities, and loss of a career. The toll this takes on individuals and families is emotionally devastating. White-collar crimes are often precipitated by other issues in the offenders’ lives such as alcohol or drug abuse, and/or a physical or mental illness that lead to financial issues that overwhelms their ability to be present for themselves and their families and cause poor decision making. We recognize that life often presents us with such circumstances, sometimes which lead us to make mistakes in violation of the law.
All conversations and communications between our ordained ministry, and licensed clinical relationships, and those we serve fall under state privilege laws. This is one reason that attorneys often allow and encourage their clients to maintain relationships with us while in active prosecution or litigation situations.
If you, a friend, family member, colleague or client are suffering from a white collar criminal justice issue or are experiencing some other traumatic or life-altering event, and would like to find a path to a healthy, spirit-filled place on the other side of what seems like insurmountable problems, please contact us to schedule an initial call or appointment.
Copyright 2021, All Rights Reserved, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.
USA Today: Ex-offenders Struggle to Find Jobs Amid Pandemic, feat. Our Friends Bill Livolsi & Richard Bronson
Congratulations to our friends Bill Livolsi and Richard Bronson on being featured in this article in USA Today. Bill is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Monday evenings. Richard was a recent guest on our podcast, White Collar Week. PS Nice “mug shot” Bill! – Jeff