Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 11

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: some of the residents that are actually living there found out about the podcast, and they sent it to me because they know that just seven months ago, I left there with a very bad experience. it is so bad there. Like so bad. Kaylin is a former resident of Oasis of Northwest Arkansas, and she's one of the brave women who have come forward. about some of the allegations being made against LaDonna Humphrey and the sober living facility she's running. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_L: Well, tell me about it. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: I have been waiting so long for something like this to come out. I didn't know it was that bad in depth. I've only listened to a little bit of your podcast. but I just know my experience and I was gonna try to tell you that if it's gonna become like a thing, I can try to get as many women as I can to like help because I know that something needs to come of this. You know, Oh, it's a thing. So, I mean, I've spoken to a couple of former residents and they've all told me like some pretty, pretty horrible things. I've been actually working on documenting everything. Cause there's so much, This episode may be the most damning yet. Threats, harassment, corruption, yes, these are all the same allegations you've heard before in the last 10 episodes, but the difference is that this time, it's happening right now in real time. It's happening against vulnerable women who have nowhere left to go. And the worst part is, nobody seems to be taking it seriously. I didn't know about this part of the story when I first started investigating this series. I always expected new possible victims would come out of the woodwork, but nothing like this. I've reached out to the drug courts for comments, nothing. Several states, city, and county officials have been made aware, and it's going nowhere. Of all the things that LaDonna Humphrey is being accused of, this is the most concerning of all. today, you're going to hear alarming stories from former residents who lived at Oasis of Northwest Arkansas. And we're going to take a peek at the organization's financial records, which tells an even more compelling story. I'm Javier Leyva, and this is Pretend. Stories about real people pretending to be someone else. Unlike LaDonna's other non profits, Oasis of Northwest Arkansas is not an organization she started. In fact, it's been around since 1993. Anthony Christopher, LaDonna's former employer, tells me that LaDonna began working at Oasis of Northwest Arkansas shortly after he fired her.

Anthony Christopher: I can tell you that I know for a fact she's actively robbing that organization blind, stealing money, stealing donations. And I tried to warn that organization, I said, you, you do not know who you're dealing with here. Uh, you really need to watch out. They gave her all the information I sent to them. And within months she had that woman fired and had replaced her job and started rotating all the board members out to people that, were her friends.

Speaker: Today, Oasis of Northwest Arkansas operates unlike any non profit I've ever seen. one look at public records and you will see questionable accounting practices and potential financial red flags. For starters, LaDonna Humphrey is listed as working 65 hours per week as a director, But only receives 15, 600 in compensation, which comes out to 4. 62 an hour, violating Arkansas minimum wage laws. Why is she working so many hours for such little pay? Something's not right. Not only that, but there's also these mysterious professional fees totaling 58, 000. But for what? We're not sure. Then there's a dramatic increase in printing and postage fees. It went from 53 in 2020 to 7, 500 two years later. the dollars just don't add up. the organization's books are solely in the possession of the director, LaDonna Humphrey, indicating a lack of separate financial controls and a potential for conflict of interest. and to make matters more complicated, there are two years of financial recordings completely missing. We're going to dive deep into the financials in just a bit. but first, let's talk about what Oasis of Northwest Arkansas does for the community. Oasis is a nonprofit corporation which operates as a sober living facility for women in recovery. I spoke with Kaylin, a former resident at Oasis, and she told me that there are many reasons why women end up living there

Javier: some of the women can get in, and go to court and instead of them sending them to jail, they can say they're going to go to Oasis and that will be fine and so then they'll be court ordered. some of the women have DHS cases and are fighting to get their kids back. and they go there and that looks really good to the court because they're like in a recovery home or whatever.

Speaker: Because I know there's another facility, right? Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Yeah, there's a couple more, but they're all really hard to get into because most of them are full. I asked Kaylin about the accusations concerning Oasis Financials. Kaylin tells me that LaDonna, the director, does a really good job of fundraising, but unfortunately, that money rarely seeps its way down to the residents. I was there for about a year and I was pregnant LaDonna and the house managers wanted to do something special for Kaylin and her baby. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: she posts on Facebook constantly asking for donations,she had them post, that they wanted to raise money for a single mom, With six and a half a baby. And so many people commented on there and donated money. Oasis announced that they were going to throw Kaylin a baby shower. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: she put her Cash App and her Venmo on there. Never once did I get a baby shower or any of that money. She kept it all for herself.

Javier: so basically you're saying that. Either LaDonna or one of the managers posted on Facebook asking for donations for this baby shower for you, right? You're your baby shower.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: We were supposed to be planning one. Honestly, Oasis never did it. It was a couple of the ladies that I was close to at the house. They got me a couple gifts. but there was no, like, she took every bit of that money for herself and it was like a thing. do you know how much do I'm not sure on an exact amount because literally she posted her cash app tag on there for people just to send it to her for me

Javier: Wow. So it wasn't even like a go fund me or something like that. It was just like straight up

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: It was straight to her cash app.

