White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

Barry Bekkedam Sets the Record Straight, White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Ep. 30

Today on the podcast we have Barry Bekkedam. This is Barry’s first interview since returning from Federal prison last year.

What I like most about Barry was his openness and candor as he painstakingly takes us through his remarkable story from immigrant, to starter on the Villanova basketball team (he’s 6’10” tall!), to real estate investor, to multi-billion dollar Main Line investment manager – and then to his problems when some of his clients lost money in the Rothstein Ponzi scheme and then as former Chairman of a bank accused of TARP fraud.

Barry took his case to trial and was partially vindicated, but ultimately was sentenced to serve 11 months in a Federal prison camp. Barry’s is an incredible story of resilience through over a decade of issues

So, coming up, Barry Bekkedam sets the record straight. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us.  – Jeff

David Israel & Spencer Oberg, The Entrepreneurs, Ep. 29 White Collar Week with Jeff Grant

Today on the podcast we have David Israel and Spencer Oberg, two successful entrepreneurs who both served time in prison. You might know them by their international vegan cheese company, Good Planet Foods, or by their justice-centric media company, Unincarcerated.

In this episode we certainly go into David and Spence's incredible backstories. But more, we leqarn the nuts and bolts of how to be entrepreneurial and succeed after prison, the hard work it takes, how to analyze your strengths and weaknesses, and how to get past your shame to find your passion and authenticity.

So, coming up, The Entrepreneurs. David Israel and Spencer Oberg. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. - Jeff

________________________

Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. The ministry hosts an online White Collar Support Group every Monday night on Zoom; we will hold our 250th meeting on Mar. 29, 2021. 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 Social Ethics.

Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 18+ years), ministry, public speaking and corporate training. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide individuals, families and organizations forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame. Not a prison coach; not a prison consultant.

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: https://prisonist.org

Email: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ
Psychology Today: www.psychologytoday.com/us/therapists…ury-ct/731344
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/revjeffgrant
not a prison coach, not a prison consultant

Fraud Investigators, Kelly Paxton & Brian Willingham on White Collar Week, Ep. 28

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 28, Guests: Fraud Investigators, Kelly Paxton & Brian Willingham

Link to article on prisonist.org, watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & SoundCloud: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-podcast-ep-27-guest-brian-cuban-author-of-the-book-the-addicted-lawyer-tales-of-the-bar-booze-blow-and-redemption/

Today on the podcast we have Kelly Paxton and Brian Willingham, two private investigators who work in the world of fraud, embezzlement, and other white collar crimes. Kelly is in Oregon, and is known as The Pink Collar Crime Expert; she hosts a podcast, Great Women in Fraud. Brian is the Founder of The Diligentia Group in New York, and has been voted “best private investigator in the galaxy”! 

Both Kelly and Brian are certified fraud examiners, private investigators, professional speakers and social media influencers. 

So coming up, Fraud Investigators. Kelly Paxton & Brian Willingham. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. – Jeff

_____________________

Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. The ministry hosts an online White Collar Support Group every Monday night on Zoom; we will hold our 250th meeting on Mar. 29, 2021. 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 Social Ethics.

Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 18+ years), ministry, public speaking and corporate training. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide individuals, families and organizations forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame. Not a prison coach; not a prison consultant.

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking PPP, PPP2, EIDL Disaster 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.

Clara CFO YouTube Channel, Sponsored by Upside Financial: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Smolinski Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

 

Brian Cuban, The Addicted Lawyer, Ep. 27 on White Collar Week

White Collar Week with Jeff Grant, Podcast Ep. 27, Guest: Brian Cuban, Author of the Book, "The Addicted Lawyer: Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow and Redemption"

Link to article on prisonist.org, watch on YouTube, listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts & SoundCloud: https://prisonist.org/white-collar-week-with-jeff-grant-podcast-ep-27-guest-brian-cuban-author-of-the-book-the-addicted-lawyer-tales-of-the-bar-booze-blow-and-redemption/

Today on the podcast we have Brian Cuban, author of the book, The Addicted Lawyer, Tales of the Bar, Booze, Blow and Redemption. If Brian's last name sounds familiar it's because, yes, he is billionaire Mark Cuban's brother. But believe me, that about the least interesting part of Brian's story. 

Brian and I connected on so many levels: as former layers (although Brian did not lose his law license), the madness of alcoholism and drug abuse, body dysphoria, eating disorders, and then, finally, a newfound peace in the rooms of recovery. 

