Lawyer for Operation Underground Railroad founder says the latest moves are part of “an ever-changing shakedown” of her client.

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Celeste Borys and husband Michael Borys appear at a news conference in November 2023 accusing Tim Ballard of sexual misconduct.

  | Jan. 14, 2024, 4:36 a.m.

| Updated: 4:38 a.m.

Celeste Borys, one of the women suing Tim Ballard, flew to California with her lawyer last week to file criminal complaints alleging the founder of Operation Underground Railroad sexually assaulted her in four jurisdictions, according to her attorney.

Borys, who was Ballard’s executive assistant from March 2023 until last fall, previously filed a criminal complaint with the Lindon Police Department in Utah County.

She now has also reported assaults to police departments in San Diego, San Clemente, the San Jose suburb of Campbell, and to Los Angeles Airport police, Borys’ attorney Suzette Rasmussen told The Salt Lake Tribune.

The Tribune could not independently confirm the complaints with respective police departments Friday or Saturday. Rasmussen provided images of four documents from the four agencies, including case numbers and names of detectives. One, an investigative report, included details of an assault alleged to have occurred at the L.A. airport during an April trip.

Borys, who previously went public with allegations against Ballard, is expected to appear at a news conference Monday morning to address the latest complaints.

“My client … has shown tremendous courage in coming forward about the sexual assaults against her by Tim Ballard,” said Rasmussen, who accompanied Borys to the police departments Wednesday and Thursday. “My client’s decision to report the assaults in additional jurisdictions speaks to the widespread nature of the traumatic events she and other women have experienced due to Tim Ballard’s sexual deviancy. It emphasizes the critical need for a comprehensive and coordinated effort across jurisdictions to address these heinous acts.”

Ballard’s attorney responds

Whitney Bernstein, a lawyer representing Ballard, said Saturday that Borys is motivated by money.

“This is an ever-changing shakedown by someone who said she was in love with Tim,” Bernstein said in a statement, “and voluntarily chose to travel and work with him in multiple jobs long after the events she alleges occurred.”

OUR filed a counterclaim against Borys last month, accusing her of violating terms of nondisclosure and nondisparagement agreements she had signed. The organization said Borys had defended Ballard against another woman accusing him of misconduct — calling that woman “crazy” and the investigation “fake news” — and remained close to her former boss until roughly a week before filing her suit.

“This carefully orchestrated media campaign has purposefully left out a number of important facts that will tell a much different story, including a strong financial motivation for making these false claims,” Bernstein said. “Tim Ballard has dedicated his life to protecting others, and his behavior toward his former friend and colleague has been consistent with that commitment.”

Ballard under multiple investigations

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah attorney General Sean Reyes. left, and Tim Ballard are shown in 2016.

Ballard already is the subject of at least two investigations, one by the Utah attorney general’s office — announced by his longtime friend and supporter, attorney General Sean Reyes, in December — and one by Lindon police.

Rasmussen, Borys’ attorney, said Ballard assaulted her client in San Diego when the two traveled there to gather intelligence on a suspected North Korean trafficking ring and to get a copy of the movie “Sound of Freedom” — which is loosely based on Ballard’s story — for screening before its release.

Borys was was also assaulted, Rasmussen said, when they traveled to San Clemente for a board meeting of Operation Underground Railroad, the anti-trafficking group Ballard started; to Los Angeles, where Ballard was supposedly gathering information about massage parlors and spoke at an OUR fundraiser; to San Jose, for a “Sound of Freedom” screening at the home of a prominent OUR supporter.

In October, Borys and her husband, Michael Borys, filed a civil lawsuit against Ballard and OUR, alleging Ballard had violently sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions, that the organization did nothing to stop it, and that Ballard and OUR inflicted emotional distress on the couple.

Six additional women have also filed a pair of civil lawsuits accusing Ballard of sexual misconduct or assault and alleging OUR was complicit or negligent in the actions.

For his part, Ballard has fired back at Borys in court filings. His attorneys allege that she accessed Ballard’s email account and stole confidential information that she provided to lawyers suing Ballard. Attorneys for the Ballard want the records stricken from the litigation.

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The post Tim Ballard, founder of Operation Underground Railroad, has had four new criminal sexual assault complaints filed against him, attorney says. appeared first on Attorney Legal Counsel.

SALT LAKE CITY — The FOX 13 Investigates team has uncovered new sources and new documents identifying how Utah attorney General Sean Reyes was one of the subjects of a criminal fraud investigation because of his ties to a local nonprofit.

FOX 13 has been reporting on the criminal investigation of Tim Ballard and the nonprofit he founded, Operation Underground Railroad, since October 2020.

Several witnesses who interviewed with the FBI and Davis County attorney’s Office say the public has a right to know the extent of Reyes’ connection to the case.

