Jeff sokol / credex scam? no...

It is the hope of Jeff Sokol that anyone looking to potentially do business with him take the time to read the truth, which is printed here as a testament to his faith and character.  If anyone needs to talk, please use the Contact page at the top.  Nothing written in this post is meant to be defamatory in any manner, and names are abbreviated where possible for this purpose.  

"I received some bad advice, telling me to not draw attention to this issue, but I've had enough of laying quiet on this and hoping people who know the truth will do the right thing to clear my name.  In a time when few men do the right thing without being watched, let me be one of those men who do the right thing when no one else is watching but God, and let me teach my son that character and integrity is not something you have only when people are watching.  It is time to clear the air." - Jeff Sokol

Jeffrey Sokol has always made it a strong point as an insurance licensed fiduciary and a Christian father to obey the law in every capacity, and has always done what is right by people, as much as he could.  Jeff has a wife and four children, and would never jeopardize his family's happiness for anything in the world.  The term "scam" has never been associated with Jeff Sokol in his over 20 years of working with people both online and offline.  What is disgusting is that people who have never met Jeff Sokol, let alone spoken with him, make such wild accusations about his character, while people who have met him and called him, like C. Scott (aka CC9356, who started this slander and was helped by Jeff anyway), received TREMENDOUS help in return. 

Accusation Against Jeff Sokol
Jeffrey Sokol is accused by people of being part of some scam to steal people's money through the guise of a JV partnership arrangement in conjunction with a supposed "serial scammer", Ken P. and his company Credex Capital Consulting/Executive Management Group.  THIS ACCUSATION IS COMPLETELY FALSE.

How We Got Here
In 2017, after Jeff Sokol decided to leave the oil and gas industry for good, he decided to refocus his efforts back into life/health insurance and retirement planning, thus creating BeneShield Financial, LLC, a Louisiana based limited liability company.

In 2019, after listening to Dan Pena, he decided he wanted to raise capital to grow BeneShield Financial through mergers and acquisitions, and help his sub-agents do the same, growing the team to a brick and mortar capacity.

In January of 2019, an acquaintance introduced Jeff to a man who owned a merchant bank  named John D., who was the "CEO" of Credex Capital Consulting, Inc. at the time.  After speaking with John, Jeff told him the plan to grow BeneShield.  John then introduced Jeff to a man named Ken P.  At the time, BeneShield had over 400 sub-agents through Freedom Equity Group, and Ken was impressed by this ability to recruit people toward a common goal. 

Jeff had concentrated solely on obtaining this $10 million necessary for growing BeneShield to up to 1000 locations across the United States, and let his monthly business fall below making ends meet.  Jeff's dream of expanding BeneShield never materialized, and then the offer came.

The Job Offer
In May of 2019, Ken P., remembering Jeff's ability to recruit people and knowing his financial situation, called Jeff and offered him a job to work with Credex as the Head of Marketing.  Ken told Jeff of the projects he has through rehabbing opportunity zones, and was looking for people to partner with his group in a Joint Venture manner.  They had to have good credit for reliability, and be good with numbers.  Ken promised them $7,000/month in a salary as soon as the JV company was profitable from the opportunity zone fix & flips, if they were to JV with Credex, which Ken dubbed the "PG Executive Program." 

Ken convinced Jeff (and everyone else) that the numbers worked tremendously, and showed him pictures of rehabs that were already being done by this group, as well as profits, proforma, capital, etc.  He offered Jeff a flat salary that covered his monthly bills, and being convinced after a week or so, Jeff accepted the proposal, thinking some regular income would be good for his family, and he would be providing a good service to people looking to leverage their capital, without being directly involved.  Jeff looked forward to the opportunity to be involved in something he considered to be philanthropic in the area of helping to refurbish opportunity zones, however small of a role he may play.  The numbers looked great, as the properties being shown could be purchased for as little as $2500 in opportunity zones, rehabbed for $40,000, and sold for as much as $135,000.  Along with the pictures and case studies already done, this was pretty exciting to all who saw the presentation.

People had the option to either use their own saved money for the JV, or to use their credit and get a loan to put into the JV.  Ken used his own contacts he called the "funder" to help facilitate loans for the JV partners if they requested it.

