Jeffrey Lloyd Grayson (May 4, 1942 - November 27, 2009) was an American businessman and criminal. A native of

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

, he co-founded and later served as

Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

(CEO) of Capital Consultants. Grayson made legally questionable loans to Wilshire Credit Corporation and its CEO

Andrew Wiederhorn Andrew A. Wiederhorn (born February 10, 1966) is an American businessman from Portland, Oregon. He is the CEO and President of FAT Brands Inc., a restaurant franchising company that owns 17 restaurant brands and franchises over 2,300 units worldwid ...

. Grayson was convicted of

mail fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to defraud another, and are federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the federal government if the illegal activit ...

along with his son Barclay Grayson.

Early life

Jeffrey Grayson was born on May 4, 1942, in

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

. He and his twin sister Janet were born to N. Philip and Blossom Grayson, though the parents divorced in the 1950s. His father was a small business owner. He attended Duniway School in Portland and later graduated from Cleveland High School, also in Portland. Grayson then attended the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in Eugene where he spent one year on the cheerleading squad and was a member of the

Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...

fraternity. While in college his mother and stepfather were convicted of perjury and concealing assets during bankruptcy in 1961. Grayson graduated with a business degree from Oregon and then enrolled at

Willamette University College of Law Willamette University College of Law is the law school of Willamette University. Located in Salem, Oregon, and founded in 1883, Willamette is the oldest law school in the Pacific Northwest. It has approximately 24 full-time law professors and e ...

in Salem. He left after a single year to work for

U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp (stylized as us bancorp) is an American bank holding company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and incorporated in Delaware. It is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association, and is the fifth largest banking institution i ...

in securities. Grayson’s twin sister died in a car wreck in 1967.

Capital Consultants

In 1968, Grayson and law school roommate

Charles Swindells Charles Joseph "Butch" Swindells (born 1942) is a former United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa. He was appointed to the position by U.S. President George W. Bush, with the strong support of his home state of Oregon's two U.S. Senators. ...

founded Capital Consultants. The company dealt with investment management. The company grew and by 1976 had $140 million in assets under its management including the pensions for

Tektronix Tektronix, Inc., historically widely known as Tek, is an American company best known for manufacturing test and measurement devices such as oscilloscopes, logic analyzers, and video and mobile test protocol equipment. Originally an independent ...

and county workers in Multnomah County. Capital Consultants was then the largest independent funds manager in the Pacific Northwest, and at one point had $1 billion in assets under management. The company then had a series of legal issues that included a suspension of the company’s trading license by the SEC and an investigation by the

Oregon Attorney General The Oregon Attorney General is a statutory office within the executive branch of the state of Oregon, and serves as the chief legal officer of the state, heading its Department of Justice with its six operating divisions. The attorney general is ch ...

. Grayson was diagnosed with

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

at the age of 42, leading him to join the board of the

National Multiple Sclerosis Society The National Multiple Sclerosis Society (NMSS) is a nonprofit organization that was founded in New York City as the Association for Advancement of Research on Multiple Sclerosis on March 11, 1946 by Sylvia Lawry. Ms. Lawry was a lawyer looking fo ...

’s local chapter. He also was the chairman of the board for the

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI, ) is a science and technology museum in Portland, Oregon, United States. It contains three auditoriums, including a large-screen theatre, planetarium, and exhibition halls with a variety of hands ...

. Grayson’s pledge of $1.5 million to the University of Oregon and chairing their endowment campaign led to the naming of a building on campus for the Graysons, which was later revoked. In the late 1990s, the company and Grayson became involved in a scheme similar to a Ponzi scheme. The

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street Crash of 1929. The primary purpose of the SEC is to enforce the law against market ...

sued the company and Grayson in September 2000. On September 21, 2000, the district court placed CCL into receivership and appointed appellee Thomas F. Lennon as receiver. A judge later removed Grayson from control of the company, and federal prosecutors filed a charges for 22 separate counts in October 2001. Grayson pleaded guilty to mail fraud and another charge in the case, and could have received up to four years in jail. He suffered a stroke in 2002 that left him unable to appear or testify in court, and prevented him from being sentenced to prison.

Later life and death

Grayson blamed the crimes on an attempt to recover the investment losses of his clients. Following the stroke, Grayson was sent to a long-term care facility in Southwest Portland. Jeffrey Grayson died on November 27, 2009, at the age of 67 in Portland, Oregon.

References

External links

Willamette Week: The Shell Game
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grayson, Jeffrey American chief executives of financial services companies 1942 births Corporate crime American white-collar criminals University of Oregon alumni Businesspeople from Portland, Oregon People from Salem, Oregon Willamette University College of Law alumni 2009 deaths American people convicted of fraud Cleveland High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni American businesspeople convicted of crimes 20th-century American businesspeople