Cult News 101 - CultNEWS101 Library

Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

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CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.

https://www.meditationchallenges.org/information

The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan, Joseph Kelly, or Ashlen Hilliard endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.

Please forward articles you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

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Meditation-Related Challenges Study

2026-08-04T10:39:50.280-04:00

Meditation-Related Challenges Study

A study to understand the nature of meditation-related difficulties and adverse effects.

Participate in the Study

For this study we will ask you to fill out an online survey that will include some information about your background, your experience of meditation-related challenges, how you and others responded to those challenges, and anything that might have impacted your experience.

You will also have the option to submit a written narrative if you would like to share your story in more detail. We will not ask for your name or other identifying information.

Participants will be compensated with a $30 gift card for completing the survey. There will also be opportunities to participate in other parts of the study for additional compensation, described below.

Who is eligible?

We are seeking anyone who has experienced difficulties, challenges, or distress related to meditation. To be eligible to participate, you must also be 18 years old or older, be able to read and understand English, and to reside in the United States, Canada, or Australia.

What does participation look like?

After filling out the short online screener questionnaire, we will invite participants who may be eligible to a 10-minute zoom conversation for screening purposes. This screening will not be recorded. If eligible, we will share the study consent form with you, and you will have an opportunity to ask any questions you have about the study. The consent form outlines important details to know about the study.

Once you have consented to participate, we will share an online questionnaire with you. The questionnaire is comprehensive because we are interested in the details of your experience. It takes approximately 1-2 hours to complete, and you can take breaks at any point.

After taking the survey, participants will be asked to provide any email through which they can receive a $30.00 gift card as compensation for participating.

Additional Opportunities

After completing the study questionnaire, some participants may also be invited to partake in some of the following activities, which would be further compensated:

We will to invite some participants to an interview as part of the study. This interview would take approximately one hour and would be compensated with a $40.00 gift card.

We will invite some participants to be part of a longitudinal study, in which we would follow up with you once every two months for a span of one year. During that time, we would send you online surveys, although these would be shorter than the first survey in the study. Each survey takes approximately 30-60 minutes.

For the longitudinal study, participants will be compensated slightly more for each additional survey that they take. Compensation for the first survey is $10. Each additional survey is compensated with $3 more. So, each survey that participants complete will be compensated at $10, $13, $16, $19, $22, and $25, respectively.

You can choose to stop participating in the study at any time. We will also provide a resource guide related to any meditation, psychedelic, and/or mental health challenges.

What will we do with the information you give us?

The insights and stories you share will help us better understand the nature of meditation-related difficulties, and to better understand what helps people navigate and recover from meditation-related challenges. The study findings collected will be published and presented to the public. However, no personally identifiable information will be disclosed, and your personal information will not be revealed. We will only report de-identified, anonymized, or aggregated data.

Those who participate in an interview will be offered a $40 gift card. Those who take part in the longitudinal study will receive up to $105 total compensation for that part of the study. Participants will be given $10 for the first survey, and $3 for each additional survey. The completion of five surveys, including the final survey, earns the participant a $25 bonus.

How can I participate?

As a first step, fill out this brief pre-screener. We will then contact participants who may be eligible for the online screening.

Meditation-Related Challenges Study

A study to understand the nature of meditation-related difficulties and adverse effects

Approved by Emory University IRB (Protocol #00009315)

Contact the team:

p.psych@emory.edu

Contact the primary investigator:

roman.palitsky@emory.edu

How Indian Spirituality Was Repackaged and Sold Back as Self-Help

2026-08-02T09:25:44.150-04:00

Girish Shukla

Times Now

August 1, 2026

Vivekananda carried Vedanta to Chicago in 1893. A century on, a buyer in Delhi purchases the same philosophy back, condensed into a paperback and priced at a considerable mark-up.

'Think Like a Monk' landed in India in September 2020 at number one on the bestsellers lists in India. Its author, Jay Shetty, was born in London and works out of Los Angeles. The book condenses what its publisher calls the timeless wisdom of the Upanishads, texts composed somewhere between 800 and 400 BCE, into daily practice, and it arrived on Indian shelves via HarperCollins India after Simon & Schuster bought it in New York. A buyer in Delhi was purchasing Sanskrit philosophy back, at a mark-up, in an American accent.

That is not a scandal. It is the closing of a loop that has been turning for more than a century, and Indians held the pen at both ends of it.

The First Export Was a Choice

Swami Vivekananda carried Vedanta to Chicago in 1893, and the traffic never stopped. What travelled, though, was already being reshaped by the people sending it. Mark Singleton's 'Yoga Body' documents how modern postural yoga took form in the early twentieth century as a fusion of European gymnastics and selected hatha principles. In medieval hathayoga, asana was subordinate to breath work, purification and concentration. It was Indian reformers, Shri Yogendra and Swami Kuvalayananda among them, who built posture-led systems shaped by Western science, medicine and the international physical culture movement.

Nobody stole anything at this stage. India was the co-author of its own repackaging, and had good reasons: a colonised country presenting its inheritance in terms the coloniser would respect.

Then Came the Stripping

The second stage removed the framework. In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn founded a stress reduction clinic at the University of Massachusetts and built a programme drawing on Zen, hatha yoga, vipassana and Advaita Vedanta, then presented it in entirely secular terms. 'Full Catastrophe Living' followed in 1990. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction is now prescribed by physicians, taught in militaries and run inside corporations.

The gain was enormous. Millions who would never enter a temple or a Buddhist centre encountered contemplative practice. The loss is harder to see and worth naming. Traditions that carried ethical obligations arrived stripped of them, leaving technique without the demands the technique was built to serve. Ron Purser coined McMindfulness for the result, and critics have pointed out the awkward consequence: a practice originally aimed at cutting through illusion now helps people tolerate conditions that might otherwise be worth changing.

The Return Journey

The loop closed in the 1980s and after. Deepak Chopra, an Allahabad-trained physician working in America, has published more than ninety books. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a physics graduate of the same university, took transcendental meditation to the Beatles. The global yoga industry is now valued at roughly 88 billion dollars with some 300 million practitioners, a majority of them Indian.

India has embraced the returning product with real enthusiasm, and a certain amount of nationalist feeling attaches to reclaiming it. What comes home, however, is not what left. It carries positive thinking, the pursuit of self-optimisation, and the assumption that a spiritual practice should make you more effective on Monday.

The original texts are less accommodating. The Gita is a conversation about duty conducted on a battlefield by a man who does not want to fight. Advaita proposes that the self you are working so hard to improve is not finally real. Neither idea shortens well.

What sold was the part that fitted in a paperback. What stayed behind was everything the paperback had no room for.

https://www.timesnownews.com/lifestyle/books/how-indian-spirituality-was-repackaged-and-sold-back-as-self-help-article-155212203

Victorian cult and fringe group inquiry recommends criminalising group coercion

2026-07-29T09:07:02.324-04:00

ABC: Victorian cult and fringe group inquiry recommends criminalising group coercion

The ABC article covers the final report from the Victorian Legislative Assembly’s inquiry into "Coercion and harm in high-control groups." Tabled in two volumes, the report outlines 39 recommendations designed to address the behavioral architectures of undue influence and establish better institutional accountability.

The inquiry concluded that coercive groups are far more widespread than commonly understood, operating discreetly in everyday settings like workplaces, universities, and community organizations. The findings emphasize that recruitment relies heavily on gradual, relationship-based compliance mechanics rather than personal weakness, noting the severe, compounded risks for children raised within these restrictive environments.

Key Recommendations

• Criminalizing Group Coercion: The central recommendation asks the Victorian Law Reform Commission to review legislative options to formally criminalize group-based coercion.

