American Crime Journal’s ongoing investigative series into Operation Underground Railroad and its Founder and CEO Tim Ballard.
Documents
Second lawsuit filed against Tim Ballard, OUR and others
Initial lawsuit filed against Tim Ballard, OUR and others
Testimony of Alessandra Parisi Serano
Further Reading
LVMPD Human Trafficking Task Force Calls Out O.U.R. on Facebook
Latest articles in our Derailed Series
Owner of Nevada Brothel Became ‘Major Stakeholder’ In Operation Underground Railroad
Brothel Owner Lance Gilman Donated $33,000 and Advocated Legalized Prostitution at Operation Underground Railroad Gala Fundraiser. Gilman bragged at a press event, “They’ve[O.U.R.] had a couple of functions here and I’ve put a ton of money in there” For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad On March 8, 2018,…
Married Couple Launches Second Lawsuit Against Tim Ballard
The legal representatives of the five women who have initiated a lawsuit against Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad confirmed the filing of a second lawsuit against Tim Ballard. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad In a further blow to embattled anti-child-trafficking advocate Tim Ballard, a second lawsuit…
Lawsuit against OUR and Tim Ballard alleges sexual misconduct, battery & fraud
Five women allege in a lawsuit that Tim Ballard the founder of Operation Underground Railroad sexually assaulted them For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Tim Ballard testifies before the House Homeland Security Committee in Washington on Sept. 13, 2023 The narrative surrounding Tim Ballard, whose exploits as an…
Mormon Apostle M. Russell Ballard: Victim or Accomplice?
In mid-September when a Mormon Church spokesman denounced former Operation Underground Railroad president Tim Ballard, Ballard was accused of engaging in “morally unacceptable activities.” Tim Ballard was publicly chastised for making “unauthorized use” of the name of leading LDS Apostle M. Russell Ballard (no relation). For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed:…
Tim Ballard’s Couples Ruse is “Strange Rationalization to Groom Women”
According to law enforcement agents well-versed in undercover operations, there is no official or unofficial strategy known as “the couples ruse” employed in the frontline war against pedophilia, child sex abuse and human trafficking. For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad In the mind of Tim Ballard or what…
O.U.R. Chief Legal Officer Alessandra Serano Resigns
ACJ has confirmed that Alessandra Serrano who was the Assistant U.S. Attorney that oversaw the prosecution of Earl Buchanan and later became Chief Legal Officer for Operation Underground Railroad has resigned. For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad In a post on LinkedIn Serrano wrote, “I’m proud to announce…
Tim Ballard Under Attack: the Sexual Misconduct Allegations
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad When Tim Ballard was forced out as president and CEO of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) there was no announcement. His ouster was not made public until VICE News broke the story, months after Ballard left OUR. But even then the grounds for…
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Denounces Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Following an extensive investigative series by Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman of Vice News, the LDS Church denounced Tim Ballard after documents obtained in the now closed Davis County and FBI criminal investigation into Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad illustrate extensive…
Exposing the Sound of Freedom Hoax
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad The mega-hit movie Sound of Freedom may carry the tagline “Based on a True Story,” but its primary plotline is pure fiction. The film portrays Tim Ballard, the founder of Operation Underground Railroad (OUR), as a Rambo-like hero who ventures deep into…
Angel Studios’ $175 Million “Pay it Forward” Scheme and the Astroturfing of “Sound of Freedom”
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Unanswered Questions & Controversial Practices: Unveiling Angel Studios’ “Pay It Forward” Program At an initial glance, Angel Studios’ “Pay it Forward” scheme presents itself as a seemingly benevolent gesture, evoking a sense of warm altruism that resonates with most. The act of…
Mormon Stories: Sound of Freedom featuring Anna Merlan, Tim Marchman and Lynn Packer
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Mormon Stories Podcast with John Dehlin discusses the new hit movie Sound of Freedom – based loosely on the work of Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad. Joining us for the interview will be journalists Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman for…
O.U.R. Quietly Exposes Tim Ballard’s Big Lie
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad MAGA republicans and QAnon adherents are beating their chests and “taking it to the libs” with their new Christian porn flick, Sound of Freedom. Little do they know, it was all a hoax. For nearly a decade, Tim Ballard peddled his “Pedro,…
OUR & the LDS Church’s Promotional Movies
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories“. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States Army…
OUR’s Hookers from Heaven
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories“. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States Army…
UTAH SATANIC RITUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
If you have any information or have suggested corrections, we want to hear from you. Contact Lynn Packer or Damion Moore at damion@americancrimejournal.com Editor’s Note and Warning: Discretion is advised. This video contains graphic descriptions of child sexual abuse taken from depositions, documents and testimony including victim’s accusations used as evidence in Gordon Bowen’s child…
O.U.R. Attorney and Firm Kirton McConkie Helps LDS Church Cover up Sex Abuse
Operation Underground Railroad retained Kirton McConkie despite the fact they operate a “catch and kill” scheme on behalf of the LDS Church to silence sex abuse victims and their families. The attorney that represents Tim Ballard and O.U.R., Peter Schofield, oversaw the scheme for years. Three children who were sexually abused by their late father…
What is Utah’s Attorney General Smoking?