Javier: was it at least the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas cash app or was it her personal one?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: believe it was the Oasis one. LaDonna has a history of playing fast and loose with the Oasis account for non payment. For non OASIS activities. For example, she accidentally sent Jessica Brown, the death fetish form operator, an email from the OASIS account. Remember that? One time, LaDonna was logged into a website known for posting disparaging things about her alleged victims, thinking that it was the OASIS account. She even once paid Alicia Lockhart book royalties from the Oasis bank account. I have those screenshots. Using her non profit's account to pay for personal things is not a great look. But here's the kicker. At the time when we started looking into this, Oasis of Northwest Arkansas wasn't even listed as a tax exempt organization. because they failed to file the proper documentations with the IRS. So that baby shower she raised money for, well, That wasn't tax deductible for everyone who donated. and any other donations made during this time period? Well, that could result in the donors having to pay back the taxes if they get audited, possibly even paying penalties. I have screenshots after screenshot of LaDonna raising money despite having a tax exempt status. Where is this money going? And why isn't all this fundraising reflected in her financials? But it's not just the accusations of misappropriation of funds. the women at Oasis who have come forward, say they are living like sardines in a can. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: there's probably about 10 to 15 women living in one home, which I'm sure that's not even legal Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: for what they're

Javier: Describe, because I've spoken to other residents

Speaker: but like paint this picture for movies. I don't think people understand. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: she has about four to five bunk beds in each bedroom.

Javier: And how many bedrooms are there total in each house?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Four.

Javier: And so in each bedroom, there's about, I'm guessing how many people.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Probably one, two, three, four. At least six to eight.

Javier: there's four beds, but you're telling me there's eight people per room.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: with bunk beds in them, probably at least three to four bunk beds.

Javier: Okay.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: literally like jail, like how they set up jail. It's literally set up like that, I looked into it. The City of Bella Vista Building Division, where the two Oasis homes are located, told me that if each house is about 1, 700 square feet, the home should only accommodate nine occupants, but according to some of the former residents I spoke to, there are roughly 15 women and children living in each house at any given time. That's six more people living in that house than fire code allows. But let's just say that there are nine residents staying in each house. According to the Oasis website, it costs a woman 135 per week to live in one of the homes provided by the non profit. nine residents, two houses, $135 a week, times 52. The annual revenue for the rental payments would be approximately $126,000. This type of revenue is not reported anywhere in the nine 90 forms that have been filed with the IRS. Raising suspicion that the rental payments are being diverted maybe somewhere else. But, let's get back to the issue of crowded living conditions. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: I was there because I got my kids taken, and I was there to get them back. Well, she was telling DHS that, we all had our own bedroom. Because part of DHS's rules is you have to have your own bedroom with your children.

Javier: you were saying that there's three bedrooms, four bunk beds, but some of the women were saying that the moms had to share a bunk bed with the kid.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_L: I was sharing a twin size bed and I have three kids, three children.

Javier: And you're saying that all three of your children, including yourself were in the bunk bed

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Yes.

Javier: one bed, like a twin

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: In the bottom, we ended up, on the bottom bunk and we were all on one twin size mattress.

Javier: out of here. You and three kids. How old were these kids?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Four, two, and nine months.

Javier: So there's four of you in this bottom bunk, which is maybe bigger than a twin mattress

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: It is a twin mattress. Maybe littler.

Javier: I, can't even imagine that. So then above you, I'm guessing there's another woman.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Yes.

Javier: Possibly with a kid maybe

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: most of the time there's only maybe like two or three women there that have kids. but they're all pretty much in the same situation.

Javier: Okay, so you're in the bottom bunk with your three kids above you. There's probably a woman and then across the room. There's two other women.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Yes.

Javier: Wow. I've received complaints from former residents that at one point the washer was broken for a month. They say LaDonna refused to fix it until they got a new donation. The Wi Fi was also reportedly down for two months. For One day, a resident asked LaDonna if she could install a smoke detector in one of the rooms.

Speaker: LaDonna said yes. I've seen the text thread. You're telling me that this house is overcrowded, beyond what is allowed by the City of Bella Vista ordinance, and it doesn't even have a smoke detector in the room?

Javier: here's another thing. Some of the residents are saying that there's no smoke detectors, the washer and dryer's always broken, the Wi Fi, she just doesn't pay the bills.

Speaker: And the other day when the AC went out, it was out for three days according to the person who messaged me, and it was over 100 degrees outside. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: the Wi Fi Constantly, it's coming out and she'll make it seem like oh the cable company isn't working again But then she'll pay it and it'll come right back on the next day And losing Wi Fi doesn't seem like such a big deal. After all, it is a luxury. But Emmy, a former resident at Oasis, said that being offline could be life threatening. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: we went a whole month without Wi Fi and Emmy's daughter is on an outlet socket and she has to monitor her oxygen level and her blood because Emmy's baby is a thing. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: our air conditioner was out several times in the time that I lived there. one time our heat was out and it was so cold in our rooms that like, women were physically fixing to get up and leave. Like, no joke One of the residents asked a house manager to turn on the heat. She said it was for her baby. The house manager replied, Your request has been denied, unquote. I've seen the text message. Recently, a manager texted the house group chat with a picture of a tiny dent on the dining room table. The message read it is unacceptable that not one person has reported this. It's a brand new table. LaDonna wants to know who did this immediately exclamation mark exclamation mark also each resident is to cash app LaDonna twenty dollars each for the damage which is due immediately unquote but Emmy a former resident who was living there at the time refused to pay the twenty dollars first because she says she had nothing to do with it and second she didn't have the money

Javier: why, why didn't you just pay the 20

Eme: you

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: think? Um, why didn't I just pay it?