• Belief-Neutral Accountability: The committee explicitly advised against creating a legal definition for a "cult." Instead, the proposed legal frameworks focus entirely on harmful behaviors and control tactics, ensuring that victims do not have to litigate a group's ideological or theological status to prove abuse occurred.

• Specialized Police Pathways: The report calls for Victoria Police to establish a clear, dedicated internal pathway for handling cases involving coercive high-control groups.

• Frontline Identification: It recommends developing specific risk indicators to equip frontline workers—particularly those in child services and family education—to properly recognize and intervene in group-level coercion.

• Advisory Body: The establishment of a formal lived-experience advisory body to guide ongoing government reforms and survivor support systems.

The Victorian Government has a six-month window to formally respond to the committee's proposed reforms.

Legislative Assembly Committee reflection on high-control groups

This official broadcast features committee members discussing the specific evidentiary patterns and systemic harms they observed during the public hearings.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-07-29/cult-inquiry-recommendations-victoria-fringe-groups/106971052

Cult of the Holy Ghost

2026-07-29T09:06:36.591-04:00

Cult of the Holy Ghost, a Victorian-era sect led by a Swiss immigrant named Anna Meister.Known to her followers as "Mirra Mitta," Meister arrived in Philadelphia around 1855 and established her headquarters in a rowhouse at 1128 S. 11th Street (near Washington Avenue).

The Leader and Her Doctrine

Meister did not just claim to communicate with the dead like many Spiritualists of the era; she convinced her followers that she was the literal manifestation of the Holy Spirit—the "Daughter of God". She preached a highly localized eschatology, teaching that the apocalypse would soon begin directly in Philadelphia.The group exhibited classic high-control mechanics, demanding absolute devotion and isolating its members within the 11th Street rowhouse, which was transformed into a fortified temple complete with altars and portraits of Mirra Mitta stationed next to Jesus Christ.

The 1905 Discovery

The group is most infamous for what happened decades *after* Meister's death. In 1905, neighbors complained of a horrific smell emanating from the property, which locals had dubbed the "House of Mystery".When the coroner and police forced their way inside, they found two emaciated, elderly followers—Caroline Lang (who styled herself a high priestess) and John Rapp. The pair had been guarding the heavily decomposed body of a third member, Julia Rudman, for three weeks. The surviving members insisted Rudman wasn't dead, but simply "sleeping," and that they were fasting and waiting for Mirra Mitta to return to Earth to resurrect her.The house had been maintained as a shrine for nearly twenty years after Meister's death, with empty beds kept meticulously prepared for the anticipated return of both Mirra Mitta and Jesus Christ.Today, the site of the former temple at 11th and Washington has been demolished and serves as a parking lot.

Rights and Religions Forum (RARF)

2026-07-29T08:03:16.892-04:00

Rights and Religions Forum (RARF)

Rights and Religions Forum (RARF) is a nonprofit that addresses the marginalization of individuals in insular religious groups (IRGs), or IRG disaffiliates. RARF seeks to create spaces and curate conversations around the often ignored and complex questions surrounding the rights of IRG disaffiliates and give a voice to those who experience religious oppression.

BACKGROUND

Shortly after its founding, RARF had its first convening in October 2019, bringing together over 100 people from a broad range of insular religious groups (IRG), including Amish, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Jewish, Muslim, Quiverfull, and many others. At this historic event, it was clear that there were activists on the ground doing critical, life-saving work in their respective communities, but there were shared challenges and needs among their constituents that, for too long, have been unaddressed by the state and charitable organizations. At this first conference, RARF’s founders discovered the impact of convening and serving a broader community of leaders who support individuals leaving IRG.

https://rarforum.org/

Rights and Religions Forum is thrilled to announce a new pilot program called "Disaffiliates Connect."

The purpose of this three-part pilot program is to create opportunities to foster community and mutual support amongst a diverse spectrum of IRG disaffiliates (individuals who have disaffiliated from an insular religious group). We also hope to create opportunities for greater collaboration to drive positive change for IRG disaffiliates.

Each session includes a group of participating IRG disaffiliates and is dedicated to a specific topic of discussion, as follows:

Session 1: Exchanging Disaffiliation Stories (Monday, August 10 @ 6:30-8:30 pm EST)
Session 2: How has my disaffiliation story shaped who I am today? (Monday, September 7 @ 6:30-8:30 pm EST)
Session 3: Looking Toward the Future: My Future and the Future of IRG Disaffiliates (Monday, October 5 @ 6:30-8:30 pm EST)

The sessions will be led by 1-2 professional facilitators who are also IRG disaffiliates. We will convene all participants together for the first 10 minutes, during which the facilitators will introduce the topic and explain the structure for the breakout discussions. Participants will then choose one of 2-3 breakout rooms for further discussion. Then, the group will once again convene for a closing discussion.

Individuals interested in participating are strongly encouraged to attend all three sessions. Due to limited capacity and our emphasis on developing deep connections among IRG disaffiliates, priority will be given to those who can attend all sessions (see the dates and times above next to the topics). Diversity in IRG disaffiliate backgrounds will also be given strong consideration.

More Information: Disaffiliates Connect: Interest Form

CultNEWS101 News: 7/28/2026

2026-07-28T14:22:06.523-04:00

Updates

Correction to yesterday's newsletter:
The study link: Experiences and Perspectives on Mental Health Support Among Survivors of High-Control Environments

Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion

Legislative & Legal

Korea Herald: Prosecutors file new charges against Shincheonji leader's alleged plot to sway party primaries
South Korean prosecutors filed additional charges on Monday against Lee Man-hee, the 95-year-old founder of the Shincheonji Church of Jesus, for allegedly orchestrating a massive political infiltration campaign. A joint investigation claims Lee directed followers to join the conservative People Power Party between 2021 and 2024 to sway primary elections and leadership races illegally

Lee, currently detained following his arrest last month, is officially charged with pressuring followers and interfering in party affairs.

Three former senior church officials, including a former second-in-command, are also detained, while four others were charged without custody. Investigators estimate that over 56,000 Shincheonji members joined the party ahead of the 2021 presidential primary, the 2023 leadership contest, and the 2024 parliamentary nominations.

Notably, investigators found that a former church official provided a roster of these newly registered voters to a campaign aide for Yoon Suk Yeol, who subsequently won the 2021 primary and the presidency. No charges were filed in connection with this specific exchange.
Shincheonji, widely characterized as a cult by mainstream Christian denominations, previously drew intense national backlash in 2020 after a major COVID-19 outbreak was linked to its congregation, which resulted in Lee's prior conviction for embezzlement.

Sociological Perspectives: "Australia's 'Cults Crisis'? Some Recent Developments in the 'Cult Scene' 2000–2025," detailing the shift in academic discourse and the media's framing of new religious movements versus high-control groups.

The Resurgence of the "Cult" Narrative
Doherty examines the dramatic return of "cults" to the forefront of the Australian cultural imagination. After a period of relative quiet, fringe religious groups have once again become headline news, driven by an explosion of true-crime podcasts, television exposés, and online activism. This heightened public concern has achieved significant political traction, most notably sparking the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into fringe groups in the State of Victoria.

The Drivers of the "Crisis"
Using a contextual constructionist framework, Doherty argues that the perception of a national "cults crisis" is a socially constructed phenomenon. He identifies the primary driver of this resurgence as a new, highly effective generation of media-savvy anti-cult activists. Unlike past decades, this movement is heavily led by Second Generation Adults (SGAs)—individuals who were born and raised in these groups. By partnering with journalists and leveraging digital platforms, these survivors have successfully centralized their narratives and shifted public perception.

