incarceration
“We resolved the case successfully without a criminal filing against our client.”: A Testimonial from Jason Rhodes, Esq.
I had the pleasure of working with Jeff on a major federal, white collar criminal investigation in New Mexico. I got to see first hand how he was compassionate and caring with our client, helping her through the unknowns and anxiety of the situation, as well as being truthful and practical with her about potential outcomes. Ultimately, we were able to resolve that case successfully without a criminal filing against our client. It was a great success and Jeff demonstrated extreme competence on the law and handling of the issues that arose for our client. I look forward to working with him again. – Jason Bowles, Esq., Albuquerque, New Mexico & Plano, Texas
White Collar Support Group 350th Meeting Reflection: “Faith and Caution”, by Fellow Traveler Richard L.
Richard L. is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday evenings. On March 6, 2023, we will hold our 350th meeting – 7 years of community! In honor of this milestone, we’ve asked our group members, guests and supporters to contribute written reflections for publication on our websites, emails, newsletters and social media. If you would like to submit your contribution, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!
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Turning the page into the new year always brings with it a melancholic reflection of years past, and contemplation, with some wonderment, at what the next chapters will hold for me and for my relationships. This year marks ten years since my criminal legal case began. I wanted to share a reflection that those in our community might identity with – to find solace in shared emotional experiences, and for those early in their journey, that their anxiety might be eased.
A criminal case often sparks a catalyst for the accused to reflect on their life – perhaps it was a life out of kilter, spiraling downwards through a chaotic mix of narcissism and addiction, with a dose of a need to control people and outcomes. For me, it was the case itself that sparked the tension and anxiety that sets aflame that vicious cycle. At times, the pressure was so great I ceded all agency to others – in a sense, I thought surrender itself was the answer. During the case, and in its immediate aftermath – I felt a frenetic need to reinvent myself immediately, to find the answer and path forward. I can only describe that state, which lasted for many years, as one of unconscious vulnerability;, searching and seeking for self-truths. Many approached me purporting to have “the answer”. Whether lawyers who cross the line from counsel to making decisions for you through manipulation, to others who try to gain trust through claiming affinity. Don’t lose your agency, like I did. It is a precarious time, and you must be careful who you let in. “Guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”
In the years subsequent, I enrolled in courses to fulfill prerequisites for application to medical school. I took the LSAT. I drove for Uber for six months. I consulted for the fanciful startup aspirations of former large medical device executives. I became the CFO of a software company and executed its merger into a publicly traded peer. Still, I still consider myself directionless, a bit rudderless.
And in those years, I lost people I cared about. College friends who died suddenly and far too young. My father, who I think about several times a day and whose selfless devotion to his wife and to his children is not exaggerated in my memory. And of course, countless relationships which were abruptly cut off by my case and of which only a handful have since been restored.
What is different today is that I have faith in that unknowable future, that the twisting, meandering path will in good time straighten into one with a clear direction.
As we mark 350 meetings, I welcome you to join our fellowship, but with a practical note of caution. Many come, looking to take – be it practical and pragmatic advice, or to find sympathy in a world that is temporarily offering little to none. That is fine, but I always hope for more – a relationship, that you might not only find comfort and a shoulder to cry on, but that as you grow, you can learn to carry the burden of others too.
“Jeff Grant is the Real Deal” – A Testimonial from Evan Osnos of The New Yorker
I am humbled and grateful to Evan Osnos, Staff Reporter for The New Yorker and author of the book, Wildland: The Making of America’s Fury. You can also read Evan’s New Yorker article, “Life After White Collar Crime”, about our White Collar Support Group here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2021/08/30/life-after-white-collar-crime.
