Notes from a criminal investigation obtained by The Tribune show former Operation Underground Railroad employees had concerns that the group led donors to believe their money was financing child-rescue operations, even though they had been told that the group had almost entirely stopped doing those operations years earlier. Those interviewed also said that OUR founder Tim Ballard had used the name of LDS apostle M. Russel Ballard to add gravitas to his endeavors.
Documents from a criminal investigation also uncovered examples of him using a senior Latter-day Saint apostle’s name to help pump up his operation.
The records also shed some light on how OUR’s founder, Tim Ballard, allegedly exploited the name of M. Russell Ballard, acting president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to add gravitas to his endeavors. David Lopez, a former Navy SEAL involved in training operatives and leading OUR operations, told investigators he was offered a $25,000 monthly salary to join Ballard’s Slave Stealers. Lopez said the head of the organization told him that Ballard was making $900,000 annually from the organization.
“Once it became clear Tim Ballard had betrayed their friendship, through the unauthorized use of President Ballard’s name for Tim Ballard’s personal advantage and [for] activity regarded as morally unacceptable,” the church said in a statement, “President Ballard withdrew his association.” In the early days, OUR would deploy operatives to various parts of the globe in an attempt to snare child sex traffickers and dismantle their operations.
OUR donors might have been surprised to learn that was the case. In a 2021 interview with investigators, Stockwell recounts how, now OUR’s president and chief operating officer, began telling her “we both know that we don’t rescue here anymore. We both know that we hardly rescue abroad anymore.”
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The murder of Donna O'Steen inside her Ballard home remains unsolved 22 years laterAccording to police, the suspected killer entered her house near the Shilshole Marina, subdued her with duct tape and stabbed her to death.
Read more »
Widener University notes 67% increase in freshman enrollment, its largest first-year class in historyWidener achieved the increase while accepting fewer students this year and maintaining the class quality with an average GPA of 3.5, Widener leaders said.
Read more »
Padres notes: Scott Barlow finds his fit, Austin Nola update, Steven Wilson's planPadres reliever Scott Barlow had been rolling until stumbling in his second inning of work on Saturday against the Cardinals
Read more »
China Evergrande: unable to meet qualifications for issuance of new notes By ReutersChina Evergrande: unable to meet qualifications for issuance of new notes
Read more »
No One Will Save You: Studio Notes Came From People Who Love MoviesNo One Will Save You writer and director Brian Duffield said that while 20th Century gave him a lot of notes, even the ones he disagreed with, he found challenging.
Read more »