20. NYC Corporate Lawyer To Federal Prison, Part 1

Jeff Grant Was a Lawyer who Went to Federal Prison

Anyone can make decisions that can lead them down the path to prison.

In today's Prison Professors podcast, we hear from Jeff Grant. Jeff built his career as a lawyer in New York City. During our podcast today, Jeff tells us how he built a career representing wealthy individuals and companies in real estate related transactions.

He suffered an accident. While recuperating, he learned how to manipulate the medical profession to get more prescription medicine. He became addicted to opioids. As an addict, he began making bad decisions. Those bad decisions included commingling misappropriating funds. To cover up the crime, he looked for a loan. When filling out the paperwork for the loan, Jeff lied.

Authorities began to investigate Jeff. In the podcast, he describes how he lived in denial. After a suicide attempt, he checked himself into a rehab center. And in time, he pleaded guilty to charges related to fraud. The guilty plea resulted in an 18-month federal prison term for Jeff.

Jeff describes some of the challenges he faced. Authorities required Jeff to serve his sentence at the low-security federal prison in Allenwood. While he was there, Jeff had both successes and challenges. The salient points that I took away from his interview follow:

• Jeff prepared himself before surrendering to federal prison.
• Jeff became sober long before he surrendered to the Low-security Federal Prison in Allenwood.
• Jeff chose to pursue a new activity while in prison. He focused on exercise, fitness, and learning guitar.
• Jeff made a commitment to emerge better than when he went in.

It's not easy to prepare for success after prison. But in this first of a two-part series, Jeff reveals his strategy. In the next episode, he talks about how he went on to earn a divinity degree, become a minister, and grew to lead the Family ReEntry nonprofit organization, with more than 100 employees.