Javier: Yeah.

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Um, so at the time I just, um, like, I only had like 40 in my bank account. And the next day my, um, my daughter's daycare was supposed to be coming out of my account. Which, for both of them, it's like 64 a week. So, I didn't even know how I was going to pay that. Come on.

Javier: and, and you had nothing to do with that table being chipped, right?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Right, I don't know what happened to it, and it was the tiniest little spot, but I just feel like you have a house full of women and children, so there's going to be weird hair on stuff, and maybe that's what all this money should be for, but,

Eme: I

Javier: much did she pay for that table again? Yeah.

Eme: have no idea, it's probably going to get us.

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Yeah,

Javier: Yeah, that's, that's what's crazy about it.

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: money did not buy a new one. So, LaDonna wanted to collect a few hundred bucks from women with very little money to replace a table that she got for free. and Emmy's defiance did not sit well with LaDonna. LaDonna chimed in the group text and said, quote, everyone is to pay $20. It is disappointing that all of you are not more responsible. Shame on you exclamation mark, unquote. The first message went out at 7 11 p. m. The next message landed at 7 55 p. m. Less than an hour later The house manager wrote So far only six ladies have paid the 20 fine. This is due immediately Unquote Emmy responded, quote, I don't have 20 that I can spare right now. LaDonna responds, quote, Then you will be dismissed. Everyone pays. Thank you. When someone tried to question LaDonna's response, LaDonna replied, You'll pay the fine. Period. Figure it out. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: she made Emi leave at 10 o'clock at night with her two babies. Yeah, and I had like 30 minutes to get out. Basically. Again, Emmy and her child were kicked out at 10pm at night with nowhere to go. All because of a chip on a donated table. These women say they feel like prisoners. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1421\_R-enhanced-57p: Yeah, so if, so say like our groceries are outside the door, we have to wait for a manager to open the door. Like one of the girls, one of the residents had to wait like an hour for her cold stuff to be brought inside for a manager to be there to bring her groceries inside.

Javier: brought inside the house

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Yeah, we can't go outside the door unless a manager grabs our, our groceries. It took like an hour for her to get her groceries inside once they were delivered and it was hot that day.

Javier: and can't anybody just open the door? I don't understand.

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: No I couldn't believe this. So, I Kalen, who also lived at Oasis.

Javier: So one of the residents told me that they cannot freely come in and out of the Oasis house.

Speaker: If she's leaving, she could walk out the door, but she can't turn around and open the door. If somebody's there or something like that, like, could you explain to me like that? What she's talking about? Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: it's kind of there's the only managers are like women that have lived there for a couple years and So they I guess their idea of doing that is so that way like people don't know who all is living there Like if an ex boyfriend or something was to show up for one of these women like nobody is to open the door except for a manager but We cannot go outside whenever we want to Like, we literally have to have them, if, if we do get a Walmart order, we have to have a manager. If there's a door dash, anything, we have to have a manager open the door for us to get that.

Javier: Okay, but in other than the grocery delivery, are you free to go in and out as you please?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: We have trackers, we have to download the Live 360 app on our phone, and she monitors our every move. She knows exactly where we're going. You can leave, kind of, but we have curfew. They know where we're at at all times. And I say that you can go wherever, but honestly, like, she could see that you're somewhere, like, at a Walmart, and you're taking too long, and it would piss her off, and she would want you back home immediately Halfway houses, also known as transitional living facilities, can have rules and regulations in place that allow them to track the location of the residence. This is often done to ensure compliance with the terms of their release program and promote safety. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: There's absolutely no privacy. At Oasis, residents are often subjected to long, early curfew periods, sometimes lasting 20 days at a time. That means no one is allowed out of the house past 7:00 PM unless they're working

Javier: Let me ask you questions about case managers that you're supposed to have a case manager.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: That doesn't happen. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_L: Halfway houses are generally expected to offer case management services to support residents during their transition. Case managers play a crucial role in assisting residents with their transition from incarceration to more of an independent living. According to the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas handbook, it indicates that case management is a mandatory program expectation Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: that is never assigned to you there. I don't even know why it's there. but the place I live now, there's actually three or four case managers, and if I'm having a problem with my food stamps or just anything, they're like my assistant, kind of, like they will help me do it all. And that's, like, what a case manager should be. They help you with, like, everything that you need help with. At OASIS, there is nothing even close to that.