For additional articles covering O.U.R., please go to ACJ Investigates: Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories“. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States Army…
The Arrest of Earl Venton Buchanan
Founded on an elaborate scam to dupe donors and stolen valor, court records and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol reports leaves Tim Ballard’s “Origin Story” in shambles. Ballard’s “Origin Story” was made into the feature film Sound of Freedom. Said to be “the most important film of the 21st Century”. Mel Gibson appears to be…
Tim Ballard and Sean Reyes Unhinged
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
Polaris Project is “deeply concerned” over OUR’s “Numbers Game”
Anti-human trafficking NGO Polaris Project is “deeply concerned” over The Numbers Game Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) and Tim Ballard continues to play. Under multiple criminal investigations and their legitimacy in question, Tim Ballard and OUR drifted to “the point of no return”. With their carefully crafted public image now shed, their ruse fell apart.
OUR’s Prized Propaganda Movie Embroiled in Controversy
Sound of Freedom is what some close to Tim Ballard describe as “a highly fictionalized account of his founding of Operation Underground Railroad”. Nearly four years after completion, the film is not only in dire straits, but may expose Tim Ballard to additional misconduct, criminal figures and liabilities. Allegations of financial fraud, the involvement of…
American Airlines issues swift rebuke of Operation Underground Railroad’s bogus “partnership” claim with the airline
American Airlines issued a swift response to claims made by radical Q-Anon aligned Operation Underground Railroad and its founder, Tim Ballard, that the two had entered into a “partnership”. Within hours, Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad removed their posts, without justification or apology. Then, with the best excuse invented since “the dog ate my homework”,…
Ballard Doubles Down on Numbers; O.U.R. in Ukraine
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
Falling Down: The Demise of Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Please return to this page for future updates and supporting and corroborating documents as we begin to disseminate, dissect and thoroughly vet the figures and claims. With the growing number of former O.U.R. employees that have been cooperating with…
ACJ Obtains Livestream of Coco Berthmann Asking for Donations, Detailing Cancer Diagnosis
ACJ has obtained Coco Berthmann’s February 5, 2022, Instagram livestream from a follower who “knew something was off” and decided to hit record. In the 13-minute video, Berthmann reveals her cancer diagnosis and prognosis, her symptoms, pain, and the struggles ahead. She also “feels bad for asking” for help in any kind of “financial way”. Fool…
doTerra Internal Memo states it found “concrete evidence” of O.U.R. misconduct
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad On the eve of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, Missy Larsen Vice President of Corporate Communications for doTERRA International sent out an internal memo addressing concerns about their ties to Operation Underground Railroad. They reveal they had severed all ties with O.U.R.…
Sound of Freedom (2022) Funded by Medicare Fraud?