“Jeff Grant is the real deal; he’s candid and generous with his wisdom. I can’t imagine there is a lawyer in this country more qualified to consider the complex issues facing people prosecuted for white collar crimes and their families.” – Evan Osnos, The New Yorker
White Collar Support Group 350th Meeting Reflection: “The Emotional Roller Coaster of Self-Discovery into Service”, by Ally Brown
Ally Brown is a friend of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday evenings. On March 6, 2023, we will hold our 350th meeting – 7 years of community! In honor of this milestone, we’ve asked our group members, guests and supporters to contribute written reflections for publication on our websites, emails, newsletters and social media. If you would like to submit your contribution, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!
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I have a first-hand perspective of what it is to be in the blast radius of white-collar crime and all the suffering and adversity one must endure while navigating the journey and beyond.
My (ex) husband was convicted on charges resulting from mortgage fraud. I, as well as many others were made part of the explosion. I would like to say that through no fault of my own, I had my life blown up and received these life altering scars, but sadly, that is not the case. I trusted those around me and did things without question. As such, I made the choice to accept a plea deal…and at that moment my life changed as I, who never even had so much as a parking ticket, became emblazoned with the Scarlet “F” of a felon.
This “fraud” was just one piece of a 20+ year puzzle that became evident once the man I trusted was not there to manipulate the pieces. What I thought was happening around me throughout the life we shared together was just a facade that he created to hide the shenanigans he had been pulling for so many years …including falsifying information on his college loans just a year into our relationship, and using monies left to our children by my late grandmother to pay for his high priced attorney.
I was not the wife who stood by her man, and although it was justified, it only added to the amount of failure that I felt as a wife, a daughter, a mother, and a friend. I considered myself a smart woman, yet I was easily a pawn in his deception.
In my path of healing, I needed to make amends. It was what the law required and what all the books say. To be successful, I first had to free myself from the control of others. I had to begin to forgive whether it was deserved or not. Not forget or excuse the harm that was done but forgive it. One day, I gave forgiveness to the one I thought I most needed to, my ex. I felt at that moment that the burden of the world was lifted from me, but the feeling did not last long. I was back to the anger, depression, sadness and a thousand other feelings that overtook my very existence. Over time, I gave forgiveness to the not so obvious people… those who, in retrospect, used my need for their help as a manipulative tool for their own benefit. Once again, I felt time constrained relief.
Day in and day out I battled to try to figure out how to escape the torture chamber I was living in.
Then life hit true rock bottom. You know that’s where you are when you are hit smack in the face with the realization that the action you just did resulted in “WTF?” and you find yourself screaming in your car or crying alone in a closet.
Strangely enough, that was probably one of the best moments of my life! You see, retail therapy came next. While wandering around a store, trying to hold my emotions together, trying to figure out how to just feel better – at least for a few minutes – I turned a corner and saw a simple framed print with words that would change my life yet again … Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly.
And so began a long scary emotional roller coaster of self-discovery. I dedicated my time to learn psychological principles and techniques to bridge the disconnection that I had between what I rationally knew and what I was feeling, between my thoughts and my actions. I learned that my own self-critical thinking was combining with societal conditioning to make me feel irrelevant, guilt ridden, stressed, anxious, insecure, frustrated, unworthy, uncertain, never seen, and never good enough. What I eventually learned was that the person I most needed to forgive so that I could move forward was staring back at me in the mirror.
I learned to accept what happened in my life and refused to let it define me.
I learned to understand that people may have a perception of me but that is not who I am.
I forgave myself for my mistakes and started to believe that I deserved a happy fulfilling life.
Being in the blast radius of a white-collar crime truly is a life sentence. One that can show its ugliness when you least expect it. However, it is a sentence that I am grateful for. As with each twist and turn I had to make a choice to let what was happening ruin me or to forge ahead. In doing such, I found a strength in me that I didn’t know I had and discovered who I truly am.
Now, many years later, with renewed faith in humanity, a hefty dose of trust in myself and a sprinkling of pixie dust just for good measure, I am living that happy and fulfilling life.