Although Reyes is almost never shy about his ties with OUR, he has not been forthcoming about his involvement in the criminal case.

The investigation, which is at least partially concluded, included questions about how the Utah AG’s Office handled both OUR money and federal grant money.

“Do you have any concerns about the fundraising?” asked FOX 13 investigative producer Nate Carlisle in 2020.

“I don’t he’s going to talk about that,” responded Ric Cantrell, chief of staff for Reyes.

Documents released by the Utah AG’s Office illustrated how prosecutors repeatedly asked the Utah AG’s Office to open up their books, to show how the Utah AG’s Office spent both federal dollars and OUR dollars.

“Can you provide me with the accounting that you referred to, showing how the Davis County attorney‘s Office received just Operation Underground Railroad doner (sic) money in response to our ICAC Task Force Program grant application?” asked Bureau Chief Craig Webb of the Davis County attorney‘s Office in an email on December 22, 2022. “In addition, was it just the Davis County attorney‘s Office who received all Operation Underground Railroad money or did all Davis County ICAC affiliates receive them?”

FULL DOCUMENTS: Tim Ballard lied to donors, according to ex-OUR employees

Davis County attorney Troy Rawlings again asked the Utah AG’s Office for accounting records via email on March 28, 2023.

Both the FBI and Rawlings have declined to comment on the investigation. The Davis County attorney‘s Office first opened the case in 2020. Documents from the case show OUR employees reported Ballard for lying to donors.

OUR spent years telling people there was no criminal investigation.

Ballard is now “permanently separated” from OUR after an unrelated internal affairs investigation into his conduct. Several women accused him of sexual misconduct.

Reyes spent years declining to acknowledge the investigation, including at a press conference in 2021 in which he only expected to receive questions about an unrelated settlement.

“Sean, you’ve been – for nearly the past year – been a subject of criminal investigation because of your involvement with Operation Underground Railroad. Why have you not addressed this?” asked FOX 13 investigative reporter Adam Herbets.

“I’m not aware any criminal investigations and not talking about ‘hypothetical’ investigations here at this time,” Reyes said.

“We’re talking about actual investigations,” Herbets said. “We’re talking about an investigation with the Davis County attorney’s Office.”

“Yup,” Reyes said, “and I’m unaware of any investigation into myself, which is your question. Unaware of anything.”

“As a member of the attorney General’s Office, that oversees the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Taskforce, and as a member of Operation Underground Railroad, do you feel that OUR is taking credit inappropriately for ICAC cases?” Herbets asked.

“Again, answering questions, I didn’t hear anything about the settlement,” Reyes said. “Settlement? Anything about the settlement? … Questions about the settlement? That’s what we’re here for.”

Jennica Smith was interviewed as part of Davis County’s criminal investigation because of her personal interactions with OUR members. She said she did not have knowledge on fundraising efforts.

At the time, she said she had no idea investigators documented OUR spending thousands of dollars per month on a psychic who claimed to be able to speak to the Mormon prophet Nephi for information on where to find trafficked children.

Reyes now says he was aware of the psychic.

Utah AG knew about nonprofit psychic paid to speak with ‘dead Mormon leaders,’ Tribune reports

“I feel like it would protect a lot of people who were donating money to know that,” Smith said. “That’s one of his responsibilities, to look into charities that might be fraudulent. The fact that he’s a part of (OUR) makes it even worse… I think it’s disgraceful that he’s used his position to promote this charity group that it seems like he should be more investigating than being a part of.”

Records show Reyes was not allowed to investigate OUR or discuss the case with the Utah AG’s Office or potential witnesses. He signed conflict-of-interest paperwork because of his close friendship with Ballard.

“We’re very friendly with (Reyes). He just spoke at a couple of events recently,” said Ballard in an interview with FOX 13 News on February 3, 2023.

Smith said she did not want to go into intricate detail about her conversations with investigators because she did not want to compromise the case.

She and her husband, Aaron Smith, said they would be willing to testify at trial if the case gets that far.

“I could see (OUR) wasn’t this noble operation,” Aaron Smith said. “There were a lot of things that were very questionable.”

“There’s a lot of ladies my age who have jumped on the bandwagon of sharing the OUR mission, and they’ve bought into this story because of who these men portray themselves to be,” Jennica Smith said. “I left (the interview) optimistic. They seemed fairly confident in wherever they were headed, which they didn’t talk about, but I left with hope that some truth would be exposed.”

In anticipation of the publication of this story, FOX 13 News again spent days repeatedly asking for a comment from the Utah AG’s Office.

After the publication of this story, the Utah AG’s Office disputed the accuracy of this report.

“Adam- AG Reyes was never the subject of a criminal investigation,” wrote Richard Piatt spokesperson for the Utah AG’s Office.

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