LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Over a month after he was released from a halfway house in June, Veteran's Club founder and combat veteran Jeremy Harrell is speaking out.
A federal jury in Frankfort convicted Harrell of theft of government benefits in August 2024 for accepting more than $100,000 in unemployment benefits the government said he was ineligible to receive in his position as the head of the Veteran's Club.
In a statement on July 24, Harrell said he was never paid for any of his volunteer work for the nonprofit. He also said his work was critical to his post-combat PTSD recovery.
"I wasn't collecting a paycheck -- I was saving lives, including my own," Harrell said a statement. "This wasn’t fraud. This was healing through service."
Harrell was released June 3 from a Lexington halfway house where he was serving a six-month sentence. He is now under house arrest and is actively seeking a full pardon from President Donald Trump.
Reality star and justice reform advocate Savannah Chrisley has thrown her support behind Harrell, helping to facilitate his release in June. Harrell credits her for helping to bring his story to light.
Harrell also has another unlikely supporter, according to his statement: newly appointed Federal Bureau of Prisons Director William Marshall, who called Harrell personally upon his release to check in with him, marking the first time a FBOP Director has called an active inmate.
Previous Coverage:
Veteran's Club founder convicted of improperly taking unemployment benefits
Founder of Veteran's Club indicted for improperly taking unemployment benefits
Louisville Veteran's Club founder pleads not guilty to federal fraud charges
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