Who's Afraid of LaDonna Humphrey part 13

Speaker: For weeks now, I've been reaching out to the drug courts to get their reaction about my reporting. And they would never write or call back. Finally, I fired of one last email letting them know that this is their final chance to make a statement. Then suddenly, Judge Thomas Smith, for the 19th West Judicial Circuit Court in Arkansas wrote back. Let me read it to you. I have looked into your allegations and will still use oasis until a license is pulled or there is something that legally confirms the allegations. Wow. Okay, so after every I sent him, the accusations of financial mismanagement, the potential psychological abuse, and over crowding... none of that seemed to phase the court? I get it. Their jurisdiction has more women who need a housing than there are palces to put them. The courts can't lose valuable spots to place people unless there’s no option and the license is gone. I get it. But why not assure me and the public that they're at least addressing these concerns? You know, a PR sandwhich. Thankyou for bringing this up to our attention.... But we need to have assign a but to every bed. However, we'll continue to investigate blah blah blah. There was none of that. Just an email with an empty subject line, no salutations. No cheers, or make it a great day. The judge didn't even sign off the email with his name. Really? That's all you can say about these alarming accusations? Let me say this again. And I will say it till I'm blue in the face. I don't want OASIS shut down. The former managers don't want OASIS shut down. The former residents and the current residents I'm talking to don't want it shut down. They need a place to stay. They have no other choice. Nobody wants OASIS to go away. The only thing anyone really wants is for someone with authority to take these women seriously. Treat them with respect. Not like a bunch of junkies who are clogging up the system. These are smart women who got dealt a bad hand in life. Maybe they've made a few bad decisions along the way. but they got to OASIS. They're sober, and they want to move on with their lives. Today's episode wasn't planned. It just happened. After the OASIS episodes came out, I've been flooded with emails and phone calls from former and current residents. One former resident dropped a massive folder filled with voice memos, pictures, and text messages. It was hard to ignore. Some of the information you already know, others will leave you in pure disbelief. I hope the drug courts are listening. I hope the donors are listening. Because this episode is for you. I'm Javier Leiva and this is PRETEND... Stories about real people pretending to be someone else. ///AD BREAK////Concert Volunteering/Free Housing/AlcoholI wonder if Judge Thomas Smith realizes that the women he's ordering to stay at OASIS of Northwest arkansas, women who are battling addiction, are being coerced into working at a concert venue serving alcohol? That's right, as we previously reported, Ladonna has a contract with walmart amp and they pay her reportedly thousands of dollars in exchange for her residents to run the concession stand. and in return the women they get a rent credit of 135 dollars. Here's a voice memo LaDonna left the OASIS residents. Just a reminder that we sent out a list of concerts that you can sign up for and working one concert equals one week of shared housing. This is an incredible opportunity for you all to, um, you know, be able to save a lot of money, all of those things. at one show you get one week of rent credit and Think about all of the shows that will be working. And think about all the money OASIS will be making. But judge SMith, you gotta ask yourself, where is all that money going? But let's get back to most concerning question. Are you comfortable with these women battling drug and alchol addiction cracking over beers and popping wine corks? AlcoholI know some of you have some some concerns because there are One of the stands there are Some things on the menu like alcohol. Those people that have issues with alcohol will not be serving alcohol. We will, um, have other people there for accountability who will be watching you. You won't have to actually touch it. Those kind of things for anybody that's really struggling with that. This is a huge opportunity for Oasis and for each of you. Think about that. If you worked all of the shows, if you can make that work with your schedule, let your work know. If you worked all the shows, I mean, you wouldn't be paying any rent anymore. I mean, there's so many shows. You could technically get months and months and months of rent credit.If you're opposed to working the show, you need to message me privately and let me know why. One of you already has and that's fine. Again, Why would oasis be making girls who are living in a half way house, sell beer and liquor at a show. Is this not counterproductive to their recovery? Why would she set them up to fail? OASIS seems to be a place filled with contradictions. For example, their director, LaDonna humphrey is accused of being manipulative and emotionally abusive. Yet, she goes around preaching this... Importance of Honesty and NO