Javier: so you're not getting help with food, basic necessities, you're being controlled, your location's being tracked, you're being forced to live in cramped conditions,

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_L: and no case managers. So I, I'm just struggling to find out exactly what they're doing here do you think the court is aware of the living conditions at this place? Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Because I had DHS, my DHS, case worker. Come view the bedroom One time. And she immediately told me it was unacceptable and was trying to get me the hell out of there. but LaDonna had been telling her the whole time that we had our own bedroom. And she had no idea that LaDonna was making us share bedrooms and that me and my three children were sleeping on a twin size bed. That's crazy. According to the handbook, all private child care must be approved by LaDonna herself. Children living at Oasis have to be supervised at all time. They are not allowed to eat or drink in the living room Or bedroom areas. All children must go to bed at a time determined by LaDonna. Failure to comply with any of these rules can lead to the dismissal from the program. I spoke with Emmy and Whitney, both former residents, about their children living at Oasis Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: there was this one time when, whenever one of the girls sons left a sandwich out on the counter, and LaDonna made him do four hours of community service for that sandwich being out on the counter.

Javier: How, how old was that kid?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: 10. Oh, 9.

Javier: She made a nine or 10 year old through community service

Speaker: And they're right. In one text message I received, LaDonna messaged the house group chat a picture of two sandwiches left on the counter. One of the residents replied saying that her nine year old son was the one responsible and that she had him clean it up. LaDonna responded, quote, He owes me two hours of community service, unquote. Uh, maybe I missed something. but I don't see anywhere in the Oasis handbook where children of residents have to serve community service as a form of punishment. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: I know women and talked about the history of it and basically They said that the way it is ran now is nothing like it used to be ran. they, everything was provided to them. They had meals provided. And LaDonna took over. And it just became like a boot camp almost, she treats these women like crap. She makes them respond to her, yes ma'am, yes ma'am.

Javier: Oh, so that is, is that a thing? Because I have noticed that in a lot screenshots, everybody's like, yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am.

Speaker: Oh, interesting. Listen, I've covered a cult, and these messages that I'm reading give me cult vibes. One of the house managers shot a message declaring that sodas are now considered contraband. Followed by, yes ma'am, The residents responded, yes ma'am. In one group text, LaDonna issued a general warning, quote, Ladies, I can dismiss you or write you up, either one, if you don't comply with the direct orders such as assigned homework. So, save your complaints. Seriously, you would be lucky for getting written up for noncompliance, because the handbook clearly says that I can dismiss you. Dismiss was in capital letters. and trust me, at least two of you are about to be dismissed. this is sober living and we have rules. You will follow those rules or you can move out. Are we on the same page? Question mark? Unquote? Followed by, Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. In another group message, LaDonna threatens to send one of the women for drug screening as a way to get her to confess to something. Tell me the truth or I will send you to the lab. If you fail, you're out. The residents replied, quote, Yes, ma'am. Yes, ma'am. LaDonna responds to one of those residents saying, quote, You're the one that I'm sending, FYI. Unquote. The woman replied, yes, ma'am. Here's the thing. Wouldn't a legit sober living facility set up a meeting or pull that person aside and ask them about the drug use? Why threaten this woman in a group text? set aside the professionalism for a second. This is clearly a power grab and an intimidation tactic. Not to mention possibly a HIPAA violation. I wonder if the Benton County Drug Court is okay with this type of bully behavior. They have yet to respond to any of my calls or emails. Just to give you a sense of the hostility that goes on at Oasis, listen to this voice memo Ladonna sent Alicia while they were still on good terms

Ladonna: had an issue with a resident today, who told me that she wanted to swing on me. I said, well, you do that. You take a swing. I'm going to give you one shot, but you better make sure that you knock me out with that one shot.

Javier: some of the hostility, I have a lot of, messages, especially from former residents saying that everyone's pretty much scared of LaDonna Humphrey. Is that, is that true? Do you, would you agree with that? why are people so afraid of her?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: mainly because most of these women are coming straight out of jail or leaving a domestic abuse relationship, and OASIS is supposed to provide, Discomfort and stuff for them, but instead it's completely manipulative and it's so bad. Like, she will literally threaten to kick you out on the daily. She'll let you know how easy it is for your spot to be replaced, and she means it. And some of these women don't have family, they don't have friends. Just like we didn't, I have no family, I had nowhere else to go. That's why I was there for almost a year. And she was constantly, Threatening my position there So she gives you three strikes. Three writeups is what she calls them. and I mean, you can get a writeup for like doing the dishes and leaving something in the dish drainer like to dry. You can get a writeup for that. You can get a writeup for, anything like, she'll give you the dumbest write up and sometimes she'll make you go outside and work one off if you're close to getting kicked out. But I've watched probably

Javier: And when you say that, you mean like, go work out in the garden or something like that?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Or do stuff for her.

Javier: And then what happens if you don't do that?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Then you are basically like aware that you're keeping that write up, and if you get three, then you're gone.