Plagued by controversy and negative press the last three years, Sound of Freedom may be suffering its final deathblow before its officially released. Bizarre statements, threats and fringe associations by its lead actor, Jim Caviezel. Dozens of law enforcement agencies severing ties or downplaying their involvement with Operation Underground Railroad. Mounting criminal investigations into the…
O.U.R. Operative & Donor Awaits Sentencing for $100 Million Medicare Fraud
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Andrew McCubbins was a self-proclaimed billionaire and rising star in Operation Underground Railroad. McCubbins also was the lead investor for Sound of Freedom, the unreleased biopic about Tim Ballard. Just weeks after Lynn Packer announced the Davis County District Attorney’s criminal…
The Radicalization of Tim Ballard: The Prager U Endorsement
The fallout from his delayed response to the Wayfair conspiracy theory, ongoing criminal investigations, Jim Caviezel publicly revealing Tim Ballard as the primary source of the ‘adrenochrome’ myth peddled by the Hollywood and right-wing elite, may have been the final nail in Operation Underground Railroad’s coffin for the mainstream. Rather than opening the books, becoming…
Utah’s System of Injustice: The Michael Drury Story
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
O.U.R.’s Batman Unmasked
Tim Ballard’s First O.U.R. Wingman: The Legend of Steven T. Cass For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with…
Utah’s Attorney General and the Stripper/Cocaine Allegation
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
Rambo Reyes & O.U.R.: The Colombian Rescue Mission
Who invited whom? This is reprint from a 2015 article printed from the now unpublished PackerChroncle archives that is to coincide with a Special Report on Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal…
City refuses $25,000 donation from Operation Underground Railroad
Citing ‘cultural appropriation, deteriorating relationships with numerous law enforcement agencies and ongoing criminal investigations into operation into Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.)’, the City Council of Norman, Oklahoma and the Norman Police Department (NPD) unanimously refuse an O.U.R. donation worth $25,270.50. NPD and City of Norman join a growing list of law enforcement agencies and municipalities…
Elizabeth Frazier: Another Sham Child Sex Trafficking Victim
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
COMING SOON: The $30 Million Nazarene Fund Scam
Tim Ballard and Glenn Beck hatch scheme to obtain $30 million “If Glenn Beck and Tim Ballard really gave a shit about Christian minorities in Afghanistan, they would have been here 18 months ago” Tim Ballard and several of his non-profits including Operation Underground Railroad and The Nazarene Fund have been under multiple criminal investigations…
CharityWatch Downgrades O.U.R.’s rating to a “question mark”
The American Institute of Philanthropy dba CharityWatch, is a nationally acclaimed charity rater and nonprofit watchdog organization founded in 1992 that recently downgraded Operation Underground Railroad to now just a “?” rating. Citing the multiple criminal investigations, the fantastic investigative series by Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman of VICE News and articles/videos by Lynn Packer…
Exposed: The Coco Berthmann Child Sex Slave Hoax
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Lynn graduated from Utah State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He served in the United States…
Criminal Investigation into O.U.R. Expands
Former O.U.R. Aftercare Director Ed Smart Breaks His Silence Also in this report: The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been working the case. Davis County District Attorney Troy Rawlings says his criminal investigation [into O.U.R.] is “vibrant and productive”, that his investigators are dealing with a “cascade of evidence and witnesses.” The Salt Lake City…
Mutiny at Operation Underground Railroad
Tim Ballard’s Sister Tevya Ware and Jon Lines form Anti-Human Trafficking Non-Profit with Former Head of Washington State Patrol’s Missing & Exploited Children Task Force There is an old saying, idiom, perhaps it should be a proverb that a wise man once said, “They left, like rats fleeing a sinking ship” and it appears current…
Operation Underground Railroad: Crimes Uncovered
The Expanding Criminal Investigation into OUR Tim Ballard’s secret plan to monetize, Operation Underground Railroad. And to use his plan to proselytize prospective converts for the Mormon church. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad In August 2019, Tim Ballard summoned his most trusted OUR associates and partners…
Tim Ballard’s Secret “Whiteboard Meeting” in August 2019
Tim Ballard’s secret plan to monetize, Operation Underground Railroad. And to use his plan to proselytize prospective converts for the Mormon church. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, legal consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The…
O.U.R. Continues the Dangerous Practice of Victim & Witness Intimidation
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Operation Underground Railroad Retains Kirton McConkie to Silence & Intimidate ex-Jump Team Member Where o’ where is the Utah press? You created this monster, Operation Underground Railroad. For years Utah journalists opted for stenography over fact-checking Tim Ballard, Utah Attorney General Sean…
The Elizabeth Smart Foundation Severed All Ties with O.U.R.
