I Survived Combat in Iraq — Came Home & Built a Nonprofit — Then the Feds Sent Me to Prison

Jeremy Harrell is a United States Army combat veteran who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom suffered mental health and brain injuries from combat received a 70% plus Individual Unemployability disability rating from the VA and spent years battling PTSD depression and sleeplessness. In 2018 he started a private Facebook page to help fellow veterans. In 2019 he incorporated Veterans Club a faith based nonprofit dedicated to helping veterans overcome PTSD traumatic brain injuries substance abuse and homelessness. He was an unpaid volunteer. He received no salary. In 2024 the Biden DOJ convicted him of theft of government funds for receiving VA disability benefits while serving as an unpaid volunteer CEO. In December 2024 he was sentenced to 6 months in federal prison and 6 months of home confinement. He surrendered to federal prison in Ashland Kentucky on January 28 2025. In this episode of Locked In with Ian Bick, Jeremy tells the complete story — from serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to the combat injuries that ended his military career to building Veterans Club from a Facebook page into a nationally recognized nonprofit to the Biden DOJ investigation that he believes was politically motivated to what federal prison was really like for a combat veteran chaplain who was there for volunteering. #prison #veteran #truecrimestories Connect with Jeremy Harrell: Instagram:   / jeremy_w_harrell_official   X: https://x.com/JeremyWHarrell Website: https://veteransclubinc.org/ Hosted, Executive Produced & Edited By Ian Bick: https://www.instagram.com/ian_bick/?h... https://ianbick.com/ Timestamps: 00:00 Combat Veteran Who Built a Nonprofit — Then Got Sent to Federal Prison — Jeremy's Full Story 00:36 His Difficult Childhood and the Family Dynamics That Shaped Everything 03:40 His Relationship With His Father and the Family Cycles That Defined His Early Years 07:12 His Mother's Struggles and the Family Hardship That Followed 08:19 His Early Passions and What Drove Him Toward a Life of Service 10:54 Choosing a Positive Path Despite Everything Working Against Him 13:54 Joining the Military in 1999 and What That Decision Really Meant 15:54 Boot Camp — the Expectations and the Reality That Followed 18:16 Graduating Boot Camp and the Transition to Advanced Training 23:21 The Sense of Purpose He Found After Boot Camp 25:01 His Deployment After 9/11 and What Heading to Iraq Really Looked Like 27:37 Life and Work Inside Iraq Detention Centers and What That World Required 29:56 The Prisoners the Conditions and the Lessons He Learned From Iraq 33:41 The Key Lessons From Combat and the Life Long Bonds That Followed 37:23 Returning Home — the Reentry Struggles and the PTSD Nobody Prepared Him For 43:31 Coping Relationships and What Seeking Help After Combat Really Looked Like 49:01 Post Military Life — UPS Banking and the Career Struggles That Followed 53:35 Medical Retirement and the Birth of His Veteran Nonprofit 55:02 Building a Successful Veteran Nonprofit and What That Mission Really Required 56:57 The Federal Indictment — the Accusations and the Confusion That Followed 01:00:01 The Legal Fight and the Federal Trial Challenges That Defined His Case 01:07:13 The Trial the Sentencing and the Aftermath That Changed Everything 01:17:34 Entering Federal Prison and What Those First Days Really Required 01:23:41 Life in Prison — His Adjustment and How He Continued Serving Others Inside 01:36:12 The Halfway House and the Complex Prison Release Process 01:44:51 His Post Prison Life and the Pursuit of Clemency That Continues 01:52:16 Continuing the Fight — His Legal Battles and Advocacy Work 02:10:15 The Lessons He Learned the Silver Linings He Found and His Hope for the Future 02:14:49 His Impact on Veterans and the Final Reflections He Wants Everyone to Hear To advertise on the show, contact [email protected] or visit https://advertising.libsyn.com/Locked...