Brian is clean and sober for over 14 years. 

So coming up, Brian Cuban. The Addicted Lawyer. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. - Jeff

_________________________

Jeff Grant, J.D., M.Div. is Co-Founder of Progressive Prison Ministries, Inc., the world’s first ministry serving the white collar justice community. The ministry hosts an online White Collar Support Group every Monday night on Zoom; we will hold our 250th meeting on Mar. 29, 2021. 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 Social Ethics.

Jeff has over three decades of experience in crisis management, business, law (former), reentry, recovery (clean & sober 18+ years), ministry, public speaking and corporate training. Sometimes referred to in the press as “The Minister to Hedge Funders,” he uses his experience and background to guide individuals, families and organizations forward in their lives, relationships, careers and business opportunities, and to help them to stop making the kinds of decisions that previously resulted in loss, suffering and shame. Not a prison coach; not a prison consultant.

Entrepreneur’s #4 Most Viewed Article of 2020: I Went to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud – 7 Things to Know When Taking PPP, PPP2, EIDL Disaster 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.

Clara CFO YouTube Channel, Sponsored by Upside Financial: Thinking About PPP Fraud?: Hannah Smolinski Interviews Jeff Grant About Going to Prison for SBA Loan Fraud. Link to article and YouTube video here.

White Collar Week, Ep. 26: Oppression & Identity with Guests: Jaco & Leslie Theron

Today on the podcast we have Jaco and Leslie Theron, two ministers in South Africa serving the poor and marginalized people in the bush. You might already be asking, what do South African missionaries have to do with White Collar justice? Well, I urge you to watch or listen to this episode in order to find out.

Leslie was my classmate at Union Theological Seminary about a decade ago, we've stayed Facebook friends ever since. Last summer, at the start of the pandemic, my wife Lynn and I were in the backyard most weekends and listened to Jaco and Leslie preach on Facebook Live. What we heard and learned changed us forever and taught me huge lessons in identity and oppression - helpful to white collar families and all people on the margins, including myself.

So coming up, Jaco and Leslie Theron. From South Africa. On White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. - Jeff

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.

White Collar Week, Ep. 25: Ex-Philadelphia D.A. Seth Williams, 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

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.

White Collar Week, Ep. 24: Ex-Philadelphia D.A. Seth Williams, 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

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.

White Collar Week, Ep. 23: The Vanishing Trial with Guest Bob 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

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.

White Collar Week, Ep. 22: The Goddess, Babz Rawls Ivy

Today on the podcast we have my dear friend, Babz Rawls Ivy. Many of you know Babz as she is my co-host on our radio show and podcast, Criminal Justice Insider. We are in our fourth season of Criminal Justice Insider, still the only regularly scheduled criminal justice radio program in Connecticut, although we have many national justice-related guests, as well.

Trigger alert: in this episode, we go deep into Babz's story of childhood abuse and trafficking. We also discuss Babz's life since, from attending Barber-Scotia College, a historically Black college in the South, voter registration with Andrew Young and Rev. Jesse Jackson, earning a Master of Public Administration at Baruch College in New York City, rape crisis counseling, and then as an Alderman in New Haven, where she ran afoul with the law. After serving time in Danbury Federal Prison, Babz went on to be lifted up and serve as Editor of the Inner City Newspaper in New Haven, radio show host, and board member of many arts and justice non-profits in New Haven. 

So coming up, Babz Rawls Ivy on White Collar Week. We hope you will join us. - Jeff

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.

White Collar Week, Ep. 21: SBA, PPP & EIDL: Hannah Smolinski, CPA, Virtual CFO

Today on the podcast, we have Hannah Smolinski. Hannah is a CPA and founder of Clara CFO Group, a virtual CFO and consulting services firm providing small businesses with financial clarity as they grow.  Her experience for one of the world's largest accounting firms inspired her to bring that level of financial expertise to the small business community through financial strategy, best practices, and knowledge to realize their missions.

Hannah is also a Senior Advisor to Upside Financial and its PPP forgiveness product, PPP Advisor Pro.

This episode is chock full of important and topical financial information for small businesses and entrepreneurs, up to the minute details about PPP, PPP2, and EIDL loans, and so much more.

So coming up, Hannah Smolinski, the Virtual CFO, on White Collar Week. I hope you will join us. - Jeff

______________________
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, 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.

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: jgrant@prisonist.org
Office: 203-405-6249
Donations (501c3): bit.ly/donate35T9kMZ

Not a prison coach, not a prison consultant.