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 think 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.