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Ed Smart “Left in disgust” In August 2014, Tim Ballard and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announced that Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) and The Elizabeth Smart Foundation were merging. The merger was highly publicized in the Utah press, lending O.U.R. legitimacy.…
A Divorce From Hell: doTerra & Operation Underground Railroad
The World’s Largest Essential Oils MLM Partnered with the World’s Most Prominent Child Rescue Scam The Utah multi-level marketing company doTERRA is having a marital spat with its’ long-time child rescue partner Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). Now that OUR is under criminal investigation the row could turn into a complete parting of the ways. That…
VICE News Exposes Tim Ballard’s O.U.R. Poster Child “Liliana” as Elaborate Scam
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad On December 10, 2020, a VICE News article exposed Tim Ballard weaving an elaborate web of lies with exaggerated & fabricated law enforcement partnerships and claiming to rescue a trafficking victim who rescued herself. “Liliana’s story”, helped O.U.R. raise over $21…
The Nazarene Fund
Where have all the millions gone? Conservative commentator Glenn Beck founded an organization called The Nazarene Fund which falsely claims to have rescued sex slaves held by ISIS terrorists before allied military forces dismantled their Islamic State. The Nazarene Fund (TNF) is one of several organizations related to Utah-based Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) which is…
Operation Underground Railroad and “The Covenant”
Lynn Packer examines the relationship between the LDS Church and Operation Underground Railroad An apostle of the Mormon Church could get drawn into a Utah criminal investigation conducted by Davis County attorney Troy Rawlings. Russell Ballard, president of the LDS Church’s Quorum of the 12 Apostles, has both spiritual and alleged financial ties to the…
Ballard, Reyes & Trump
The QANON Connection President Donald Trump and Operation Underground Railroad’s two top pitch men—OUR CEO Tim Ballard and Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes—are milking QAnon conspiracy theories to advance their anti-child-sex slavery agendas. In his Video Op-Ed V Lynn Packer explores their QAnon connections. He also reintroduces the name of a man who was once…
Tim Ballard’s Answers to “Hardball” Questions
Lynn Packer fact-checks Tim Ballard’s answers to what Ballard calls controversial questions. This video op-ed is the fourth in a series of reports on Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) which purports to rescue children who were abducted and being held as slaves in prostitution sex rings that cater to pedophiles. OUR, a nonprofit that raises millions…
DERAILED: Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.) | What is Human Trafficking?
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- For Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad American Crime Journal examines the definition of human trafficking and the misapplication & misrepresentation of the term. It’s proper definition vs. how the religious right/conservative’s pedophilia obsession & fantasies are being represented as human trafficking. Ultimately how Mormon (LDS) extremist…
BREAKING NEWS: Anti-human trafficking group Operation Underground Railroad under criminal investigation by Davis County Attorney
The following article is BREAKING NEWS from FOX 13 Salt Lake City regarding Operation Underground Railroad and Tim Ballard. As you know, Lynn Packer mentioned in his video we published a few weeks ago, that Davis County prosecutor was launching a criminal investigation into Tim Ballard & Operation Underground Railroad. Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings…
Operation Underground Railroad and Religious Extremism
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and former CIA agent Tim Ballard wear their devout Mormonism on their sleeves when they promote a paramilitary team that swoops in to rescue child sex slaves from sinister traffickers and pedophiles. My third-in-a series video op-ed examines the Mormonism factor, that is to say how extreme religious views impact…
Derailed: O.U.R.| Tim Ballard’s Buzzfeed Response, Distraction and LDS Biblical Fan-Fiction
For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes and Operation Underground Railroad
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes should be helping Utah rid its unsavory moniker “Fraud Capital of the United States.” Instead he is deeply involved with the Utah nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) that could become the most widely known fraud in Utah history. A former FBI agent calls OUR founder Tim Ballard and Reyes “idiots”…
Tim Ballard’s Mission
Editor’s Note August 9, 2020: This article is now an ACJ Investigates series. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, television news consultant, law consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Mr. Packer…
O.U.R. Receives $150,000 to $350,000 in PPP Funds
Editor’s Note August 9, 2020: This article is now an ACJ Investigates series. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad OUR raids & loots PPP funds created for struggling businesses in dire need Despite having another stellar year fundraising through fearmongering, misleading donors with unsubstantiated claims, selling ‘individual…
Operation Underground Railroad’s Roots
Editor’s Note August 9, 2020: This article is now an ACJ Investigates series. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Editor’s Note: Lynn Packer is an award-winning investigative reporter, television news consultant, law consultant and author of “Lying for the Lord: The Paul H. Dunn Stories”. Mr. Packer…
Operation Underground Railroad: Sex, Women & Fundamentalism
Editor’s Note: Editor’s Note August 9, 2020: This article is now an ACJ Investigates series. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad ACJ Investigates: OUR’s ‘Jihad’ Against Human Trafficking is deeply rooted in LDS Fundamentalism. Their war to end it is not what you think. The enemy is…
Operation Underground Railroad Retains Controversial Firm Kirton McConkie, Threatens Legal Action Against ACJ
Editor’s Note August 9, 2020: This article is now an ACJ Investigates series. For additional articles covering OUR, please go to ACJ Investigates- Derailed: Operation Underground Railroad Anti-Human Trafficking organization Operation Underground Railroad claims to have personally rescued over 5,000 women and children from sex traffickers. In March 2019, ACJ began investigating an incident involving…
