Brittany Dawn's announcement about Freedom Shield Foundation pivoting to support victims of human trafficking A) made me nauseous and B) immediately made me think of Operation Underground Railroad.
OUR is a sham human trafficking rescue organization headed by a man named Timothy Ballard. This group is comprised of former military members, ex-LEO, and anyone else who wants to LARP as an action movie hero. They form "jump teams" who fly to foreign countries and conduct sting operations. They say they work in tandem with local law enforcement, but they are all private citizens who haven't been invited or trained.
This article is written by a woman who got involved with Operation Underground Railroad and went on a "rescue mission" after Ballard found her blog and reached out to her.
Here are six more articles about OUR if you're interested
This podcast episode quickly summarizes the articles I linked above.
It's a whole rabbit hole that I think people should be more aware of. It sounds like Freedom Shield Foundation/Sheila Fraud are trying to do what OUR is doing. Terrifying.
(Someone on the old sub first introduced me to OUR but I don't remember who it was. If you're here, thanks!)
See story here
I see this organizations logo somewhat frequently, people are animated by their mission (as they should be). They're based here in Utah.
Allegedly they might be trying to profit from the non-profit. There's a photo where they show links between the non-profit and their for-profit entities.
I read this guys book recently and it gave me a lot of pause, I had the distinct feeling he was trying to sell me on something and he kept invoking God and supernatural explanations for why he had success in some mission. I didn't enjoy the book very much but definitely applauded his efforts but something just felt off in the way he told stories. If you grew up in church you might recognize the style...like lots of dramatic setup that is ultimately defeated with a prayer type stuff.
Then I found out they're under criminal investigation and it makes so much sense. There are a number of articles raising serious concerns about the stories that Tim tells.
Here's one: https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7a3qw/a-famed-anti-sex-trafficking-group-has-a-problem-with-the-truth
Obviously there haven't been any indictments yet, so the investigation could still be ongoing or perhaps didn't find enough evidence. Regardless of that there are reasons to be cautious of supporting this group, perhaps put your money towards a charity that does the same work and has integrity.
Tim also wrote a piece defending Trump's border wall years ago. It was supremely ignorant and relied on appeal to emotion instead of hard facts.
https://americancrimejournal.com/tag/operation-underground-railroad/
https://www.fox13now.com/news/fox-13-investigates/anti-human-trafficking-group-operation-underground-railroad-under-investigation-by-utah-prosecutor?_amp=true
Evidently somebody turned in evidence to Troy Rawlings in Davis county Utah of potential monetary fraud and other crimes
Furthermore, people who have left the organization have cited specific issues with Tim Ballard himself
Tim Ballard has stated publicly, or at least in personal meetings, that Elder Ballard is a “silent partner” with the group
My Q step sis is now convinced that she is going to be a "lead" volunteer for this group. What do people know about this? Just when I tought there might be a slight hope that she was starting to think again.. WRONG!!
I saw this article and these excerpts on the Mormon Stories' FB page. Wild stuff, if true:
“A group from OUR’s so-called “jump team” had entered the village, pretending to be part of a medical team; real medical workers had been hired as cover and were providing actual care to people in the village while the “operators,” as they’re called, quietly surveyed the scene. But the missing child was nowhere to be found. And then, to the dismay of several people on the ground, Ballard produced his source: a psychic medium from Utah.”
“It's laughable to call what he did ops,” a veteran who worked with OUR overseas said of Ballard. “They’d go and just push for pimps to show up with girls.” If presented with sex workers of legal age, OUR would insist on younger girls—a method that several experts said could, when combined with a lack of intelligence-gathering and vetting, potentially lead to girls being trafficked who otherwise wouldn't have been.
“In my opinion that’s what he was doing: He was creating demand,” said one of the former military members who worked with OUR overseas. “Because you’d see the pimps show up with a weird mix of girls—young, but experienced—then there’d be a couple really young girls. It felt to me like they'd been roped in because Tim had flashed so much money.”