Javier: And what happens if you're gone

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: the minute you get that third write up, she will tell you to pack your shit and leave. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: And these women are like, getting out of jail, or leaving, Bad men, you know, and they're going right into the situation with nobody to call nobody to turn to nobody I don't even know who to tell, I don't she hasn't technically done anything so illegal that I could call the police. But then again It's a lot, you know whenever I left there, I felt like I left a domestic abuse relationship. I'm not even kidding Getting out and having nowhere to go is bad, but for some of these women, getting kicked out means going to jail. here's Whitney. She told me about an incident involving her son. One day after church, her son ran out and couldn't be found. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: he ran out of the church building and I noticed him gone immediately and we went looking for him and we found him and fortunately he ran up by the road, but there was a lady there that grabbed him. And the cops got called and I didn't get in any trouble because it was a freak accident. He's been gone for like four minutes tops. I didn't tell LaDonna about it. When LaDonna found out about the incident, she told Whitney that they are going to phase her out. That's Oasis. Speak for. We're gonna kick you out Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: LaDonna just said I needed to leave, but I had until 7:00 PM which in the Royal handbook it says 24 hours, and I only had till 7:00 PM and I got off at five that day, and all my stuff was packed. the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas handbook rules regarding dismissal from the program do not specify a required notice period before a resident is asked to leave. However, less than 24 hours notice and kicking a woman and her child out at night Seems particularly cruel. Especially when it's not clear What rule Whitney violated? Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: And so went to court. I was getting kicked out for not telling her talk to the cops and. And then I ended up having to do two days in jail because of it. When you are dismissed from a sober living facility, That facility typically reports the incident to the court, or to your probation officer. In the case of Whitney, the consequences of being kicked out of the sober living facility when she's court ordered to be there leads to automatic two days in jail. That's right, Whitney is getting ready to turn herself in, all because LaDonna kicked her out. It's been two days since Whitney turned herself in

Javier: So when he, you just got out of jail what today or yesterday? When, when did you get out?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Uh, I got out of jail, uh, today.

Javier: So you got out of jail today and when did you turn yourself in?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Friday,

Javier: And that was because, because the police because you left the Oasis.

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Yeah, because I did not agree with being phased down.

Javier: what happened to your son when you had to turn yourself in for jail?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: My mom had to be with him, which I'm thankful for that. Um, but it still was hard because he, he hasn't been away from me for two whole months. I'm thankful. I mean, I'm thankful drug court only gave me just two days, you know, it could have been worse,

Javier: And what do you do? when you're in there, what are you thinking about?

Speaker: Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: My daughter, I miss my daughter's dance recital because of this. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: When I look at the Oasis website, I struggle to learn what kind of rehabilitative services this organization is offering these women. Maybe I'm missing something. I don't know. So I asked Kalen

Javier: So you have these houses that are probably paid for you're paying rent, are you getting help with any food, any transportation?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: That's another thing. Nothing is provided for you, but if you go on the Oasis website, It says you're provided transportation, you're provided so much stuff, you're not provided anything there. according to the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas handbook, it appears that there are Oasis owned vehicles available for use. By residents under certain conditions. but according to the residents I spoke to, nobody has ever seen these cars. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: If we are provided transportation, it's from the women that, Came to live there with cars and they may be able to take us to work But most of the women are Ubering to work every day.

Javier: what is Oasis providing these women?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: That's what every woman there, that's what goes through their mind because we literally have no idea. where our money's going. Many of the women sent to Oasis are court ordered to be there. but for some women like Kaylin, it's the only place they can go

Javier: but you weren't court ordered, right? You chose to go there to make your case look better. Is that So why, but why, why couldn't you go somewhere else? Like, couldn't you band together? Like two women get together with a thousand dollars a mean, why not?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: yes, we have I talked to other women about stuff like that. And at one point, I made such good friends with a couple of the girls that we almost did that. but around the Bella Vista Bentonville area, everything like apartments are so expensive. And we just, some of us didn't even have cars. I mean, me and this girl didn't even have cars. And so, it was easier for us to deal with her shit than if her, if she even finds out that these women are looking at apartments behind her back, she'll kick you out that night.

Javier: My God.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: And that I have personally seen. Ney Hinds, who you heard from in part three, is a licensed medical professional, and she's had the misfortune of dealing with LaDonna's Wrath. Ney says she's worried about the Oasis women.

Nae: I am a psychotherapist.

Speaker: this is what scares me. The women that are in crisis that she is claiming to help, uh, with her MO with her. she is somehow, some way, in the way she operates, my fear is that she is continuing this Fear, planting seeds of fear within the women in this nonprofit, creating an environment where they have to be Reliant on her and she placed the savior that she very well could be tormenting via spoof Via email just planting seeds of fear to make them reliant on her And, a former resident tells me it's not only LaDonna they have to worry about

Javier: I've heard that there's one of the board members is accused of having sexual relations with the resident. Are you aware this?

