Brent Cassity | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brent Douglas Cassity 1967 (age 57–58) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Education | University of Missouri (BA) |
| Occupations | Author, podcast host, speaker |
| Years active | 2021–present |
| Known for | Nightmare Success podcast and memoir |
| Criminal charge(s) | Wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering |
| Criminal penalty | 60 months federal prison, $435 million restitution (joint) |
| Criminal status | Released |
| Website | nightmaresuccess |
Brent Douglas Cassity (born c. 1967) is an American former business executive, author, and podcast host.
Cassity was convicted in 2013 for his role in the National Prearranged Services fraud case, one of the largest corporate fraud prosecutions in Missouri history, and sentenced to 60 months in federal prison. [1] [2] [3]
Following his release from federal prison, he became a podcast host and speaker focused on issues affecting justice-impacted individuals. [4]
Cassity was raised in the St. Louis metropolitan area. [5] [3] He attended the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri, where he studied political science and government. [4]
After graduating from the University of Missouri, Cassity returned to St. Louis and joined his father's funeral services business. [4] [6] He eventually served as director and chairman of Lincoln Memorial Life Insurance Company for approximately seven to eight years. He also held positions including CEO, chairman, president, and director of Forever Enterprises Inc., and president and director of National Heritage Enterprises. National Prearranged Services, Inc. (NPS) sold prearranged funeral contracts to customers across multiple states including Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. [7] [8]
Federal prosecutors alleged that from 1992 to 2008, NPS operated as a "fraudulent Ponzi-like scheme" in which customer funds were diverted for unauthorized purposes rather than being secured in trusts or insurance policies as required by state law. [7] [9] The scheme affected more than 97,000 customers and resulted in losses exceeding $450 million. [7] [1] [2]
On November 22, 2010, Cassity was among multiple defendants indicted on federal fraud charges. [10] [11]
On July 3, 2013, Cassity pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to four counts: wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, and willfully permitting a convicted felon to participate in the affairs of an insurance company. [1] [7]
On November 14, 2013, U.S. District Judge Jean C. Hamilton sentenced Cassity to 60 months in federal prison. He and other defendants were ordered to pay joint restitution of $435 million. [4] [1] [2] [5]
Six defendants were convicted in the NPS case, receiving combined sentences of 36 years: [5] [1] [2]
In addition to criminal proceedings, a civil jury awarded $491 million in damages related to the fraud. [12] [13] [14]
The case was featured in an episode of the CNBC documentary series American Greed titled "Doug and Brent Cassity," which aired on June 9, 2016. [15] [16] [17]
Following his release from federal prison, Cassity launched the podcast Nightmare Success In and Out in 2021. The podcast features interviews with justice-impacted individuals and has released over 200 episodes. He also published a memoir, Nightmare Success: Loyalty, Betrayal, Life Behind Bars, Adapting, and Finally Breaking Free, in 2021. [4]
Cassity is a member of the White Collar Support Group, a peer support organization for individuals affected by white-collar criminal prosecution. He has served as keynote interviewer at the organization's annual White Collar Conference. At the 2025 conference, he interviewed Stanford Law professor Joe Bankman, father of convicted FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried. [18] [4] [19]