Rhetoric vs. Reality
Crucially, Doherty does not dismiss the reality of survivor trauma or deny that some high-control groups engage in documented criminality and abuse. However, he argues that framing the current landscape as a sweeping, unprecedented "crisis" is an unhelpful exaggeration akin to a moral panic. He cautions against the recent trend of importing domestic violence terminology—specifically "coercive control"—into cultic studies, viewing it as a modern repackaging of historically flawed "brainwashing" rhetoric.

Conclusion
Ultimately, the paper concludes that the Australian "cult problem" is cyclical, often reflecting broader societal anxieties rather than a sudden, objective increase in dangerous organizations. Doherty advocates for a nuanced, sociological approach that investigates legitimate criminal behavior without succumbing to media sensationalism or broadly stigmatizing minority religious movements.

Freedom For Faith: Victorian Inquiry into Cults
Here is a summary of the article from Freedom for Faith:
In their response to the Victorian Government’s inquiry into cults and coercive control, the Christian legal think tank Freedom for Faith outlines significant concerns about potential threats to religious liberty in Australia. While commending the effort to protect individuals from genuine harm, the organization warns that poorly defined terms like "coercion" and "harm" could inadvertently stigmatize or criminalize mainstream, high-commitment religious practices and conservative theology.

Freedom for Faith has actively engaged in the inquiry by coordinating a joint submission from Victorian church leaders and testifying before the Committee. Their primary argument centers on the necessity of distinguishing voluntary religious devotion from actual abuse. The organization identifies several key threats to religious freedom:

Expanding "Cult" Definitions: They argue that broadening the term risks misclassifying mainstream groups that simply hold exclusive truth claims or structured communal lives.

Misusing "Coercive Control": The group asserts that applying this concept to standard religious teachings—such as sacrifice or salvation—conflates voluntary participation with genuine manipulation.

Mislabeling Behaviors: Common religious practices, such as offering a sense of belonging or promoting spiritual transformation, are at risk of being unfairly scrutinized as "cultic tactics."

Media Narratives: The organization warns that sensationalized media increasingly and unfairly frame evangelical Christianity as inherently coercive.

Ultimately, Freedom for Faith reminds the government of its obligations under international human rights law (ICCPR) to protect the freedom of belief. They urge the Committee to focus on policing existing criminal offenses rather than legislating against sincerely held religious beliefs or voluntary moral discipline.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexity of a loved one's cult involvement.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families in making the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.

The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan, Joseph Kelly, or Ashlen Hilliard endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.

CultNEWS101 News: 7/27/2026

2026-07-27T13:36:21.271-04:00

Updates

Research & Academic

A letter from Janja Lalich.

Hello,

I’m writing to encourage all survivors of cults, coercion, and/or extremist groups to please participate in this study. This survey research was formulated by Dr. Natalie Fabert, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Dr. Fabert is also a much-appreciated member of the Board of Directors of my nonprofit, the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, and is Director of our Continuing Education programs. Many of us know from hearsay, as well as our own experience, that it is very difficult (near to impossible) to find a therapist who understands the personal and psychological aftereffects of coercive experiences (especially cults). How many times have I heard some version of this: “I explained to her (the therapist) that I had been in the group for 40 years, lost all my money, worked for the leader’s business for free, broke contact with my family and friends, and even recruited my children into the cult. When I was finished, the therapist looked at me and said, ‘Well, why didn’t you leave?’” This kind of uneducated and hurtful reply is exactly why we need this research, so that we have hard evidence of the need for training.

The results of this study will provide us with the type of solid research data that we need to show why it is so crucial that helping professionals get the type of training and education that will provide them with the skills to better serve their clients who may be struggling with the aftereffects of cults or some form of coercive control.

So, please, consider completing this survey. It would mean a lot to me, to all of us at the Lalich Center, and to all survivors who are searching for the kind of care and support they need.

Regards to all,

Janja Lalich, PhD
Professor Emerita of Sociology

Founder & CEO
Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion

The study link: Experiences and Perspectives on Mental Health Support Among Survivors of High-Control Environments

Coercive Control Masters Webinar - Special Two-Hour Event - 10 Years in!
By Rod Dubrow-Marshall

Online event
Saturday, August 1 • 1 PM - 3 PM EDT

Overview
Hear about 10 years of delivering the unique Coercive Control Masters Program featuring Alumni and other professionals from across the world!

Join this special webinar to hear from Program Tutors, Alumni and other professionals from across the world about the ongoing 10-year journey of delivering the only dedicated full master's program on the psychology of coercive control, which focuses on coercion, abuse and undue influence in cults and extremist groups, intimate relationships (domestic abuse) and families, trafficking, gangs, workplaces and organized crime.

This fully distance learning programme (at the University of Salford, UK) was started in 2017 by Drs Rod and Linda Dubrow-Marshall because of the introduction of a law in 2015 (Serious Crime Act, Section 76, in England and Wales) which outlaws psychological abuse in the form of controlling and coercive behaviours in relationships and families, along with human trafficking and modern slavery laws which apply to cults, extremist groups and organised crime. Similar laws are now emerging in other jurisdictions (across North America, Europe and Australasia), reflecting a burgeoning appreciation of coercive control and its damaging effects.

The Master's program draws on these developments by bringing in cutting-edge research on coercive influence and focuses on the psychological effects of coercive control, how people exit from coercive and abusive relationships and groups, approaches to recovery and rehabilitation, the cultural and historical context for coercion and legal and policy responses across the world.

The program still has places for this coming September 2026. It can be studied over 1 or 2 years and consists of live lectures that are also recorded, interactive seminars, 1:1 tutor support, loads of resources via a dedicated website, and the opportunity to conduct ground-breaking empirical research in the capstone dissertation module. The program has already had over 150 students from a wide diversity of countries across four continents, some of whom are existing professionals in the field and others who are looking to do work in this area where there is a huge need for more expertise and more research.

Domestic & True Crime

CBS News: Doctor charged with manslaughter over a year after woman died during psychedelic retreat in Miami Beach

Dr. Samuel Lee, 44, has been charged with second-degree manslaughter over a year after the death of Tina Sodhi during a psychedelic retreat in Miami Beach.

Sodhi died on February 10, 2025, while participating in a three-day "Heart Protocol" ceremony at a wellness home. The retreat involved the administration of MDMA and ketamine, which were advertised as a way to help participants connect with their "higher selves." Sodhi had paid a $2,000 fee and signed a waiver acknowledging the risks of the substances used.
Miami Beach police found Sodhi unresponsive in a rooftop sauna at the property. The Miami-Dade Medical Examiner determined her cause of death to be dehydration resulting from a combination of the MDMA and ketamine, prolonged exposure to the heat of the sauna, and a cleansing regimen she underwent before the ceremony.

During the investigation, an independent physician consulted by the police concluded that Dr. Lee's actions reflected "an extreme and unjustifiable deviation from accepted safety and clinical practices."

Lee's attorney has entered a not-guilty plea and requested a jury trial. Prosecutors are seeking a court order to prevent Lee from practicing medicine while the case is ongoing. Representatives for Sabia Wellness, the organization behind the retreat, stated they mourn the loss and maintain that their client was not culpable, emphasizing the need for strict safety protocols in alternative therapies.

Science

Ecstatic Integration: Spiritual Emergencies and Esalen; The history and future of a concept
Jules Evans

In this post, Jules Evans explores the concept of "spiritual emergency," a term originating from the Esalen Institute to describe turbulent spiritual experiences that mimic psychosis but represent potential for psychological growth. Evans notes that while the concept provided a helpful framework for his own post-psyahuasca crisis, its application in the modern psychedelic landscape warrants caution.