Speaker: There, she had, well, the board member, his name is Robert, Haggard, he is her, quote unquote, like, adopted son. She basically, like, Took her took him under her wing. He has tried sleeping with all Of I mean residents constantly. He'll message them on facebook try to sleep with them at one point ladonna made us all block him because he became such a creep but if anything happens in the house She sends him and only him as the repair man to come do it In a house full of women us knowing what a creepy is. It's terrible. Like, he's a freakin creep so bad II've seen a screenshot with one of the residents admitting that she was dating Robert Haggard. Then, in another screenshot, LaDonna messages all the residents of House 38, one of the two Oasis houses, and says, quote, I need each of you to private message me the answer to this question. Have you now or ever seen a man on the OASIS campus hang out in the bedroom for hours on end with the intention of sex or just hanging out? The only men allowed there are service workers and they get their job done and leave. Or they are there to discuss issues with a resident if they are a board member. If you have seen otherwise, I need to know immediately. Either way, please message me today. Then, in another group text to House 38, LaDonna sends out a message, quote, Ladies, please block Robert Haggard on Facebook, unquote. It was followed by a stream of replies, yes ma'am, yes ma'am, yes ma'am. It seems clear that LaDonna was made aware of something. Listen, it seems clear that LaDonna was made aware that something was going on. It's also important to know that it appears Robert Haggard is still on the board. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: I know that she, whenever I was there, she told us all to block Robert on Facebook, and share our experiences, and I did because I was pregnant at the time, and he was sending me messages calling me beautiful, telling me I was doing a great job, and so I sent her my experience and it was kind of pushed under the rug, like he was A couple weeks later, he was there alone, where, she doesn't want to spend the money to hire somebody to come fix shit about the house.

Noise: Mm hmm.

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: will have him come fix it for her. Robert Haggard, one of the board members at OASIS, has a lengthy criminal record. One report shows 80 possible criminal infractions for various crimes, including writing hot checks, he's been busted for drugs, meth, coke, heroin, fentanyl, burglary, identity theft, DUI, and so on and so on and so on. Although, he's never been charged or convicted of any sex crimes that I know of. In 2015, Haggard was accused of committing identity fraud, going on a shopping spree with someone else's credit card. The next year, he had a bench warrant issued For stealing a GMC truck from his employer. He ended up pleading guilty for property theft, identity fraud, and residential burglary, which is a Class B felony. He was sentenced to six years in prison. And in addition, ten years if he violated the conditions of his sentence. In 2021, the court stripped away Robert Haggard's paternity rights. It seems for failure to pay child support. And now, it looks like he's being accused of preying on vulnerable women, women with addictions and women with addiction struggles, women who are sometimes court ordered to live at Oasis. (transition somehow) Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: there's some people that only see one side of LaDonna, and there's the women that actually live there. some people in the community think like, she's doing amazing work for women, but they have no idea what these women are really going through, But I mean, who's gonna believe a woman who just got out of jail and she's a junkie versus LaDonna who runs a whole oasis, you know?

Javier: Yeah

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Nobody's gonna believe us

Javier: are things better for you personally now that you've left there?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Oh my gosh, yeah. Even living there, I didn't even realize how truly bad it was.

Javier: how would you compare it to the place that you're at now?

Speaker: Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: they don't force us to do anything at all. They don't threaten your place to live, you know? They don't say, you'll be kicked out in 24 hours if you don't do this. It's not even close to like that. They actually focus on your mental health, where I'm at now. And they focus on helping you transition into the real world. In OASIS, there is no help transitioning you just to make a contrast, if you visit the Pearl website, another sober living facility in the area, you will see details about the services they offer. You will see a list of the board members and a list of the financials to show where their money is going Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: Pearl, from what I hear, you get half your money, like you get money back in order to get stuff you need when you do graduate, Pearl. Like, they're not just throwing you out to the wolves. Pearl has a car for women, for women to use and put gas in. Not the Oasis website, no, no, no. You will be hard pressed to find any details about the services that Oasis offers. If you scroll through the website, it's just a big giant ad talking about how wonderful LaDonna Humphrey is. But let's circle back to the accusations of financial fraud. For that, I wanted to talk with someone who works with non profits every single day to see what they think about Oasis as a, just as a third party, you know. We're going to call our expert Evelyn. That's not her real name, by the way. She just doesn't want anyone going after her. I mean, can you blame her? Javier\_Leiva (1): what's your general impressions of looking at their financials or the financials that they posted so far,

Eveline: in order to do this, we kind of need to know in general what a donor wants to see from a trustworthy nonprofit. So I guess to kind of put it into that context,

Speaker: Javier\_Leiva (1): that's a good way to phrase it, right? Cause we were looking at this from an investigatory standpoint, but, but this could be like, Hey, I want to donate a large sum of cash to this organization. Can you show me your financials to make sure that everything's on the up and up? Is that what you're saying?

Eveline: Yeah,

Speaker: I'm always thinking from the donors perspective or the sponsors perspective. So there's two ways that we can do that. And the first way is by checking their nonprofit status, right? We know that's a bit of an issue here. Uh, and this kind of gets confusing for folks because they assume that all nonprofits are going to be tax exempt and really. Filing as a non profit just refers to your business purpose Basically there's a difference between Oasis, the nonprofit corporation, similar to an LLC, and then there's the charitable arm, which is tax exempt 501C3. I called the Arkansas Secretary of State's office to check in on their charity status SOS office: Charities department. I have

Javier: a question for you. I'm not sure if you're the right person to talk to about this, but, I'm looking for some information on a nonprofit called Oasis of Northwest Arkansas.

Speaker: I just wanted to check to see if they were in good standing because from what I understand on the website, it says that they are not and they are correct. Our Yeah. The organization is posting on social media letters from your office saying that Correct. SOS office: They have been placed now in a current status. They have, um, come into compliance. Our database has not updated the system yet and it should take about 24 to 48 hours for those changes to reflect online.