Jeff's Role as an Employee of Credex
Jeff already had the infrastructure for creating a team within his BeneShield infrastructure and insurance agent contacts.  Jeff recruited people (who were employees of and paid by Credex, just as Jeff was) to work in the capacity of interviewing and onboarding JV partners, using ZipRecruiter as well as a custom online marketing funnel to bring in candidates to this opportunity. 

Jeff's only role was to set up the online advertising campaign, and provide the online technical infrastructure/framework (website, advertising, and e-signature systems) to make everything flow.  The team Jeff put together was managed and coached by Ken Phillips through group calls.  Jeff Sokol/BeneShield was never a partner with Credex in any capacity, and had zero access or knowledge of any corporate accounts or expenditures.  Ken was using attorney Craig B. for escrow services, and every JV partnership was signed and documented carefully using what is now called "Formstack Sign," previously "Insuresign." Ken had several attorneys keeping everything above board, but Jeff never had conversations with the lawyers doing the paperwork.  All money from JV partners was sent to Craig B., a notable California based escrow attorney, to whom only Ken had direct contact.

Jeff Sokol never solicited for, nor received any money from the JV partners, nor was his name or his company's name on any of their JV agreements or paperwork.  Jeff Sokol has never had any affiliation with Ken P. or Credex/Executive Management Group prior to May 2019, when he accepted the job.  Jeff Sokol never had any direct contact with the JV partners, although the Formstack Sign/Insuresign emails had his name as the sender of the documents, which was automatic and done through Gwen N., who worked for and was paid by Credex.

Jeff Leaving his Role as an Employee of Credex
The campaigns started in June 2019. Several months went by, and more and more candidates started coming into the program.  By September, no profits were yet coming in from the projects, but Ken always  legitimate sounding reason of why things were delayed, but everything was happening in a positive manner.  By November, Jeff decided to stop marketing for Credex until people started realizing profits (although old ads were still live through ZipRecruiter).  That day never came, everything shut down in December/January and by mid-Feburary 2020 Jeff had cut all communications and ties with Credex, which had started calling itself "Executive Management Group", and was no longer accepting a salary.    Please note that Gwen kept her BeneShield email address and still used Jeff's formstack access to get documents signed, until it was discovered by Jeff and shut down.

Regrets
Jeff's only mistake was allowing his corporate name, website, and infrastructure to be used in conjunction with Credex.  Many smart people, including Jeff Sokol, were convinced by Ken's intelligence and vast knowledge of finance.  Being that Jeff was coming from the retirement planning industry, he was not very well versed in lending and finance.  Plus, John D. who had a seemingly illustrious career and a respected reputation by bankers was the CEO, and handled payments at times.  Please note that John D. was hired by Ken, and was only helping part time, but Ken controlled the operations.  Ken hired another CEO when John decided to step down to pursue other business opportunities, named Mike C.

​Jeff's Follow Up
​Jeff has on several occasions followed up with Ken, in an attempt to discover when people were going to get their principle back and get into profits.  Ken explained to Jeff that this program he created was not only successful, but wildly successful, allowing them to acquire enough in ground assets to put the JV partners to be in cash for the next decade, according to Ken.  Often times, projects take 24-36 months before a return is seen, and we see this in private equity all the time.  Again, Jeff has no direct knowledge of the bank accounts or Ken's investments for the JV program he created, as Ken keeps these things close to the vest.

​Ken reiterated that he and his attorneys have a full paper trail of every investment made into assets, but he cannot disclose this information to Jeff Sokol due to his NDA.  He maintains that he has not disclosed the inner details to the JV partners because people who are acting irrationally may try to call and "verify" projects and banking contacts, which will only cause damage to the projects and banking relationships.

Ken does admit that the real estate opportunity zone project was a failure, and redirected funds into other opportunities according to his background in commodities, especially coal, in an attempt to keep the JV partners profitable, even if the time frame took longer than originally expected.  Reasons for the failure of the opportunity zone project were not disclosed to Jeff.

Jeff has no way of knowing anything more about these projects, other than what Ken has told him.  Ken fully understands everyone's frustration, as well as Jeff's frustration.  He knows that Jeff's only concern when being hired by Credex was that he wanted to maintain a solid reputation, and that real estate seemed safe to Jeff.

Jeff can only go on what Ken has told him, but again, has no direct knowledge of the validity or invalidity of Ken's claims.  Ken maintains that he has a complete paper trail of every transaction, and that some people's fears of being scammed are irrational.