The term is gaining traction within the psychedelic industry, particularly through training programs and harm-reduction organizations like the Zendo Project. However, Evans warns that "spiritual emergency" risks becoming a dangerous, "clumsily imposed" label when used by coaches or therapists to dismiss or reframe acute psychiatric crises. He argues that forcing a spiritual narrative onto a patient’s experience—which may actually be a medical or psychological emergency requiring clinical intervention—can be iatrogenic and unethical.

The essay is particularly timely given the contrast between the professionalizing, multi-billion-dollar psychedelic pharmaceutical industry and the ongoing risks within the unregulated underground, where recent tragic events (such as the death of a participant at a retreat led by Dr. Samuel Lee) highlight the life-threatening consequences of poor safety and oversight. Ultimately, while acknowledging the potential therapeutic value of the "spiritual emergency" framework, Evans urges greater critical scrutiny to ensure it does not function as a dangerous excuse for neglecting the basic safety and mental health needs of individuals in distress.

"...In the years since the Grofs introduced the concept of Spiritual Emergency, it has struggled to establish itself clinically and academically. This is true of many of the therapeutic innovations developed in the hot-tubs at Esalen, like Gestalt therapy, Internal Family Systems and Transpersonal psychology. It’s just a different form of validation and assessment, one more based on vibes and charisma than peer-review and falsification. The innovations developed in the informal spaces of Esalen can spread in alternative healing networks, but they often fail to cross back into the mainstream."

Purported Psychic Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Outrageous $4 Million Extortion Scheme

2026-07-27T13:32:01.894-04:00

Press Release
Purported Psychic Sentenced to More Than 10 Years in Prison for Outrageous $4 Million Extortion Scheme

Thursday, July 18, 2024
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Columbia
USADC.Media@usdoj.gov

WASHINGTON – Gina Rita Russell, 35, formerly of New York, N.Y., and Los Angeles, California, was sentenced today to 125 months in prison for masterminding an elaborate fraud, extortion, and money laundering scheme, which resulted in a Maryland man embezzling more than $4 million from his Washington, D.C., employer. Russell is the sixth defendant to be sentenced in the case.

The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.

In April 2018, a federal grand jury indicted Russell, her ex-common-law husband Robert Evans, his brothers Tony John Evans and Corry Blue Evans, and the brothers’ parents, Archie Kaslov and Candy Evans, all of New York, on various charges related to the scheme. At one point, one of Russell’s coconspirators threatened to harm the Maryland man’s young children.

According to the government’s evidence, Russell met a New York woman in October 2009 in Manhattan and performed a psychic reading on her. Though Russell had no psychic powers, she convinced the New York woman that she did and told the woman that bad things would happen unless the woman raised large sums of money for Russell and her family. The woman started giving Russell money from her lawful jobs, but then Russell convinced her to lie to her father by claiming she needed money for therapy, extensive sleep studies, and university classes. After giving his daughter enormous sums of money, the New York woman’s father eventually stopped providing her with financial assistance.

Russell then convinced the woman to earn more money through sex work. The woman advertised sensual massage services online, including Backpage.com. Through one of her ads, she met a Maryland man, who eventually fell in love with and proposed to her, even though he was married and had children. Preying on his affection, Russell and the New York woman conspired with Robert Evans, Tony John Evans, Corry Blue Evans, and Archie Kaslov to extort money and gold bars from the victim. The New York woman told the Maryland man that she owed money to bad people from prior debts and that her life was in danger. As a result, the Maryland man embezzled more than $4 million from his employer between January and March of 2017. As part of the scheme, Russell had Tony John Evans impersonate a mobster during calls with the Maryland man. During one of those calls, Tony John Evans asked if he needed to remind the Maryland man where his children went to school. Russell also dictated threatening texts and provided the New York woman with instructions on what to tell the Maryland man.

The Maryland man converted embezzled funds to cash and gold bars which he delivered to New York drop-off locations, including a hotel room, believing the funds were going to mobsters. In reality, all of the funds the man embezzled and delivered to New York went to members of the Russell-Evans-Kaslov family.

In July 2019, Russell pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion. She was originally scheduled to be sentenced in May 2024, after her five co-defendants were sentenced. However, prior to her sentencing, the government learned that Russell engaged in similar criminal conduct in Los Angeles, convincing a woman there that she had psychic powers, working with the woman to defraud the woman’s father out of money, and persuading the woman to raise funds through sex work. The government brought Russell’s conduct to the attention of U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who promptly issued a warrant for her arrest. Russell was arrested on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, and has been in custody ever since.

In addition to the prison sentence of 10 years and five months, Judge Chutkan ordered Russell to pay $4,217,542.86 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release.

Tony John Evans, 35, and Robert Evans, 37, both pleaded guilty to interference with interstate commerce by extortion and were each sentenced to five years in prison. Corry Blue Evans, 31, pleaded guilty to bank fraud and was sentenced to 41-months in prison. Archie Kaslov, 57, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was sentenced to 30-months in prison. Candy Evans, 55, pleaded guilty to tampering with a witness by corrupt persuasion or misleading conduct and was sentenced to one year and one day in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman and former Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Kent, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorneys Diane Lucas, Rick Blaylock, former Assistant U.S. Attorney Arvind Lal and Paralegal Specialist Angela De Falco, who assisted with forfeiture issues, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oliver McDaniel and Melissa Goforth Koenig, who assisted with restraining funds.

Contact: USADC.Media@usdoj.gov

Updated July 18, 2024

CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/24/2026

2026-07-24T13:57:00.000-04:00

coe

Updates

Legislative & Legal
Việt Nam penalizes six multi-level marketing companies
In 2025, Việt Nam’s National Competition Commission fined six licensed multi-level marketing (MLM) companies a total of VNĐ1.31 billion (approximately US$49,600) for various regulatory violations. The companies penalized include Seacret Vietnam Co., Ltd. (which received the largest fine of VNĐ455 million), Mỹ Lợi Trading, Best World Vietnam, Elken International Vietnam, Unicity Marketing Vietnam, and Care For Vietnam.

Inspections revealed widespread non-compliance in business operations, reporting, and participant management. Specific breaches involved failing to update business registrations, operating without provincial approvals, neglecting distributor supervision, and ignoring training requirements. Furthermore, some firms failed the legal mandate requiring at least 20 percent of their annual sales revenue to come from customers outside their distributor networks.

The regulator issued a strict order to all six companies to immediately rectify their operations. Despite these violations and 25 related complaints, authorities report that Việt Nam's MLM sector, comprising 15 licensed companies, remains stable and is under very strict supervision.

Science

Psychology Today: Chart of Coercion in Cults
In the article, Fontes adapts Albert Biderman’s 1957 Chart of Coercion—originally developed to explain how torturers break the wills of prisoners of war—to illustrate the manipulative tactics employed by cults and high-demand groups.

Fontes argues that "coercive control," a framework frequently applied to domestic violence, is exactly the right term for understanding how cult leaders systematically entrap their followers. She explains that rather than relying on a single abusive act, leaders weave a broad, restrictive web of tactics designed to dominate members and strip them of vital resources, including their money, health, and connections to outside family and friends.

Crucially, Fontes notes that coercion in these environments is highly diffused. While a leader dictates and whimsically changes major rules, the members themselves are conditioned to actively police and pressure one another into total submission, eliminating any room for spontaneity or nonconformity. Her adapted chart categorizes these systemic abuses into recognizable tactics, including engineered isolation, induced exhaustion, targeted degradation, relentless micromanagement, and occasional indulgences that reinforce trauma bonds.

Ultimately, Fontes provides this adapted chart as a practical assessment tool for mental health, advocacy, educational, and legal settings. By clearly mapping out these mechanisms of mind control, the chart helps professionals identify high-demand groups and explains exactly why escaping them is so psychologically challenging.