Today I transform lives. I walk beside those personally affected as they deal with the fallout of what is transpiring in their lives, and move forward from their trauma, problems and/or ramifications. I educate those in the field so that they understand that their clients are not numbers, and their actions can have unintended consequences. I choose to help my fellow casualties of white-collar crime get through this with less bumps, bruises and scars than I have. In doing so we will not only help each other, but we will create actionable use of our collective experiences and knowledge to work to change policy. Through support and education, we can have a better future.
I hope that we get to spend more time together in this journey. In the meantime…
Do more of what makes you happy!
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Ally Brown is a caring and compassionate professional dedicated to helping those within the blast radius of White-Collar Crime to navigate their journey and transform their lives.
She frequently describes herself as a Certified Master Coach with a PhD from the School of Hard Knocks. Officially, she has a Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing, received her Professional Coaching Certification from UNC and has spent the better part of the past 12 years studying emotional intelligence, REBT, CBT, enneagram, the law of attraction, mindfulness, confidence building, psychological first aid and more.
Drawing on over 25 years of experience as a trusted leader, mentor and partner in the health care industry, Ally now focuses her time making a difference in a more personal way. Her experience as a White-Collar Survivor, combined with her extensive education, provide the perfect foundation to help those who are lost to find their way, and those who are stuck and scared find success. As founder and principal of White-Collar Circle, Ally has been privileged to work with people from a variety of backgrounds to move past their fears and live more purposeful and abundant lives. She considers herself a guide with expertise in sweeping up the shrapnel from the explosion that has taken place. People that have worked with her say that she has a real heart, an authentic style and has that little spark of tenacity to get you where you want to be.
Ally provides customized mentorship, support, and education with a focus on breaking down the barriers formed by the inequities encompassing those directly and indirectly involved in White-Collar crime.
Her first book, All I Ask of You (working title), is an in-depth firsthand look into what it is like to live under the guise of a web of lies woven by those you trust with all that you are. It is set to publish in Summer 2023.
It is her pledge to one day use her experiences, and those of all she works with, to change policy as she believes our mistakes do not define us but are just a part of who we are.
Originally from the Boston area, Ally currently resides in Lake Norman, NC with her husband and their 5 rescue cats, affectionately referred to as The Furry Five.
To contact Ally Brown, please email her at [email protected] or visit www.whitecollarcircle.com
White Collar Support Group 350th Meeting Reflection: “Phase to Phase”, by Fellow Traveler Aillyn Aulov
Aillyn Aulov is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday evenings. On March 6, 2023, we will hold our 350th meeting – 7 years of community! In honor of this milestone, we’ve asked our group members, guests and supporters to contribute written reflections for publication on our websites, emails, newsletters and social media. If you would like to submit your contribution, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!
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I have been a traveler through the criminal justice system for close to 4 years now. I was convicted of healthcare fraud last January, 2022. I served 7 months in 2 federal facilities before being released on Cares Act on home confinement. While I am profoundly grateful to be home to finish out the rest of my sentence, I am exhausted from all the travel.
You see the thing about this kind of travel is we cannot see what is at the end of each phase, or tunnel we pass through. There is the investigation phase, the pretrial phase, the sentencing phase, prison phase and so forth. We try our best to squint and see what is on the other side but no matter what we do, we cannot plan anything. “Man plans and G-d laughs” We thought our plans were awesome and we were on top of the world for a while. We were respected members of society with much status. We lost all that when we chose to do what we did.
While I was in each phase of the judicial process, I prayed and prayed and thought, okay now this is the end of the line. I thought for sure the deepest darkest tunnel was prison and prayed every day to be released. I soon entered the next phase, the halfway house. I quickly learned that the re-entry center is not serving any purpose but to remind me at least 5 times a day that I am still an inmate with a different title now. I was told the day I arrived, “You are still serving your sentence, you just have the convenience of sleeping in your own bed at night.”
I must gather mental strength each day to continue traveling, knowing my journey is far from ending. I might have to travel for the rest of my life. I must look in the mirror each day and remind myself, “Your job does not define you. You are a human being who made an unwise decision. Be kind to yourself and give yourself time to heal.”