DRAMAThis is just a reminder that honesty is really critical to your success here at Oasis, as is not creating unnecessary drama. Okay? I've got four or five residents that are continually very, very dramatic and it's unnecessary. And I want it to stop today. It creates a very difficult situation and dynamic within the house. So you're expected to keep a cool head, to remain calm, not to exaggerate and blow things out of proportion. And you're expected to be honest at all times. fightingBut privately, LaDonna boasts about stiring up conflict. In one texts on the manager thread, LaDonna wrote, "Someone started a rumor that I run a fight rind in the basement of house 38. The area we call the dungeon. And that I force the residents to fight each other and to fight me." The dungeon, btw, is where the women store their food and clothes. She goes on to say, "I can't believe some of the rumors people start about me." But let's not forget this classic voice memo LaDonna sent Alecia. I 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. Then, we can't ignore the screenshots someone uploaded to the LaDonnaHumphreyTalks subreddit. I'll read it to you. One of the house managers asks LaDonna is a group text what they should do with two women who have a known history of conflict. The manager writes, "What room do you want me to put so-and-so? With their past situations, I don't think they should be in the same room." LaDonna responds, "I want them in the same room. We'll see who the last man standing. They don't get along, correct?" "the manager responds, "correct." LaDonna writes back, "They they should be put together for sure." "Yes ma'am I understand." I wonder what Judge Thomas Smith thinks about this exchange? He's court ordering women to live in a house ran like Fight Club. But he refuses to acknoledge the allegations. I guess he honors the first rule of fight club The first rule of Fight Club is, you do not talk about Fight Club. The In one other text exchange, LaDonna acknowledges rumors of forced labor and human traffiking. She writes, "A resident says I force the women to work the concerts and that they work through their tears. Just notifing authorities that I am running a slave ring. She used those words. Since someone else accused me of running a fight ring." NAPPING/ControlBut maybe thgis is all hyperbole. I don't know of any specific reported fights or acts of violence against the women. But merely the threat of violence, some would say, is a form of control. And control is key at OASIS. It does seem like LaDonna does control their every move. LaDonna writes in one text messages in the manager's thread, "She should not even be taking a poo wrong without us knowning. Be in her business on the daily." For those of you that think it's okay to nap during the day, please read your handbook and I want every person in 38 to respond to this thread and tell me what the handbook says. Hygiene and Cleanliness ExpectationsHi everybody, I'm making this recording for 38 and for 40. Um, I've had a couple of complaints about both houses and issues with hygiene. So, I want to talk to you about that. I'm not going to single anybody out, um, but I've got complaints on three residents. And let me tell you this. You're expected to wash your body in the shower or bath every day with soap. You need to wash your hair at least every other day. You need to apply deodorant. You are are required to do those things. We live in close quarters and that's the only thing that's right for your health and for the health of those around you and just so it's a comfortable living place. So please make sure that you are showering and washing with soap every single day and applying deodorant every single day. Floor Maintenance InstructionsWe do not use pine sol on that floor. We do not use water on that floor. You can sweep it. That's all you can do. And then I will assign a chore once a month to somebody to use a special kind of cleaner. You cannot use pine sol on it. None of those things can be used on that floor. I am beside myself. We got a grant for 15, 000 to put that floor in and it is ruined now. I'm, I don't even know what to say. If I sound upset, it's because I'm upset. I am beside myself over this floor. EARLY CURFEW 5PMIt was brought to my attention that many of you were very disrespectful And I'm also going to put everybody on early curfew for the next three days. Your curfew, unless you are working, is 5 p. m., ladies. And I hope that you learn something from this. And for those of you that are going to get called out on your own, you know who you are. And it's unacceptable to show that kind of disrespect to anybody in this program, especially a staff member. I am not. I'm not impressed. 