What happens when you refuse to take a plea deal and the full weight of the federal system lands on you?In this explosive episode, Brent Cassity talks with Freya Pearson, whose story takes you from the world of real estate and a lottery client… to a shocking trial, 60-month sentence, and a prison system full of corruption and retaliation.

Freya opens up about:

• Being indicted and going to trial against federal prosecutors

• Corruption in the justice system and failures of defense

• Surviving Alderson and Aliceville federal prisons

• Writing up staff, exposing abuse, and surviving whatever came her way

• Coming home to rebuild her life as a paralegal and future attorney

This is a raw, unfiltered story of resilience, accountability, and the power of standing up for yourself when everyone tells you to give up.

👉 Subscribe for more real comeback stories of hope and second chances.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

At 17, a high-school party turned into a baseball-bat attack—and a life-altering case. Dieter Tejada took a plea to avoid a decade in prison, served time, then rebuilt everything: UConn, Vanderbilt Law, passing the bar—only to discover withheld exculpatory evidence years later. In September 2023, he received a full, unconditional pardon recognizing his innocence.
Host Brent Cassity and Dieter dig into why innocent people plead guilty, reentry with an ankle monitor, confronting stigma, and the long road to an innocence-based pardon.

Highlights

• The night everything changed (self-defense vs. narrative)

• Pressure to plead and how the system incentivizes it

• Reentry: college classes, ankle monitor, and resilience

• Finding 20+ missing pages in the police report

• From wrongful conviction to innocence pardon—and what changes now

If this story moves you, follow, rate, and share to amplify real second chances.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

Brent Cassity interviews Topeka Sam on the Nightmare Success Podcast, a true impact leader with an inspiring comeback story. Topeka K. Sam is a nationally recognized leader in criminal justice reform, dedicated to transforming the lives of women and girls impacted by incarceration. After serving time in federal prison herself, Topeka emerged as a powerful voice for change. She is the founder and Executive Director of The Ladies of Hope Ministries (The LOHM), an organization that provides housing, reentry support, and advocacy for formerly incarcerated women.

Her story and mission have been featured by major outlets including The Today Show, CNN, The Tamron Hall Show, and The New York Times. Topeka has advised policymakers, including speaking at the White House and testifying before Congress, to advance legislation on prison reform and second chances. Topeka received a Presidential Pardon by President Trump on December 23, 2020.

Passionate, fearless, and inspiring, Topeka Sam represents resilience and purpose-driven leadership. Through her advocacy, she challenges the stigma of incarceration and builds pathways of hope, dignity, and opportunity for women returning home. Topeka also does film work highlighting people who need to be released from prison. One of these films featured Alice Johnson that caught the attention of Kim Kardashian. Kim and Topeka teamed up and got President Trump to Pardon Ms. Johnson. Alice Johnson now serves as the Pardon Czar in the Trump Administration.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

What happens when your son builds one of the largest crypto empires in history—and then it all comes crashing down?

On this episode of Nightmare Success In and Out, Brent Cassity sits down with Joe Bankman, Stanford law professor and father of Sam Bankman-Fried, the convicted founder of FTX. In a candid and emotional conversation, Joe shares what it was like to watch the meteoric rise of FTX, the devastating collapse, and the personal toll it has taken on his family.

This is not just a story about crypto or courtroom drama—it’s about fatherhood, resilience, and what it means to survive when your worst nightmare becomes your reality. Joe opens up about the weight of public scrutiny, the heartbreak of watching his son fall, and how he and his family are finding a path forward in the shadow of a global scandal.

If you’ve ever wondered how families endure when the spotlight turns harsh, this episode is one you won’t forget.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this episode of Nightmare Success, Brent Cassity interviews Lawrence Blackmon, a defense attorney and state representative from Mississippi. He is the founder and CEO of Legal Ease. They discuss overcoming the impact of past mistakes, and the importance of expungement in helping individuals reintegrate into society. Blackmon shares his personal journey, including an unexpected arrest during college and how it led him to create Expungement AI, a platform designed to assist individuals in clearing their criminal records. The conversation also touches on the challenges faced by those with criminal records, the need for reform in the criminal justice system, and the role of mental health in these discussions. Blackmon emphasizes the importance of empowering individuals through technology and offers advice for those looking to advocate for change in the system. Go to legalease.com to get started with setting yourself free with an expungement.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this episode of Nightmare Success, host Brent Cassity interviews Joseph De Gregorio, a former Wall Street trader who faced a life-altering journey through a liver transplant, Federal prison time, and ultimately, redemption. Joseph is lucky to be alive after receiving a liver transplant that had Covid. He was finally released from the hospital ICU after months, and 2 days later he is contacted by the SEC about an investigation that ends up becoming criminal. Joseph shares his experiences of navigating the complexities of the federal justice system, the importance of mitigation strategies, and the lessons learned from his time in prison. He emphasizes the power of personal responsibility, the significance of storytelling in every circumstance, and his commitment to helping others facing similar challenges with his company JN Advisor. jnadvisor.com