Moving Forward, by Jeff Sokol
I am truly sick to my stomach over what has happened to my name and reputation by people who have never met me or asked me for help or guidance.  My entire life, I have strived to keep my name good.  I have sold life insurance, health insurance, annuities, and other information products I have developed over the last 20 years.  If someone wasn't satisfied, that person was either refunded, consulted with, or both.  In over 20 years, no one has ever called me a scammer or accused me of being anything less than a genuine straight shooter, and an honest man.

Most of all, I am sick that I worked for a project that so far has not yielded complete returns, and people have suffered.  If you've read my book, Smart Wealth Secrets, you'll know I am highly RISK AVERSE when it comes to wealth creation and/or investing.  Real estate is NOT considered risky, and I allowed myself to participate only because of that fact.

This message was written to tell the complete truth of what happened, and I am still willing to assist anyone who needs it, in any capacity I can.  Unfortunately, when people are hurt they tend to lash out in unreasonable, irrational, and irresponsible ways, and just want to hurt someone else in return, anyone they can.  I have been on the receiving end of this, and I've done nothing but help every person who has asked...including C. Scott who without consulting me, accused me of stealing $50,000 and "running off" with the money. C. Scott sent $50,000 to Credex, without any JV agreement in place, just cashed it out of her 401k and wired the money.  I had no idea this even took place, but this woman scorned would not believe that fact, simply because Gwen used a BeneShield email address....she was looking to hurt anyone she could. I had no idea that she sent in money to Credex, and when she contacted me, I got it back for her as fast as I could.  She apologized on the phone for slandering me, and even tried to get things taken down, but did not print redactions after I got her back 100% of the money she sent into Credex.  Why not?  Because Credex did not agree to compensate her for taking the money out of her 401k, which incurred a $17,000 penalty.  

AS A FIDUCIARY DEALING IN RETIREMENT PLANNING, I NEVER WOULD HAVE ALLOWED THIS.....

See the attempted redactions from C. Scott below:  

C. Scott ended up being paid back by Credex the entire $50,000 they received from her.  She refused to hold up her end and make redaction statements where possible and necessary.

Know this, my family and I have been hurt very badly.  My family has shed tears over these lies, accusations, and subsequent damage to my career, but I am not acting irrationally.  However, anyone committing slander/libel against me without a written apology and full redaction online, will be sued for having caused irreparable damage and having cost me deals worth millions, simply because you were too stubborn to ask for help.

​I will not allow my family name to be dragged through the mud or the industry that I love be ruined by those who seek to do me harm.  I urge you to read Romans 1:30...

and Psalm 140, Verse 11....

In Closing....

This too shall pass.  I have learned a few things here:

1.)  Trust no one with your name, absolutely no one.
2.)  Never even CONSULT with a business who intends on using someone else's money as project capital.
3.)  Control EVERYTHING that has your name attached to it....
4.)  Give people the benefit of the doubt, but don't let their actions affect you.
5.)  Grown men and women will know risks, sign documents, and send money to an escrow attorney they've never met, then call it a "scam" if the project takes longer than expected to produce returns, while accepting zero responsibility for their actions.
6.)  You couldn't pay me enough to operate a hedge fund.
7.)  Get good mentors with a good track record in business, and elevate your circle.
8.)  There is no limit to what people will take from you, and your help will never be good enough for most people who consider themselves to be hurt or "victimized" in some way, but that should not stop you from helping people.  Do what is right by everyone to the best of your ability, and let God handle the rest.

The bottom line here is that if I had not been the chosen marketer, Ken would've hired someone else to do the same thing, and the same people would be still involved who put up money.  I was simply offered the opportunity, I accepted the job, and now I'm suffering for it, right along with everyone else.  Money can be regained, credit can be repaired, but the evil of slander means that reputations cannot be repaired.  Unfortunately, "mob mentality" is a real thing, and people lose all common sense when they get worked up into a frenzy.  I am doing my best here to mitigate the losses the slanderers have caused my family, and to help those who feel they have been hurt financially.

In closing, it is my sincerest hope that everyone get made whole who signed Joint Venture Agreements with Credex or Executive Management Group, and has yet to realize the full returns/profitability (everyone received at least 20% back so far) in the time they expected.  I am still willing to consult with anyone who is hurting from this, even though their actions were outside of my control.  This offer has been on the table for many months, and no one has contacted me to date.

This entire message is a sworn testimony by Jeffrey D. Sokol, and every effort has been made to ensure 100% accuracy.