5 p. m. curfew starts tomorrow. Thank you. Even the managers get early curfews. Managerial Responsibilities and ConsequencesMeaning all managers your curfew is now seven o'clock for the next seven days. You need to learn how to run your houses better YES MA'AM/MATTRESSThe answer to my message should not be yes ma'am. The answer should be what happened to the mattresses. Please answer that. Who removed the plastic covers? In a text thread to the managers, LaDonna wrote, "This management team is under fire right now. I am really displeased. She goes on to say. You are to be encouraging. You are to be kind. You are not to yell at anyone for any reason. I am really frustrated. Be the stellar women I know you can be. That message was followed by a series of yes ma'ams. LaDonna responds... "Please don't just say yes ma'am to me. That's not enough anymore. I will no longer want yes ma'am as answers. I want real discussion. You each have until 6pm to answer me in this thread. I'm only playing you a fraction of the voice memos I had to comb through. It's exhausting. BROKEN CABINETFurthermore, every single resident and manager that has not paid towards the broken cabinet in the kitchen needs to Venmo or cash at me today. Thank you. FLOORSHas somebody been using a wet, soaking wet mop on those floors? I get it, she's in charge and sometimes you have to be the bad guy. But she's always the bad guy. Not only that, every decision has to go through her. I'm talking about every decisions. Even life and death ones. That's after the break. ///ad break////EMERGENCIES/911Napping, curfew... Judge SMith might say, Javier, that's normal for a sober living facility. You need control otherwise this whole thing falls apart. But is there such a thing as too much control? How about in the case of a medical emergency? LaDonna wrote in the manager text thread, "Allow me to be clear. No resident is to go to the emergency room without my approval. Nobody is authorized to approve this without talking to me. She didn't need to go to the ER. This is frustrating." So in the even of an emergency, you have to first get sign off from LaDonna Humphrey? That seems dangerous. One manager wrote in the group chat, "Can someone take name of resident to the hospital? Her face is going numb and she is starting to slur her words." After a few back and forths, LaDonna responds, "Call 911 now" When seconds count, calling the executive director of a sober living facility seems like a risky inbetween step. money grabSHARED HOUSING/PAYING OFF WRITE OFFSDISMISAL THREATBut you have to obey. Because if you don't obey you get a write. And if Judge Smith ordered you to stay at OASIS, and you get kicked out after three right ups, you can go to jail. For several of you, this is going to be your third write up, which is going to mean dismissal. So I hope that you realize that. But never fear, there's a simple way to make the write offs go away. if you have write ups that you want to get rid of, you can contact me privately. If you did not contact me regarding your shared housing and applying it to write ups and, um, your rent credit, you must do so now. You need to do that privately. Now, most of you need to go ahead and pay your shared housing tomorrow. For those of you that, um, are new and you're waiting on, like, a check for assistance from a church, you know, I'll work with you on that. But shared housing is due tomorrow, no later than 5 o'clock./ Did you catch that? if you have write ups that you want to get rid of, you can contact me privately What does that mean? Will LaDonna assign the women some kind of task or chore to forgive their write ups. Or perhaps maybe you can pay her to make your write off disappear. It's not quite clear. But in one message posted on reddit, LaDonna explicitly says you can buy back some of the write ups. "Because members from both houses have been unavle to follow instructions on a post that I made in the Facebook group, you are each required to write me two paragraphs on what it means to follow instructions. They each have 4 hours of community service they ow me or they can each pay $20. Their choice The residents are in a vulnerable position, as their freedom is contingent upon complying with the rules of OASIS. Offering to remove disciplinary actions in exchange for money or services could be seen as coercive, especially if the residents feel they have no other option. If the removal of write-ups is contingent on payment, this could be considered a form of bribery. The authority figure is using their position to solicit money or favors in exchange for preferential treatment, which is ethically and legally problematic. I think they call it extortion. But what do I know? I'm not a judge. And don't even think about questioning her authority... because you'll get a voice memo. I'm not sure which one of you contacted the Department of Human Services and told them that we have a mandatory parenting meeting link that I sent out for in the morning. That is not correct. Please go read the information for the link for the 15th for the help meeting and please make sure that you're sending out accurate information when you give it out to people at the Department, Department of Human Services because then they come and ask me questions. Please go see a house manager if you were the one responsible for this confusion, please. So they can help you out. Thanks! Get a job!According to the OASIS handbook, Everyone is expected to have a job or they must provide proof of all job applications they submit. Why? Because at the end of the week, it's time to pay rent. And that seems to be what matters the most. Shared Housing and Employment RemindersGood