285: Tom Simon – Prison Ponzi Scheme

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In this episode, retired agent Tom Simon reviews his investigation of Las Vegas couple Perry and Rochelle Griggs for orchestrating a prison Ponzi scheme.

While serving 8 years in federal prison for securities fraud, Perry Griggs started another scam, where fellow prisoners and their families were the victims. When Griggs was paroled, he and his wife disappeared. A national fugitive manhunt, resulting in their arrest and conviction. CNBC featured this prison Ponzi scheme case on American Greed.

Tom Simon served in the FBI for 26 years. He was assigned to Chicago and Honolulu Divisions where he spent most of his time investigating financial crimes with an expertise in investment fraud and embezzlement schemes. He also was assigned as a part-time media spokesperson for the field offices.

Later in his career, he transferred to the Jacksonville Division in Florida, where he was assigned to the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) and worked on the Human Intelligence (HUMINT) Squad, recruiting and handling confidential human sources in the fields of terrorism and investment fraud, before ending his career, serving on the Financial Crime Team managing a caseload of white-collar crimes.

Since retiring, he’s been operating his own private investigative agency, Simon Worldwide Investigations, focusing on embezzlement and fraud investigations, security consulting for corporate clients, sensitive personal matters and expert witness testimony. You can checkout his short, clever, and very informative videos about the FBI on his website and social media.

Special Agent (Retired)

Tom Simon

8/1995 – 5/2021

“Unfortunately, she neglected to tell her investors that her silent partner was not in fact Jesus, but a man sitting in federal prison running a fraud scheme.”—Retired Agent Tom Simon