International News

The Times: The dangerous new face of cults

Growing concern over online cults – Recent commentary examines how extremist and high-control groups increasingly recruit through Discord, gaming platforms, and social media, making them more difficult for families and authorities to detect.

Group Focus

Beyond Pointing: What Is the Matter With Mooji? – A Detailed Overview
In the article “What Is the Matter With Mooji? – A Detailed Overview” on the blog Beyond Pointing, the author critically examines the structural and psychological hazards embedded in Mooji's spiritual teachings. While public perception of Mooji oscillates between profound reverence and severe allegations—ranging from psychological manipulation to sexual misconduct—the article focuses primarily on the insidious nature of his pedagogical framework rather than the scandals alone.

The author argues that Mooji employs traditional contemplative vocabulary, such as "liberation," "awareness," and "the Self," but structurally repurposes these concepts to foster dependency and psychological destabilization. At the core of this issue is a "low-falsifiability" spiritual system that systematically downgrades individual personhood and invalidates critical thinking. By elevating an impersonal "witness-consciousness," the teaching frames natural skepticism, emotional distress, and rational doubt as mere manifestations of the "ego" or "mind" resisting spiritual progress. Consequently, cognitive dissonance and psychological distress are reinterpreted as necessary milestones on the path to enlightenment rather than warning signs of manipulation or abuse.

Furthermore, the author highlights a problematic logical leap in Mooji’s methodology: the transition from a valid contemplative practice—such as observing one's thoughts—to sweeping metaphysical assertions that the personal self lacks authority or reality. This leap creates a closed interpretive loop where the teacher’s perspective becomes the sole arbiter of truth. Ultimately, the article contends that Mooji’s framework strips away the discernment, moral seriousness, and humility inherent in mature spiritual traditions, replacing them with a procedural engine that subverts independent judgment and exacerbates vulnerability under the guise of spiritual awakening.

AI Research Disclosure: To bring you the most relevant stories, parts of this newsletter utilize artificial intelligence (AI) tools to search the web, source articles, and assist with content curation. This content is for informational purposes only; we recommend verifying critical facts independently.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexities of a loved one's involvement in a cult.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families in making the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.

The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan, Joseph Kelly, or Ashlen Hilliard endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.

Please forward articles you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

Experiences and Perspectives on Mental Health Support Among Survivors of High-Control Environments

2026-07-24T11:55:32.324-04:00

A letter from Janja.

Hello,

I’m writing to encourage all survivors of cults, coercion, and/or extremist groups to please participate in this study. This survey research was formulated by Dr. Natalie Fabert, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University. Dr. Fabert is also a much-appreciated member of the Board of Directors of my nonprofit, the Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion, and is Director of our Continuing Education programs. Many of us know from hearsay, as well as our own experience, that it is very difficult (near to impossible) to find a therapist who understands the personal and psychological aftereffects of coercive experiences (especially cults). How many times have I heard some version of this: “I explained to her (the therapist) that I had been in the group for 40 years, lost all my money, worked for the leader’s business for free, broke contact with my family and friends, and even recruited my children into the cult. When I was finished, the therapist looked at me and said, ‘Well, why didn’t you leave?’” This kind of uneducated and hurtful reply is exactly why we need this research, so that we have hard evidence of the need for training.

The results of this study will provide us with the type of solid research data that we need to show why it is so crucial that helping professionals get the type of training and education that will provide them with the skills to better serve their clients who may be struggling with the aftereffects of cults or some form of coercive control.

So, please, consider completing this survey. It would mean a lot to me, to all of us at the Lalich Center, and to all survivors who are searching for the kind of care and support they need.

Regards to all,

Janja Lalich, PhD
Professor Emerita of Sociology
Founder & CEO
Lalich Center on Cults and Coercion

Study link: Experiences and Perspectives on Mental Health Support Among Survivors of High-Control Environments

https://asu.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5XTEkswpjaQma2?

CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/22/2026

2026-07-22T13:56:00.000-04:00

Culture & Media

New Docuseries

Realscreen: ID slates new “People Magazine Investigates” doc on alleged online cult
Investigation Discovery (ID) is premiering a new People Magazine Investigates documentary on July 14th, focusing specifically on "The University of Cosmic Intelligence"—an alleged online cult. This reflects a broader media trend of investigating decentralized, internet-based organizations rather than traditional communal compounds.

New Video

This Is Your Brain: Tell-Tale Signs That You Are in a Cult – Janja Lalich
Cults and high-control groups influence beliefs and fundamentally reshape identity, decision-making, and autonomy. In this episode, Dr. Phil Stieg sits down with sociologist and cult expert Dr. Janja Lalichu, Professor and author of Take Back Your Life, to explore the psychology behind cults. Drawing from decades of research as well as her own personal experience of spending a decade in a political cult, she discusses how indoctrination alters a person’s sense of self, why anyone can become vulnerable under the right circumstances, and the road to recovery after leaving

Updates

Domestic & True Crime

Al Jazeera: Alleged criminal activities of a cult group
Philippines Senate Probe: A formal investigation has begun regarding the "Kingdom of Jesus Christ" group. The probe is focused on the alleged criminal activities of its leader, Apollo Quiboloy, who currently remains on the U.S. FBI's wanted list for human trafficking and abuse.

Group Profile

A Taste of Utopia? Cultivating a Culture of Sustainability in Fairfield, Iowa
Atmore, Lane; Rootstalk: A Prairie Journal of Culture, Science and the Arts, Vol. II, No. 2. Grinnell College 201 6

This is another piece by Lane Atmore, based on the same ethnographic fieldwork she conducted during her two months in Fairfield in the summer of 2016. While published in Grinnell's Rootstalk under the slightly shorter title "A Taste of Utopia: A Brief Introduction to Fairfield, IA," her research focused on the intersection of TM's spirituality and the town's culture of environmental sustainability.

This article is particularly relevant to your work, as it bridges the gap between the town's utopian, eco-friendly public image and the high-demand, coercive dynamics operating beneath the surface.

Here are the primary themes from Atmore's ethnographic account:

The Illusion of the Secular
TM officially markets itself to the outside world as a simple, secular meditation technique—often stripping away spiritual language to gain entry into public schools, veterans' programs, and corporate environments. However, Atmore observes that within Fairfield, TM is institutionalized in a way that is "strongly reminiscent of religion." In this community, the purportedly scientific concept of "consciousness" is effectively synonymous with "spirituality," and adhering to the Maharishi's Vedic worldview is the social baseline.

Sustainability as Dogma
The town's famous culture of sustainability—its organic agriculture, off-the-grid homes, and solar initiatives—is not rooted purely in modern environmentalism. Instead, it is an extension of Maharishi's teachings on "natural law." The community's eco-friendly practices, including the strict adherence to Vastu (Vedic architecture oriented to cardinal directions for energetic alignment), are driven by a dogmatic requirement to align with the Guru's specific interpretation of universal balance.

The "Closed System"
Atmore highlights a core tension: a potentially beneficial meditation practice is wrapped in an ideology that dictates every facet of life. Because Maharishi was viewed as fully "enlightened," his word became unquestionable absolute truth. Atmore describes the Fairfield TM community as a "closed system"—a conservative paradigm where taking the founder's word as literal truth stifles progressive thought and creates a profound lack of critical thinking.

Social Coercion and the "Cult" Label
Crucially, Atmore notes that the word "cult" is commonly used by many residents in Fairfield—both non-meditators and meditators. She directly attributes this to the movement's restrictiveness and its active punishment of those who fail to comply with movement standards. For example, she notes that simply choosing to meditate at home rather than inside the Golden Domes can result in lasting social repercussions and ostracization from the community network.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexities of a loved one's involvement in a cult.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families in making the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.