I am preparing myself for the next phase which also has its unknowns, probation. I pray because that is all I have left to help me. Pray deeply with all your heart knowing that things will get better again and your life will take on a new normal.
G-d grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
White Collar Support Group 350th Meeting Reflection: “A Guide for People Reporting to Prison”, by Fellow Traveler John DiMenna
John DiMenna is a member of our White Collar Support Group that meets on Zoom on Monday evenings. On March 6, 2023, we will hold our 350th meeting – 7 years of community! In honor of this milestone, we’ve asked our group members, guests and supporters to contribute written reflections for publication on our websites, emails, newsletters and social media. If you would like to submit your contribution, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you!
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I spent eighteen months in a federal prison camp and recall quite indelibly my arrival, having had little or no preparation for it. Below is a guide that I’ve prepared for prospective ‘new arrivals’ based on my own experience. Transitioning to prison is a challenge for anyone. Every person’s experience will be unique to themselves but within that each will endure a period of adjustment for which the government provides no guidance or preparation. The information is drawn from my personal experience and hopefully will facilitate a more informed transition and ensure a less stressful period of adjustment.
1. Don’t assume that where you’re going is a place populated solely by “bad people.” Many good people are in prison who have made bad decisions, but are regretful, and are determined to make amends and return to a better life.
2. For me the days went by slowly, but the weeks passed steadily. I was told this early on and didn’t believe it, but that was my experience. However, how time is experienced once you’re inside is highly individualized and a positive attitude is important. The recommendations below can help you manage the daily tedium.
3. There can be a lot of dead time in prison, and reading was essential for me to productively fill the down time. There should be a ‘library’ available, and friends/family can send you books and magazines if they come directly from the publishers.
4. I kept a low profile, especially in the beginning. Those who called attention to themselves were not received well. Quietly and slowly assimilate below the radar to transition into the community.
5. As for the men I served my time with, many greeted me warmly and offered help to adjust. I was the oldest inmate in the camp which probably provided some deference. But I saw every arrival greeted the same way. There can be a brotherhood/sisterhood among inmates. Embrace that and return the favor to new people when you can.
6. I was careful choosing my friends and took my time choosing them. I avoided those inmates who were essentially doing life on the installment plan: the incorrigible.
7. I establish my routine as soon as possible. You’ll likely be required to have a job. Most camps are working camps. Try and find one you’re comfortable with─ask other inmates about theirs. Sometimes you’re just assigned to one, but often you can request one. Once you are comfortable with your job, reading period, exercise, and community of friends, the time will move along. I worked in the kitchen as a dishwasher. I actually grew to like it and bonded with the guys I worked with. Something about the tactile there. Sometimes I think it saved me.
8. Be a ghost to the staff. Inmates don’t win arguments with CO’s. Challenging staff, whether guards or administrative personnel, can be a mistake if not done within the available administrative remedies. Some administrators and guards are professional, some are nasty, and none are your friends.
9. The surprising and saving grace for me was the discovery that real friendships are possible in prison, inevitable, in fact. Real bonds grow out of shared experiences, especially unpleasant ones.
10. In my experience, prison was an opportunity to improve my health. It sounds counterintuitive, but it’s true. There’s no alcohol, no smoking, and a lot of time and convenient facilities to exercise. Many inmates leave prison having lost weight and are fitter than they arrived.
11. Make prison a building block. One thing you have in prison is time to contemplate and figure out a next-life plan. I aspired to be a writer in my twenties. I used the time in prison to return to it and have continuted to apprentice myself since my release and working to become a full time free lance writer.
12. There will be dark moments, moments when the full impact of your incarceration is overwhelming but they pass, mainly through your routine and friends.
13. One of the most frustrating aspects of prison is the inability to help those left behind. It is said that having a loved one in prison is harder on those left at home. The most you can do for those is to assure them that you are doing ok. Don’t share your ‘bad days’ or other issues unless they require intervention.
