Season 7, Episode 2
Greg
Age: 50’s
Location: North Carolina
Addiction: Morphine, Internet scams
What’s memorable: What an awesome and respectable southern family man he was before the addiction took hold, so in love with his home and his wife and kids. How shockingly gullible he is with the internet scams, to the point of bankrupting his family. $600,000 and counting! I really had no idea ANYONE ever fell for advance-fee scams, but he is fully invested in that craziness. He seriously believes he’s going to get that money. It’s people like Greg that keep those Prince of Nigeria emails coming into my inbox. The conversation with “Mr. Washington” trying to get Greg’s pin number is just brutal to listen to. “It’s hard to believe that all of them are liars.” Yeah, it is, but they are. #Capitalism. I don’t think Greg would be believing any of their crap if he wasn’t on morphine.
Official Synopsis: Greg once owned a thriving business and was a devoted husband and father. But after a back injury left him disabled, he lost his business, started gambling, and became dependent on pain medication. He also became obsessed with Internet sweepstakes scams, and he has bankrupted his family in a relentless pursuit of big winnings. Having lost everything, Greg’s family just wants their proud father back.
Original Air Date: December 2009
Interventionist: Jeff
So is Gregg still clean today? How did he manage his pain without pain killers?
Greg is clean of the illegal drugs , strong morphine , gambling and was treated for throat polyps . He is much better and works with real pain management to keep him the most comfortable with least amount of meds .
He was a mess but got straightened out . I knew he would . Good man with a giant heart just got lost for a bit .
Greg’s story is one of the best that I’ve EVER seen on Intervention. His plight had both me AND my husband crying. What an amazing, charismatic, family man with a heart of pure gold. Addiction can affect ANYONE. Addiction plays no favorites, discriminates against no one, and can creep into ANY family. It can attack your mother, father, son, daughter, brother, sister, grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, cousins, in-laws, you name it!!! It (much like the devil) comes to steal, kill and destroy. It will take away everything you’ve got. It will take your family, your friends, your house, your car, your job, your health, your pride, your goals, your dreams, your ambition, your motivation and finally, your will to live – and not necessarily in that order. For those that think that it will never happen to them or those that we love, beware. Nobody is immune. Everyone is susceptible. It might affect three generations in a row and then skip two…or four…or more. Although science has proven that many people are genetically predisposed, many addicts claim to have no family history of addiction. If you know someone who is struggling with addiction, please call the Intervention staff, Intergroup (AA), NA, your local treatment center, your local health department, your local hospital, or just type “help for addiction” into your web browser. Good luck and positive thoughts being sent your way….
Well said! I loved the entire family as well as Greg! And I cried too when the family read their letters to Greg at the intervention! my thoughts and prayers are with Greg and his entire family! 🙏🏼
What a decent man Greg seems to be I can’t believe that he would have fallen for those scams! Over $600,000!
Wow, this episode was gnarly! I wasn’t surprised when we found out he was using meth and coke as well because if he was just on morphine I don’t think he would’ve acted the way he did. I think he wouldn’t have fallen for the scams like he did. In my experience, when people are tweaking they are a lot more prone to that kind of thing because you’re so up and wanting to “get rich quick” through stealing, scamming other/being scammed, etc. Being a heroin (opiate) addict once myself, I can tell you that you go numb and wouldn’t even be able to spend that much time (his son said 90% of his day) on the computer without nodding off, which we saw him do, but then he admitted in the intervention, “the stuff you guys are talking about is when I run out.” We later find out run out of uppers. It all made sense when the uppers came onto the scene. Also, from experience, I know uppers make my back pain (scoliosis and chipped vertebrae from car wreck) much much worse.
Knowing he’s clean and his bipolar condition was diagnosed and being treated, I sometimes go back to his segment just to hear his family’s singing.
I kept rewinding it to listen to his daughter and son singing… Beautiful voices!
Wonder how Greg is today. Great episode
I’m glad he’s doing well. It made a whole lot more sense at the end of the episode when he admitted he was also using meth and cocaine. It also makes more sense how he fell for all those scams. I’m glad he’s got things under control now with his pain management and bipolar disorder.
Renee Ford, same here! Fabulous singing, lovely guitar, sweet harmony. So talented! Really hope Greg is clean and the family is able to get him back.
it was so frustrating listening to those scammers! i wanted to reach through the screen and into the phone! i’m surprised no one had him declared mentally incompetent and took over handling his finances. i’d say losing over 1/2 million dollars to scammers that resulted in them having to file for bankruptcy and lose the house qualifies as being mentally incompetent! they essentially kinda just sat back and let him do it. i know it’s easier said than done but…….it’s $600,000+!!!!
To be honest, I’m surprised that his family wasn’t aware that he was also taking meth and coke (whilst also experiencing bouts of mania, what a combo!) until Jeff told them something was up. You do not stay up for days and days on morphine, if anything morphine would put you to sleep for days and days. His obsessions with the advance fee schemes also seems closer to a stimulant behavior. By the way, watching the scenes with him talking to the scammers and the scenes with his family talking about the consequences of his susceptibility to scams was excruciating. Greg seemed like such a good hearted man too, which made it so much worse. I hate the way that scammers take advantage of usually elder people who don’t really understand the internet, BEYOND scummy! Was happy to see Greg find a way to manage both his chronic pain and his bipolar disorder in the end, both conditions are challenging to manage, let alone combined. I hope he is still doing well today.
Does anyone know how he’s doing? I really hope well… This is one of my favorite episodes! Wonderful family! My thoughts and prayers go out to them? 🙏🏼
this is one of my favorite episodes in the entire series. what a beautiful family, and what a great guy Greg seems to be – the bit where he’s loaded and looking at photos of his family thanking the Lord for them… just tears my heart up! i too would love to know how Greg is doing. i hope him and his family are thriving now ❤️
Today is June 27, 2024 and just seeing this episode. Greg you have more feeling and emotion stoned towards your sisters than my brothers ever did. Greg, I cried when they showed you after 3 months WOW man I am proud of you. I can’t imagine the love you would show your family and friends straight, they are so lucky to have you. I hope to this day your still straight and you’ve given you niece and nephews cousins. Stay strong with or without an album your one heck of a person.
This isn’t the recent Greg. A page for him should be up momentarily.