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this episode of the Nightmare Success podcast, Brent Cassity, Jeff Grant, and Drew Chapin discuss the challenges faced by individuals with federal convictions, the importance of community support, and the need for federal expungement laws. Jeff Grant, co-founder of the White Collar Support group, returned home from prison, became an ordained minister, and recently received his law license back to be a practicing attorney. Drew Chapin has been out of prison for 2 1/2 years and has not stopped as the founder of the Discoverability Company that helps people with their online footprint. He has also been a speaker at Yale and other universities. Together, they share personal stories of redemption and the impact of reentry on their lives, emphasizing the significance of advocacy for justice reform and the role of community in overcoming barriers. The conversation highlights the ongoing efforts with the federal expungement initiative to become a federal statute, and always the hope for a more compassionate criminal justice system. The Group discusses the impact the White Collar Support Group, that meets every Monday night at 7pmEST on zoom, provides to justice impacted white collar individuals who are seeking their community to seek support and shared experiences. Jeff shared the information of the upcoming White Collar Conference Saturday October 11th at 9am EST. Keynote Speaker CNN Commentator and Author Jeffrey Toobin: Author of the Book "The Pardon", Brent Cassity Interview of Joe Bankman (Sam Bankman Fried's father) Pardon & Expungement Panel with Prof. Mark Osler, Prof. Doug Berman, Prof.Todd Haugh

Prof. Erin Frey Presents Yale Research Study on Second Chances for PeopleConvicted of White Collar Crimes

Restoring Our Dignity Panel with Pamela Winn, Gina Pendergraph, Michael Gaines

Emcee: Craig Stanland

Host: Jeff Grant, Co-host: Drew Chapinto register go to whitecollarconference.comto support the federal expungement initiative go to the federalexpungementinitiative.org

go to prisonist.org for information about the white collar support group

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this powerful episode of Nightmare Success In and Out, host Brent Cassity sits down with Eddie B. Ellis Jr., returning citizen, author, and advocate to unpack his personal journey from teenage conviction to lifelong activism. Arrested at age 16 and sentenced to decades in the criminal legal system, Eddie reflects on the transformative path of reentry, the perseverance it took to reclaim his voice, and the ways language and labeling shape not only identity, but opportunity. He shares firsthand what it means to rebuild, the gaps in the system he’s worked to repair—especially around solitary confinement, sentencing of youth, and supports for people coming home—and the hope he holds for social change. Listeners will walk away not just inspired by Eddie’s survival, but challenged to rethink how we see “success,” justice, and redemption.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this episode of the Nightmare Success podcast, host Brent Cassity interviews Scott Rosenblum, a renowned criminal defense attorney with over 42 years of experience with over 450 jury trials. Scott is the President and principal founding member of the Rosenblum, Schwartz, Fry, and Johnson. He is has been compared to the Michael Jordon of the courtroom by Marshall Faulk, on the best running backs in NFL history. They discuss Scott's journey into law, the intricacies of the criminal justice system, and the emotional toll of representing clients. Scott shares insights on the importance of understanding the client-lawyer relationship, the challenges of the federal system, and the need for reform in prosecutorial discretion, and other fixes that are needed in our criminal justice system. The conversation highlights the profound impact that legal outcomes have on individuals' lives and the responsibility lawyers have in navigating these complex situations.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"

In this episode of Nightmare Success, host Brent Cassity speaks with Kristen Johnson, who shares her powerful journey from addiction and incarceration to recovery and community service. Kristen discusses her supportive family, the challenges she faced, and how she turned her life around by helping others. Kristen discusses her initiative, The Light Newsletter, aimed at providing hope to those incarcerated, and she emphasizes the significance of reentry programs and community connections. Kristen shines a light on overcoming shame and finding purpose through being of service to others.

Show sponsors: Navigating the challenges of white-collar crime? The White-Collar Support Group at Prisonist.org offers guidance, resources, and a community for those affected. Discover support today at Prisonist.org Protect your online reputation with Discoverability! Use code NIGHTMARE SUCCESS for an exclusive discount on services to boost your digital image and online reputation. Visit Discoverability.co and secure your online presence today. Skip the hassle of car shopping with Auto Plaza Direct. They’ll handle every detail to find your perfect vehicle. Visit AutoPlazaDirect.com "Your personal car concierge!"