Javier: What, uh, what did they do to stay in compliance?

Speaker: SOS office: They, uh, submitted the required documentation.

Javier: Okay, which is what in the form of a 990 or

Speaker: SOS office: it would be the registration documents and CRO one and all the supporting documents that go with that.

Javier: And can you tell me how long they have been out of compliance?

Speaker: SOS office: Um, I'm not sure. Hold on 1 moment. Let me see if that's something I can. Come on, come on. music: SOS office: Are you there? Thank you so much for holding. Yeah, I'm still here. All right, it looks like they fell out of compliance. Um, let's see what year, that was Texture 2015. So, uh, they fell out for about eight years.

Javier: Yeah, and so, what I want to understand is that you said yesterday they, they submitted all the forms to become compliant.

Speaker: I'm assuming it would be wrong for them to be soliciting, solicitating donations during that time period when they were out of compliance, correct? Correct. SOS office: Correct, but this office isn't, um, an investigatory, uh, agency. We just filed a paperwork that would come down from the Attorney General's office who would investigate, um, especially complaints if they have fallen out of compliance.

Javier: And I apologize if you're getting like a million calls about um this organization.

Speaker: SOS office: Oh, yeah It's been a week So let's recap. Oasis of Northwest Arkansas, according to the Secretary of State's office, hasn't been tax exempt for eight years. Eight years\! But that hasn't slowed down LaDonna's fundraising efforts. And you might ask yourself, well, shouldn't they do something about that? The Secretary of State's office says, hey, don't look at us. I mean, we just filed the paperwork. Talk to the Attorney General's office. When I call the Attorney General's office, they tell me to take it up with the Secretary of State. What about the IRS? Ah, what about the IRS? Well, they got bigger fish to fry. The FBI? Well, my contacts at the Bureau tell me that they go after big multi million dollar fraud. I mean, not a couple thousand dollars, like here. They tell me they go after big multi million dollar fraud. So, if you are flabbergasted by this, as I am, consider writing the Arkansas Attorney General To see if maybe all of you listening can get their attention. Or use the hashtag JusticeForOasisWomen and see if they start taking this issue seriously. All we're asking for is an audit or an investigation to see if these vulnerable women are getting the care that they deserve. But let's get back to the financial concerns. If Oasis of Northwest Arkansas hasn't had tax exempt status for eight years, why on earth do they keep raising money as a charity? I have a folder filled with screenshots of LaDonna raising money on social media. In one 2021 Facebook post, LaDonna brags about raising 13, 000 from their annual haunted house. Where is that money in the financial report? In 2023, she claims 2, 500 people attended the haunted house. At 10 a pop, the organization raised 25, 000. that number is also missing from their IRS forms. Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: Yes, literally, people donate stuff all the time, like clothes, LaDonna will post on there that women need stuff and people will donate it. Instead of LaDonna taking the money, And going out and fixing the air conditioner, fixing anything, she'll post on the Oasis page that we need somebody to donate it. instead of, if anything happens at the house, if they need a new front door, instead of going and buying one with all the money that we are paying them, they'll ask for somebody to donate to us a front door. the crazier thing is, is that we get grants. LaDonna got a 10, 000 grant while I lived there. And none of that went to Oasis. None of it at all. She keeps every bit of the money. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R-enhanced-61p: I would question things, you know, I questioned the whole money situation and, and everything. And I just don't agree with it. I just don't understand. Um, I like what she's doing to help. better lives of women and children Did you know that the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas has a partnership with the Walmart Amphitheater in Rogers, Arkansas? The women from Oasis can volunteer at the concession stand and in return they get their week's rent paid off. basically 135. But the question is, how much is LaDonna and Oasis making off of each event? Kaylin Snow -20240709 1452\_R: she makes women go there. Makes them. And she makes us work there. Basically to make her look good and to make it look like we're volunteering and all this stuff. Eme and Whitney 20240609 1401\_R: she gets like 2, 000 per concert that we work there at the amp, and she only, she only allows one, one concert for one week rent, like, that should be worth two weeks rent, or three weeks rent, you know what I mean? Cause that's, that's eight hours, that's like from 5. 30 till like 11. 30, or maybe less than that. Yeah, you don't get home till like Yeah, I reached out to the Walmart Amp, and they responded that Walmart Amp does not contract with Oasis for their services. I was able to find a company that does hire them. It's called Resource Solutions And I've reached out to them for comment, and I'm still waiting on a response. Let's get back to Evelyn, our non profit expert. Javier\_Leiva (1): So, you cracked open the 990s that are available. There are some 990s that are missing. For example, 2021 and 2023 are not available. if they make less than 50, 000 a year they can do a postcard, right? So we have some inconsistencies there Uh, but knowing the 990s that we do have one of the things that jumped out at me and i'm not an expert in this is that She reported having identical revenue as expenditure. I mean, to the dollar, it was to the cent, right?