morning, everyone. This is just a reminder that shared housing is due on Friday, no later than five o'clock. Many of you, um, were required to have a job by last Friday and some of you do not. So make every effort to get a job by this Friday and keep applying places and showing proof that you're making an effort. If you are unable to pay your shared housing and you do not make arrangements with me, that is a write up. . Shared housing is due on Friday by five o'clock. No exceptions. Thank you guys. Shared housing is due tomorrow, no later than 5 p. m.This was by far the most common message in the threads. At OASIS, it's 5 o'clock somewhere. Shared housing is due tomorrow, no later than 5 o'clock. Please pay via Cash App or Venmo. Thank you. Shared housing is due today by five o'clock. Thank you. This is your final reminder that shared housing is due tomorrow by five o'clock. No exceptions. Please get your shared housing paid. Electronic Payments and House MeetingLet's sidebar for a second. I would remind all the women that are paying with money orders that we prefer Cash App and that at the first of the year, it changes over to Cash App or Venmo only and that they're going to have to get used to doing that. So you might just encourage that because it's much easier for us if they just pay electronically. Sure, it might be easier. but I just got done speaking at fraud conference in Denver. and I met a guy named Steve Lenderman whohas worked in financial crime cases for the last 25 years. And you know what he says? Fraudster loves fintech platforms like Cash App and venmo because there's less regulations compared to traditional bansk. They don't have the same oversight, internal controls, and mechanisms in place to detect scams. I'm not saying that's why OASIS uses these apps instead of checks. I'm just saying. Tax Refunds and Financial PlanningHey guys, if you're expecting to receive tax money back and it's over 500, and if you've already gotten tax money back and it's over 500, you need to send me a private message and we need to talk about how you've spent it, um, how you plan to spend it. and what we're going to do to help you save some of that money. So please contact me tonight in a private message regarding your taxes and be truthful about it. Okay, thanks. Have a good evening. CHURCHES/ MAILI've seen the women's earning statements that they have to report to LaDonna. And now we find out they have to turn over their tax refund too? It may seem like I'm cherry picking text and audio messages but I'm not. The vast majority of these messages are about LaDonna collecting her payment any way she can. I received hundreds of text message threads and one recurring theme was, "Have you checked the mail." Checked the mail? The word "mail" shows up 155 times in the text thread I reviewed. Why was LaDonna so concerned about the mail? Well, it turns out thats how she collects the church money. ChurchesSeveral of you I know are not employed and have If you have not done what you needed to do to seek assistance for shared housing and you'll need to get with a campus manager so you can get the phone numbers for all of the churches so you can give them a call and have them help you out with what is due on Friday by 5 o'clock. Thanks and have a great day Some of the churches the OASIS women hit up are Saint Stephens Catholic church in Bentonville, AR. The church was mentioned 18 times in the text threads that I reviewed. It appears their housing donations were hitting the oasis mailbox rather frequently. In one exchange, one of the managers informs LaDonna that the mail had arrived. It was from the Fellowship Bible Church of NWA. LaDonna writes, "Happy Monday to me! That has to go to the bank. Like right now. LOL. It's a large, large check." Other ministries mailing checks to OASIS include the First Presbyterian Church and second street pantry. Even the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences sends OASIS checks. I've reached out to all of these organizations for comment and I'm waiting to hear back. Even the drug courts help pay for rent too. Hey guys, just make her feel at home. I talked to Washington County Drug Court. We're all good. I'm going to bill Washington County. They will pay 400. So that covers her deposit. And it will cover her first two weeks of shared housing. So she won't owe shared housing again. So go ahead and tell her about the concert, get her added to the concert thread. Remember that organization called HARK that offered the OASIS residents emergency rental assistance? I mentioned in the previous episode, well, they wrote back and said that they take these things very seriously and are looking into it. Why couldn't Judge Smith say that. Again, PR sandwhich. One things is not entirely clear. Are the checks written to OASIS or LaDonna Humphrey directly. I'm still trying to confirm that. But my guess it's coming into the OASIS bank account. But where is all this money going? Especially if the managers don't get paid and the houses were donated. What about the $10k they got for the van that was never purchased? Instead of having a shared vehicles, women who own cars are tasked with driving the other women around.