The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan, Joseph Kelly, or Ashlen Hilliard endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.

Please forward articles you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/21/2026

2026-07-21T13:39:00.000-04:00

Updates

Legislative & Legal

Korea JoonngAng Daily: Top court finalizes 18-month sentence for church official who gave gifts to former first lady
South Korea’s Supreme Court has finalized an 18-month prison sentence for Yun Young-ho, the former head of the Unification Church’s global headquarters. Yun was convicted of providing luxury gifts, including a diamond necklace and a Chanel handbag, to former first lady Kim Keon Hee in 2022 to secure government favors for the church.

The court also upheld his conviction for violating the Political Funds Act by paying 100 million won to a lawmaker close to the president to arrange introductions during the presidential transition. Yun further faced charges related to the embezzlement of church funds used to purchase the illicit gifts.

This definitive ruling is significant because it confirms the nature of the gifts intended to influence government policy, potentially affecting the former first lady’s separate ongoing appeal before the Supreme Court. A final verdict regarding Kim’s own bribery and influence-peddling convictions is expected later this month.

Bishop Accountability: Osceola County pastor convicted of raping church member who sought spiritual guidance
An Osceola County jury convicted Eddy Noelsaint, a 54-year-old former Orlando pastor of Eglise Evangelique De La Restauration, on four counts of sexual battery against a female congregation member.

The victim initially approached Noelsaint in 2022 for spiritual guidance. During a meeting presented as a "spiritual revival," Noelsaint secretly drugged the victim's tea, leaving her incapacitated before forcing himself on her. He subsequently refused her requests to call 911. He later stole her wedding ring under the guise that it carried "bad spirits" and assaulted her a second time months later.

Though Noelsaint initially gave conflicting statements to the Osceola County Sheriff's Office, he eventually confessed to the non-consensual encounters. State Attorney Monique Worrell praised the survivor's courage following the verdict. Noelsaint is remanded to the Osceola County Jail and faces decades in prison at his sentencing on September 11, 2026.

Research & Academic

Personality changes following first-time psychedelic use in college students in Germany
Constantin Volkmann, Michael Seitz, Felix Betzler, NPJ Mental Health Research, Volume 5, Article number: 34 (2026)

Abstract: Psychedelics may influence personality traits, but longitudinal evidence on first-time use outside clinical settings remains limited. We followed 102 first-time psychedelic users and 1066 never-users over one year among Berlin university students. Personality was assessed with the Big Five Inventory at baseline and follow-up. Linear mixed-effects models showed small relative increases in Openness and decreases in Conscientiousness among first-time users. After adjustment for age, sex, income, psychiatric diagnosis, and baseline substance-use burden, estimates were attenuated but directionally similar (Openness: beta = 0.19, SE = 0.10, p = 0.06; Conscientiousness: beta = –0.20, SE = 0.10, p = 0.05; FDR-adjusted p = 0.16 for both). Change was not clearly different from first-time users of other illicit substances. In exploratory moderation analyses, first-time users with psychiatric diagnoses showed larger Neuroticism reductions. Findings suggest small personality changes after first-time psychedelic use, with limited causal interpretability.

Ongoing Focus

New Idea: “These people aren’t my family”: How Maria Esguerra escaped a cult to save her children

Maria Esguerra, 45, spent the first 22 years of her life enduring severe physical, psychological, and sexual abuse inside the Children of God. Born into the religious group, she faced constant fear and beatings. She was routinely denied basic medical care because the cult relied entirely on faith healing.

The turning point came when she and her husband Jesse, who was also raised in the cult, had their first child. The baby nearly died from meningitis after cult members resisted seeking outside medical treatment. Realizing her children were in grave danger, Maria and Jesse fled the Sydney commune with only the clothes on their backs.

Starting over with no education or work experience was daunting, but they successfully rebuilt their lives. Maria eventually went to university and qualified as a psychologist. After hiding her past for years, a tragic 2022 religious death inspired her to speak out. Today, she advocates for survivors of extreme religious groups nationwide.

News, Education, Intervention, Recovery

Intervention101.com helps families and friends understand and effectively respond to the complexities of a loved one's involvement in a cult.

CultRecovery101.com assists group members and their families in making the sometimes difficult transition from coercion to renewed individual choice.

CultNEWS101.com news, links, resources about: cults, cultic groups, abusive relationships, movements, religions, political organizations, and related topics.

The selection of articles for CultNEWS101 does not imply that Patrick Ryan, Joseph Kelly, or Ashlen Hilliard endorse the content. We provide information from multiple perspectives to foster dialogue.

Please forward articles you think we should add to cultintervention@gmail.com.

CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/20/2026

2026-07-20T09:06:34.521-04:00

Updates

Legislative & Legal

India Today: UP Police rescues 300 trainees, arrests 19 in fake network marketing job scam
The Varanasi Fake MLM Job Scam
The headline refers to a major crackdown by the Uttar Pradesh Police and the cybercrime unit in Varanasi, which successfully dismantled a predatory multi-level marketing (MLM) and employment-fraud syndicate.

• The Arrests and Rescue: Authorities raided a fraudulent training facility, rescuing approximately 300 young adults who were being held and manipulated. Police arrested 19 individuals, including the alleged kingpin of the interstate operation, Deepak Kumar Shah.
• The Setup: The group operated under a fake entity called "Mahadev Enterprises," falsely presenting itself as a franchise of a legitimate wellness brand. They specifically targeted unemployed individuals across Bihar, Jharkhand, and Madhya Pradesh, offering fake corporate or agricultural jobs with a promised monthly salary of ₹25,000.
• The Extortion Model: Candidates were brought to a professionally staged "corporate office" in Varanasi for interviews. Once hooked, they were forced to pay between ₹30,000 and ₹35,000 as a mandatory registration fee. In return, they received a cheap kit of basic goods (clothes, soap, oil) worth no more than ₹2,000.
• The Pyramid Structure: After paying the fee, recruits were sequestered in a training center where they underwent psychological manipulation. The organizers pressured them to trap at least three friends or family members into the network, threatening to withhold their salaries and deny any refunds if they failed to recruit new victims.
• The Financial Scale: Investigators have uncovered nearly ₹4 crore in bank transactions credited to the gang over the past year. During the raid, authorities seized laptops, dozens of mobile phones containing scripts and audio recordings of the fraud, vehicles, and fake corporate documents.

Resources

TED-Ed: How to spot a pyramid scheme - Stacie Bosley
The video breaks down the math behind the endless chain recruiting model, illustrating how the financial structure forces the bottom layer of recruits to lose money.

Mental Floss: The Overview of 7 Alleged Modern Pyramid Schemes
This video details the mechanics of investment fraud versus retail-oriented recruitment traps, in which new sellers bear all the financial inventory risk.

NEW 2-MONTH SUPPORT GROUP SERIES - Cults. Coercive Control. Recovery.
Beginning this July and continuing through August (Cult Awareness Month), we’ll be embarking on a special five-part educational support group series exploring cults, high-control groups, and the unique experiences of Black survivors of religious trauma, spiritual abuse, and cultic abuse.

For many Black survivors, leaving a high-control religious or spiritual environment is about more than walking away from a group. It can mean untangling years of fear, shame, manipulation, conditional belonging, identity confusion, and the loss of community.

This series was intentionally created to explore those experiences through a culturally responsive, trauma-informed lens.

Over five gatherings, we’ll explore:

Let’s Talk About Cults: What Makes a Group a Cult?

Recognizing Cultic Dynamics in Black Religious and Spiritual Communities

From Jonestown to Carbon Nation: Exploring Cult Dynamics Across Popular Cults

Breaking Free: Navigating Recovery After Cultic Abuse

Beyond the Cult: Finding Your Way Forward

Together, we’ll examine how cults and high-control groups operate, discuss the unique ways these dynamics can emerge within Black religious and spiritual spaces, learn from historical and modern examples, and explore what healing and recovery can look like after cultic abuse.