Eveline: Yeah, definitely something that always makes me want to look a little bit further

Speaker: So I would almost wanna see a little extra or a little under. And if it's perfect, it's like, are you really practicing ? You know? Exactly. Perfect balanced books, you know? Um. Javier\_Leiva (1): Yeah, it almost seems like the exact number came in, the exact number came out, and it was also the fact that they were round numbers, too. Like, I would expected something a little bit more detailed. let's drill deep into the expenditures, right? Because one of the expenditures is the salaries that they pay the people working within the organization. I thought it was really interesting that Madonna. was listed working 65 hours per week as director, but only got like 15, 600 in compensation. But then the previous time that we saw their financial in 2020, she was listed as working 45 hours, which is less, but received a little bit more 30, 000 in compensation. What did anything jump out at you in terms of the way she's getting paid?

Eveline: Just that it seems highly unlikely. I mean, that averages out to, what, 4 an hour that she'd be paying herself.

Speaker: Javier\_Leiva (1): Almost half of what minimum wage is in Arkansas.

Eveline: Yeah, yeah, definitely dropping herself all the way down

Speaker: Javier\_Leiva (1): And this, I mean, hey, I'm not a math guy. I'm a creative person, right? But if the accusations are that, hey, is LaDonna using this organization as a piggy bank? That, the fact that she dropped her salary, that dramatically goes counter to that idea. Why would somebody that's possibly being accused of stealing money from an organization pay themselves less? Wouldn't they pay themselves more?

Eveline: Right, maybe it's just to appear more altruistic.

Speaker: Javier\_Leiva (1): So my next question is these very high unusual professional fees and I don't even know what that means, but they spent 58, 000 on professional fees when they're only bringing in 189, 000. That's like a large portion of their, of their expenses. So what, how do you explain that?

Eveline: Yeah, I mean, that's nearly a third of their total revenue.

Speaker: LaDonna has decreased her own salary by half. She's bringing in 15, 000 and all of a sudden we see this dramatic jump in those professional fees. That clearly, you know, would make me want to do a little extra research for sure. By the way, I spoke with Evelyn for an hour about OASIS and the red flags concerning and surrounding their financials. I want everyone to listen to it, so I will post it as a bonus episode free of charge for everyone to listen to. So watch out for that. All this got me wondering, what does the rest of the Oasis of Northwest Arkansas board think of all this? So I called up Janna Hines

Janna: I am on the board is I am on the board

Javier: and financial oversight over the organization.

Speaker: No,

Janna: no. I mean, as the board were at four does, as any board does, you know, she's the director and we make sure You know, we get finance reports and things like that.

Javier: Can you explain to me why LaDonna reduced her salary at the organization?

Janna: I have no idea about that.

Javier: Alicia Lockhart told me that at one point LaDonna paid.

Speaker: Her for book royalties with the Oasis N. W. A. account. Are you aware of that?

Janna: No, I'm not aware of that.

Javier: How do you think that could have happened?

Janna: I'm just, I can't even speculate because I'm not aware of that.

Javier: And, and, one last question about Oasis. Do you know if they undergo any financial audit by a third party?

Janna: I do not know.

Javier: So, so your role is basically, you know, As a general board member, I'm guessing.

Janna: Right, right. I'm not a treasurer. I'm not a bookkeeper. I read the, I read the financial reports as the treasurer.

Speaker: Wait. She's not the treasurer, but she reads the financial report as a treasurer. And if she reads the reports, didn't she notice that LaDonna took a massive pay cut and then had a dramatic increase in professional services? Something tells me that Janna is either playing dumb or she really doesn't know what's going on. I'm guessing it's the latter. I asked Evelyn about this.

Eveline: Yeah. And that makes me, I mean. Pretty concerned for the board. Like, it is the board's responsibility to be overseeing the policies, procedures, bylaws, so that if you do notice something a little bit shady going on, there's Process and a procedure for this.

Speaker: And if you do not have a board that is either a even aware that they should have that power, right? Because we don't know. Possibly these board members have no idea that they do have the power to oversee those bylaws and really be writing and being in charge and steering those policies. So if they're not, you know, regularly reviewing that and the power has shifted in that way, the board can be held legally liable. For the organization. you hear that OASIS board members? You may want to take a look at what LaDonna is or is not doing. Your ass is on the line. Aren't you concerned about the well being of these women? Aren't you worried about the financials? Tony Ashcroft, I'm looking at you. It might behoove you to figure it out and figure it out fast. Listen, all these girls want is for somebody to take them seriously, and for LaDonna to step aside. Remember, somebody, long time ago, started this organization with a mission. They wanted to help these women. And somewhere along the way, they ended up with LaDonna,I have a feeling we are not done with this part of the story. But I'm going to end it right here. Next time, on Pretend. Hopefully the last episode on this who's afraid of LaDonna series, but don't worry that's our last official episode but I plan to continue the series on patreon and pretend plus because come on Let's face it this ain't over So if you want all the nitty gritty all the bonus episodes all the early releases make sure to sign up for pretend or patreon I have a link in the show notes Today's episode was written by me, Javier Leyva, it was produced by Alison Byrne. It was edited by the talented Poonis Shannoy with the podcast pundits. And our theme song was written and composed by Joe Basile with thechicken. net. Alright, talk to you soon\!