Transportation: Teamwork and AccountabilityI want someone to respond to and help get her to the places that she needs to be. Who's going to get that done for her? I will pay the gas money, She needs the help. She's trying to get a job. So let me know who's going to do it and you can come see me to get the gas money.

Speaker: It was crickets. Nobody offered to give the resident a ride. You know what guys? Never mind. I'm gonna drive up there and I'll take her myself. I'm really sad that we're not working together better as a team to give people rides, but I will take her, um, and make sure that she gets what she needs. Thanks. The women tell me that sometimes OASIS chips in for gas. But they're not paying for wear and tear of the car. But let's get to the wow moment of the episode. The portion of the episode that will be the talk of reddit and social media. Meeting Attendance and Sobriety SHENANIGANS/MASTURBATIONResidents, apparently there have been quite a few shenanigans happening of late and we're going to have a house meeting tomorrow night via zoom at 7 30. It's mandatory. That means you have to attend. So you will have to tell your employers. Hey, I have to attend this meeting. We're going to go over some of the rules in the handbook. And, um, we're going to talk about the things that can get you dismissed and will get you dismissed such as, Oh, I don't know, masturbation. I'm sure there has to be more to this. I don't want to take things out of context, but according to this voice memo, all of the OASIS women have to take time off of work because someone was suspected of masturbating? I'm horrified to learn about what's been going on. Um, and I'm horrified to know that I'm just now finding out, but now that I know I'm going to do something about it, you're going to follow the rules at OASIS or you're not going to live there. And that's the end of it. So if any of you feel like that maybe the Oasis is not the place for you, um, go let a manager know and they will go ahead and help you pack tonight and, and show you the door. But if you feel like you want to be at Oasis and change your life, then I will see you at the house meeting at 7. 30 tomorrow night, Word on the street is that LaDonna has gotten much nice since the podcast came out. They had a house meeting when it all started to come out. The women were told to sign the petition supporting OASIS and to record the video testimonials. I have confirmation that DHS and the a judge visited the property. But only management were there during the visit. I also here that the management group chat, which is where I got the bulk of the information for this episode, is much more locked down. LaDonna reportedly made all the managers sign an agreement not to share the information ffrom the leadership thread or else she will sue them. The women tell me that they hate being at that house. They would rather work all day. They tell me they can't trust anyone. And that's by design. You never know who's going to snitch, plus there are cameras everywhere. Even in the bedrooms. The women I've spoken to at OASIS say that they've already done the hard part, which is to get sober. And they look forweard to live and enjoy their lives. But this place kills your spirit. Clarifying the Christmas List ProgramBefore we go, I have a correction to make. In my bonus episode with the non-profit export, we incorrectly said that EIDL loans was part of OASIS's revenue. That is incorrect. EIDL loans are just loans and have to be paid back. Let me explain, EIDL stands for Economic Injury Disaster Loan, a loan program from the Small Business Administration (SBA). Usually, these loans help businesses recover from disasters like hurricanes or floods. But during COVID-19, EIDLs became super common. They were handed out alongside the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, which you’ve probably heard about. Here’s the difference: EIDLs need to be paid back unless you're in bankruptcy, while PPP loans could be forgiven if you met certain conditions specific to the pandemic. Let’s talk about Oasis of Northwest Arkansas, Inc. During the pandemic, OASIS received a $55,400 EIDL, as listed in SBA records and on their 2020 Form 990. That 990 form was prepared by a CPA. The 2022 form was prepared by Ladonna herself. So, where did the EIDL money go? The loan should show up on the 990 forms, either as a remaining balance or as paid off. Expenses should be listed too. Was it an oversight? Was the loan used properly? Is it paid off or delinquent? We don't know. The SBA warns that EIDL fraud can lead to criminal charges for violations like bank fraud and making false statements. I guess we'll never know because LaDonna's attorney refuses to turn over the 990 forms because we're harassing them. Like I said at the top of the episode. I wasn't expecting to do another OASIS of NWA episode but I had no choice. In fact, I was supposed to be finishing up my next episode which reveals new evidence in the murder of Melissa Witt case. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, keep writing, keep talking about this story. A lot of women are really counting on it. Talk to you soon. Credits.