Whether you’re questioning past experiences, making sense of your own story, or continuing your healing journey, this series is designed to provide education, validation, meaningful conversation, and community.

Understanding what happened is powerful.
Finding language for your experience can be liberating. And healing is possible.

If you’re a Black survivor looking for a compassionate space to learn, reflect, and connect with others who understand, we invite you to join us for this important series.

Cults, high-control groups, and coercive control for the week of July 20, 2026.

2026-07-20T09:02:17.472-04:00

News and developments regarding cults, high-control groups, and coercive control for the week of July 20, 2026.

There are no major legislative movements on Canada's Bill C-16 this week; it remains under Senate review. However, we have several legal and procedural updates stemming from the groups we covered last week.

### Updates on Ongoing Investigations and Legal Actions

* **Kingdom of Canada Fallout:** Following up on last week's story about the town of Richmound, Saskatchewan, evicting the "Kingdom of Canada" group, a trial date has now been set for Ricky Manz. Manz is the local property owner who allowed the self-proclaimed "Queen of Canada," Romana Didulo, and her followers to occupy an old school building for two years. He will stand trial beginning January 5 in Swift Current, facing charges stemming from a police raid on the compound last year.

* **Apollo Quiboloy's Digital Reach:** Despite the active Philippine Senate probe and Quiboloy's status on the FBI's wanted list for human trafficking and abuse, his "Kingdom of Jesus Christ" network remains highly active online. The group hosted multiple broadcasts and livestreams as recently as July 19th, underscoring the ongoing challenge authorities face in shutting down the digital recruitment and fundraising arms of high-control groups even when their leaders are under indictment.

### Upcoming Events

* **Victoria Inquiry Public Hearings:** The Parliament of Victoria’s inquiry into the impacts of cults and organized fringe groups is preparing for its next major public hearing on Thursday, July 23. The proceedings will be broadcast live. In preparation, the committee has published a new batch of redacted public submissions and formal responses from government departments regarding the ongoing demand for cult-exit support services.

India in a Mind’s Eye: Travels and Ruminations of an Ambivalent Pilgrim

2026-07-19T14:19:26.741-04:00

Publication Announcement

India in a Mind’s Eye
Travels and Ruminations of an Ambivalent Pilgrim

By Steven J. Gelberg

India in a Mind’s Eye: Travels and Ruminations of an Ambivalent Pilgrim is a work which should be of particular interest to cult-watchers and other observers of the contemporary religious scene. The author, Steven J. Gelberg, is a former member of ISKCON (the Hare Krishna Movement) and author of several important works on the Krishnas, including the widely-influential essay “On Leaving ISKCON.”*
On one level a colorful and eventful journey through India, both modern and traditional, the book also serves as an honest, thoughtful and eloquent critique of a religious movement in crisis - beset by scandal, power struggles and growing disillusionment. Written not long before Gelberg left the organization, it presents the deeply personal musings and insights of one still following a spiritual path, yet questioning his continued commitment to an organization in decline. Neither “anti-cult” polemic nor cult apologetic, India in a Mind’s Eye provides a unique, nuanced view into the complex, many-layered process of religious disaffiliation. Originally self-published in 2012 in a limited edition, India in a Mind’s Eye is now available in a fully revised edition from Monkfish Publications.
* https://surrealist.org/cults/gelberg1.html

“An extremely interesting book ... His observations in this memoir are tinged with the ‘mind’s eye’ of a skeptic, albeit one laced with dry wit and humor. ... As a travelogue detailing that vast fascinating country, Gelberg’s vivid descriptions reminded me of Paul Theroux’s classic first travel book, The Great Railway Bazaar. Anyone interested in India or Eastern thought or cults, or just fascinating travel writing, will enjoy this wonderfully written and insightful book.”
—Marcia Rudin, International Journal of Cultic Studies
[Vol. 4, 2013]

_____________________

Praise for India in a Mind’s Eye:

“During the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s, tens of thousands of young Americans, inspired by utopian dreams, found themselves attracted to Hindu spirituality in one form or another. But over time, and perhaps especially after visiting India, the homeland of those utopian dreams, many developed a nuanced and less gullible understanding of the movements they had joined. Gelberg has provided an excellent book based on his travel journal, recording the landscapes of India, as well as his own 'mindscapes' as he came to terms with his growing disillusionment with the Hare Krishna movement and its leaders. This is a deep dive into skepticism as a necessary aspect of the spiritual path."
— Dr. Dana Sawyer, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy and World Religions, Maine College of Art & Design. Author, The Transcendental Meditation Movement.

“Not unlike a snake charmer, Steven Gelberg entices you into his mind’s eye as he journeys around secular and holy sites of India. Part travelogue, part thought-provoking spiritual exploration, and illustrated with sensitive portraits of fellow seekers on the path, this is a voyage that offers the reader a glimpse into understanding how and why a ‘Hin-Jew’ could become both enamoured of an 'alien' belief and disillusioned by the organisation/people ostensibly embracing its way of life. At times comical, at other times moving, but always engaging - if you have something urgent to do, don't open this book.
— Dr. Eileen Barker OBE FBA FAcSS, Professor Emerita, London School of Economics and Political Science.

“Gelberg has the perspective and temperament of a scholar who appreciates his in-group but is increasingly impatient with that group’s divisions and dictates. He is especially drawn to women devotees who display typically mystical qualities in their demeanor, conversation, and lifestyles. Gelberg doesn’t state this outright, but perhaps he was drawn to these women because they pointed to a purer and cleaner way of devotion that the international movement had seemingly lost sight of during the internecine conflicts among competing gurus.”
— Dr. W. Michael Ashcraft, Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions [Vol. 18, No. 3 (February 2015)]. Author, A Historical Introduction to the Study of New Religious Movements.

“It is Gelberg’s ability to speak clearly about his ambivalence that gives this book its historical importance, since the 1986 trip took place during the critical period of numerous leadership failures and conflicts when many other devotees were going through similar uncertainties about their involvement in ISKCON. Gelberg is now able to view that period from a more mature perspective and give an eloquent voice to the mixed emotions so common at the time – an important contribution to the historical record, and a needed supplement to the numerous writings about the period by former or current devotees that tend to be either accusative or defensive.
. . . Purely as a travelogue, it stands alongside the best ever written. It is much more than that, however, and is – as Gelberg recognizes in his title – a journey of the spirit that helps us understand the ups and downs of ISKCON’s first fifty years. It does not claim to provide a comprehensive history of those years, but it is a valuable contribution to the history that is yet to be written. Anyone who wants to understand India or ISKCON should read it.
— Dr. Thomas J. Hopkins, Journal of Vaishnava Studies [23.2 (Spring 2015)]. Author, The Hindu Religious Tradition.

_______________________
* Available from Amazon and other booksellers.

Lisa Halverson: She Spent 15 Years in Scientology—Here's Why She Left Everything Behind

2026-07-19T12:56:28.893-04:00

Lisa Halverson was involved in Scientology as both a public member and a staff member. Deeply committed to the organization, she never expected that her parents' determination to help her would ultimately change the course of her life. Concerned that Scientology was taking over Lisa's life, her parents arranged for her to meet with experienced exit counselors - Hana & Jerry Whitfield, who presented information that Scientology did not want her to see.