14. If you have an issue with another inmate that can prove tricky. It’s probably best to resolve it directly with the other inmate. Do not request prison staff to intervene. Reporting violations of other inmates to staff is anathema to the prison population.
15. Commissary (Prison store): Although inmates may be given some toiletries and clothes, you’ll want to supplement them with commissary provisions. You will have assigned days that the commissary is available for you. So, you’ll have to get by with what the prison gives you upon arrival. However, some inmates may provide you with some basics until you can access the commissary but this can vary depending upon where you are assigned . Your commissary purchases are funded by your Inmate Trust Fund account and your family can get the funds to you via Western Union, Money Gram, or the BOP Lockbox (via US mail) . There are instructions on the BOP website. It’s not complicated.
16. Some inmates may request you purchase provisions for them when their commissary accounts are depleted. It’s best to avoid these arrangements unless you are one hundred percent comfortable with that inmate.
17. Finally, accept that it will be a challenge in the beginning. But try and resolve before entering that you’ll go with the flow and accept whatever happens as a powerful experience that can provide a heightened self-awareness and new perspective that would not have been possible without this experience.
Overall, if you approach this with a good attitude, a realistic perspective and a steely resolve to overcome the challenges, you will come out the other side a stronger and better person. Thousands of others have done so. And many people here at White Collar Support Group are rooting for you.
YouTube Video: White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series: Scott Semple, Former Connecticut Commissioner of Correction and Founder of Semple Consulting, LLC, on Zoom, March 21, 2023, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
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White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series: Scott Semple, Former Connecticut Commissioner of Correction and Founder of Semple Consulting, LLC, on Zoom, March 21, 2023.
We were honored to have Scott Semple as the March speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series.
Information about our White Collar Support Group: http://prisonist.org
Scott Semple was appointed commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Correction in March 2015. Scott joined the Connecticut Department of Correction as a front line Correction Officer in 1988 at the high security Cheshire Correctional Institution. During his tenure, he has served the agency in numerous administrative capacities, to include pre-service training coordinator, external and legislative affairs, and warden of the state’s only correctional facility dedicated for men requiring comprehensive treatment services for significant mental illness.
As commissioner, Scott has successfully implemented several performance based and progressive correctional practices designed to support both staff and incarcerated people. Most notable, they include the Emerging Adult Units known as the TRUE Unit (located in Cheshire) and the WORTH Unit (located in Niantic). He has also repurposed an existing correctional facility and other specific housing units for specialized populations to provide a therapeutic environment designed to support community reintegration. Scott has implemented numerous agency-wide staff wellness initiatives to support, respond and improve policies evolving around the complex and unique needs associated with the health and welfare of correctional professionals and their families.
On January 1, 2019, after more than 30-years of service to the agency, Scott retired from public service. He now provides professional consult through Semple Consulting, LLC on various criminal justice and correctional related endeavors.
White Collar Week Newsletter Jan ’23: https://conta.cc/3WBp3KJ
Sponsored by Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.: https://prisonist.org
Sponsored by GrantLaw, PLLC: https://grantlaw.com
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Rev. Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. (he, him, his)
Co-founder, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc.
Greenwich CT & Nationwide
Mailing: P.O. Box 1, Woodbury, CT 06798
Website: https://prisonist.org
Email: [email protected]
Office: 212-859-3512
Donations (501c3): http://bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/…/jeff-grant…/731344
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant
Media Relations: [email protected]
Speaking Engagements: https://www.espeakers.com/marketplace/profile/39107
Newsletter Contains Attorney Advertising
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
© Copyright 2023, Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., All rights reserved.
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YouTube Video: White Collar Week Tuesday Speaker Series, Jim Campbell, Author of Madoff Talks, the book that inspired the Netflix documentary, Madoff: The Monster of Wall Street, on Zoom, Feb. 21, 2023, 7 pm ET, 4 pm PT.
We are honored to have Jim Campbell as the February speaker in our White Collar Support Group Tuesday Speaker Series.
Information about our White Collar Support Group: https//:prisonist.org