A Review of American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda

2026-07-19T10:35:27.351-04:00

A Review of American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda

Ru Marshall’s *American Trickster: The Hidden Lives of Carlos Castaneda* (OR Books, 2026) is far more than a literary biography; it is a vital examination of the structural mechanics of undue influence. For decades, Castaneda was celebrated as a revolutionary voice in anthropology, peddling *The Teachings of Don Juan* as genuine Indigenous wisdom. But behind the facade of this twentieth-century hoax lies a chilling case study in how charismatic narcissists build and sustain high-demand movements.

Marshall meticulously unravels Castaneda's transition from a fraudulent academic to the architect of a secretive New Age sect. The book traces his deployment of classic coercive control tactics—isolating his followers, severing their ties to their pasts, and blurring the lines between fabricated mysticism and psychological reality. Most devastatingly, *American Trickster* does not shy away from the tragic terminus of this totalistic environment. When Castaneda died in 1998, five of his closest female followers vanished, widely believed to have taken their own lives to join him in a "next dimension".

What elevates this 670-page work is its sociological rigor. Marshall dissects the intersection of the 1970s cultural zeitgeist and Castaneda’s deeply manipulative interpersonal behavior, framing it as an allegory for modern spiritual abuse and the erasure of actual Indigenous practices. Crucially, the biography illuminates the vertical and horizontal contributions to the cult experience, exploring both the leader's top-down deception and the environmental vulnerabilities of those seeking enlightenment.

For those researching the historical precedents of high-demand groups or developing recovery frameworks, *American Trickster* is essential reading. It transforms Castaneda from a mere literary charlatan into a quintessential study of how pseudo-spirituality is weaponized to dismantle autonomy, making it an indispensable addition to the literature on psychological captivity and mediation.

CultNEWS101 Newsletter: 7/17/2026

2026-07-17T13:44:00.000-04:00

Culture & Media

New Docuseries

HBO Max premieres its documentary series THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI this fall
HBO Max today announced the fall premiere of its new original documentary series THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI, produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO for HBO Max in Spain, created and directed by Mònica Terribas.

Following the media and social impact of the documentary series THE HEROIC MINUTE, I TOO LEFT OPUS DEI, which was awarded the 2025 Ondas prize - which addressed the labor, spiritual and psychological abuse to which, according to the testimonies of thirteen women, they are subjected within the institution - many men who had left Opus Dei also needed to explain the role they had played within the Work.

According to their own accounts, they were recruited from childhood and destined to become numeraries or priests of Opus Dei. The series analyzes their descriptions of psychological control, recruitment practices, and oppression, as well as their accounts of the alleged underlying dynamics of power, money, influence, and control.

THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI features the testimonies of 14 men of all ages from eleven different countries, who recount their personal experiences within the reality of Opus Dei: Spain, Italy, France, Poland, Germany, England, and across the Atlantic in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, the United States, and Argentina. Many of them held positions of responsibility as directors, secretaries, and members of Local Councils within their centers, as well as officers of Regional Commissions. Others were called to support the institution from the highest levels of their professional careers to expand Opus Dei. Some, as numeraries, associates, or priests, were sent as teenagers to countries from which they never returned.

Their shared experiences shed light on the functioning of the Work, its economic dynamics and influence, through the Regional Commissions, the Local Councils, the educational, university, and research centers, as well as the dynamics of spiritual direction and precepting among adolescents and young university students.

“The men within Opus Dei command, maneuver, administer, mortify themselves, sacrifice themselves, and, like the women, they also break down. It is heartening to hear them speak on behalf of the many who do not yet dare to stand before the camera and who have been part of the research for this series,” declared Mònica Terribas Sala, screenwriter and director of THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI.

To contextualize the protagonists' testimonies, the documentary features the voices of experts, such as Santiago Bueno Salinas, professor of canon law, also judicial vicar and president of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal of Barcelona; María Esther Fernández Mostaza, professor of sociology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and author of the book Els fills de l'Opus; Dr. Vega González, clinical psychologist and managing director of Care and Research in Social Addictions (AIS); Gareth Gore, investigative journalist and author of Opus; and Rebecca Griffin, director of The Deep Dive Project.

The series features reenactments of the protagonists' stories, performed by actors Joel Bosqued and Guillem Balart and directed by Pere Sala.

THE GOOD SPIRIT: BEHIND THE DOOR OF OPUS DEI is an HBO Max original documentary series in Spain produced by THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO. Mònica Terribas, Bernat Elías, and Amparo Castellano are the executive producers for THE MEDIAPRO STUDIO. Bibiana González is the Director of Non-Fiction Content for HBO Max. María Rubio and Zaida Serrano-Piedecasas serve as executive producers for Warner Bros. Discovery.

Updates

Legislative & Legal

Punch Up: Leading Scholars Slam Jailing of Orgasm Guru Using Junk Science
Twenty global scholars of religion and human rights signed a memorandum condemning the forced labor conspiracy convictions of OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone and sales chief Rachel Cherwitz. Published via the Center for Studies on New Religions (CESNUR), the memo claims the case reintroduces a "brainwashing" theory as psychological coercion under trafficking laws, threatening religious liberty. Furthermore, a watchdog report alleges FBI collusion with a Netflix documentary crew, and prosecutors admitted their star witness's diaries were faked. Attorney Alan Dershowitz plans to seek a presidential pardon for both women.

When Persuasion Becomes a Crime: United States v. Cherwitz and the Second Circuit's Forced Labor Reckoning
Here is a summary of the article's main arguments regarding the Cherwitz case and its broader legal implications:

The article When Persuasion Becomes a Crime examines the constitutional stakes of the upcoming Second Circuit appeal in United States v. Cherwitz. Following the forced labor conspiracy convictions of OneTaste executives Nicole Daedone and Rachel Cherwitz, the author argues the government's novel prosecutorial theory dangerously criminalizes psychological persuasion, raising severe First Amendment and void-for-vagueness concerns.

The Evolution of the TVPA
At the heart of the critique is the application of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Originally enacted in 2000 to target severe commercial trafficking involving physical compulsion or legal coercion, a 2008 amendment expanded the definition of "serious harm" to include psychological pressure. In Cherwitz, prosecutors argued the defendants coerced victims by threatening the loss of their belief system, community, and relationships. The author contends that this applies the statute to consenting adults in a voluntary wellness organization—a drastic departure from the TVPA's legislative intent and one that lacks any objective limiting principle.

The "Victim-Centered Approach"
The article traces this strategy to the institutionalization of the "Victim-Centered Approach" (VCA) across federal law enforcement over the last 15 years. Under the VCA doctrine, an individual's ongoing consent or voluntary participation is irrelevant. If a witness claims they loved an organization and were happy, prosecutors and judges are trained to view this not as autonomy, but as evidence of "brainwashing" and total psychological control. Because of this framework, the government explicitly told the Cherwitz jury that whether the victims actually suffered physical harm was not the question of the trial.

The Core Constitutional Question
Ultimately, the article frames the Second Circuit's impending review as a foundational test of American legal boundaries. Because all nine alleged victims in Cherwitz eventually left the organization voluntarily and without physical restraint, the appellate court must decide if the state can legally equate the persuasive power of ideas with criminal forced labor.

Courthouse News Service: Former Epoch Times executive pleads guilty to multimillion-dollar fraud scheme that funded newspaper
Weidong "Bill" Guan, the former Chief Financial Officer of The Epoch Times, has pleaded guilty to a charge of roughly $ 15 million to $62 million. Guan, who reached a plea agreement just as jury selection for his trial was underway, acknowledged that he had ignored multiple red flags and warnings from banks about the operation's legality.

The Epoch Times distanced itself from the litigation, noting that Guan was suspended upon his 2024 arrest and maintaining that the charges were unrelated to their journalism.

Guan faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and, as a non-U.S. citizen, potential deportation. His co-defendant, Le Van Hung, previously pleaded guilty to identity theft.

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