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Carol
A woman, I will call her Carol*, contacted me after reading my article on OS earlier this week regarding the Baptists missionaries detained in Haiti. She reached out to me because she said (via email) “there is a group of us watching the events in Haiti [regarding Laura Silsby] in horror.” and ”she [Silsby] is a snake oil salesman.”
Many of us have been watching this story with great interest. But, Carol’s perspective is different as she has been observing Silsby for years, from the inside – Carol is a former employee of Silsby’s online company PersonalShopper.com.
Carol went on, “Laura Silsby is incredibly good at getting enormous sums of money from people. 10 years good at it. She has probably smooth talked these poor people and now they’re stuck in jail with her."
The New York Times quotes Edwin Coq, the Baptist’s lawyer, stating that 9 of his 10 clients were “completely innocent,” but that, in an apparent reference to Ms. Silsby, “if the judiciary were to keep one, it could be the leader of the group.”
I think Carol is on to something.
Ignorance and Laura Silsby
When the story first broke last week, Silsby, 40, of Boise, Idaho, claimed she didn’t realize collecting and transporting 33 Haitian children (turns out some weren’t even orphans) across the border into the Dominican Republic would cause a ruckus, that she didn’t realize she needed permission from the Haitian government.
A sensible person cannot claim ignorance in this situation. Especially one like Silsby with enough business savvy to have been named the 2006 International Businesswoman of the Year.
Carol says ignorance has been a professional fallback of Laura Silsby’s for years. That she claims ignorance in lawsuits brought by workers for back pay owed, many times not following proper procedure has tripped her up in tax dealings and wage disputes.
Calling herself an “old gal” in our email exchange, Carol said she “no longer has any axe to grind” with Silsby’s PersonalShopper, finally getting paid for back wages, owed her an others since 2008.
So far, all of Carol’s legal assertions — or as she puts it her axe(s) — have been founded through searching public records in Idaho.
God is on our side
Silsby has become the de-facto spokesperson for the 10 detainees, speaking to the press, telling the world of their mission from God to rescue these children. That their hearts were in the right place and they only had the children in mind. (AP/YahooNews)
Then came the Reverend Clint Henry, of Central Valley Baptist Church in Meridian, Idaho, defending his flock jailed on the Haiti-Dominican Republic border. “Help them as they seek to resist the accusations of Satan and the lies that he would want them to believe and the fears that he would want to plant in their heart.” (via AP/YahooNews)
God was also a familiar attendee at company meetings, according to Carol. She said there were a handful of “God is on our side meetings” during rough financial times at Personal Shopper, which is nothing out of order calling on the Almighty for help within a company that considered itself a “family”.
But, to Carol, when she got a text from a friend who also used to work at the company stating: “Laura’s in jail in Haiti! Karma!” she couldn’t believe it. The news of Laura’s missionary work came as a shock — after two years with Personal Shopper, Carol had no idea that Laura was even a Baptist.
Attempts to contact Silsby’s church, Central Valley Baptist, have gone unreturned. I have been unable to find out how long she has been parishioner there. Central Valley also put out bins one Sunday for “Donations For Haiti”and gave several thousand dollars toward Silsby’s mission, according to Henry. (AP)
New Life Children’s Refuge
Whatever the history of Silsby’s religious inclinations, her plans became clear with her creation of New Life Children’s Refuge (NLCR). Their mission statement is explicit: “[to] help facilitate adoptions and provide grants to subsidize the cost of adoption for loving Christian parents who would otherwise not be able to adopt.”
Silsby’s signed 501(c)3 documentation for NLCR (a non-profit organization founded in November, 2009) was sent from the Personal Shopper fax line. In and of itself not a big deal, right? But, within the scope of what the Idaho Statesman has termed Ms. Silsby’s “flouting” of laws, her mingling and mixing of her not-for-profit and for-profit organizations — even if so far only extends to a date and time stamp of Personal Shopper’s fax machine — is likely worth noting.
In other documentation, NLCR’s plan – thrown together post earthquake -included building an oceanfront facility at Playa Magante in the Dominican Republic as well as well as a restaurant to house and feed “the community of adopting parents,” who are required to stay in the DR for 60 – 90 days prior any adoption.
Carol makes a comment, about those back wages. Many former employees it seems, got paid (at least partially) on the heels of Silsby starting her not-for-profit.
Out of her scope
Carol continued to offer up a personal assessment of Laura Silsby. Her ability to get close to people, make moves continually up the ladder, though her business was perpetually lacking funds, constantly going back to the well of what Carol called investor “angels”.
I tend to be suspicious of anonymous sources, and told Carol as much on the phone. I let her know that I would only use her comments and information if they lead me to a claim that could be substantiated. Carol understood. But at the end of our conversation came this – a salient observation by Carol, one that I happen to share: “[Silsby has a willingness] to break laws and not follow proper procedures — it is common for her as is her feigned ignorance when she’s caught. I think this is [Haiti arrest] is outside her scope of people she can fool.”
* Carol still lives in the Boise area and didn’t want to be identified.
Sources, further info:
Idaho Attorney General’s office: http://www2.state.id.us/ag/about/contact.htm
Idaho BBB: http://boise.bbb.org/
www.idahostatesman.com (search under Silsby for current stories — 2/4/10 — specifically by Katy Moeller for financial trail)
http://www.idahostatesman.com/273/story/1064614.html
For more information and links please visit my blog: Lettuce Spray
12 Comments
Thanks for the insider info.
Mike Malloy had a righteous rant about these “Christians” who like many Americans have an arrogant and ignorant view of the world. That they decided that they could just take children out of a country because they were “good” people and implying that Haitians aren’t good or capable is the very definition of stupid arrogance. That these people were duped by yet another flim flam artist moves me not. From Laura Silsby all the way to the very top people in our government, we are riddled with first and second rate Elmer Gantrys. Educated and uneducated are fooled by propaganda and marketing. Cheesy preacher rhetoric pervades our culture. Give me some Rev. Wright any day compared to all this hokum.
There is info about this con-woman coming out even in the so-called msm now. When I first heard about this activity, I immediately said: there was money to made somehow. Elmer Gantry, indeed.
This woman is typical of too many “christianists,” like the C Street “Family” types. There are too many sleazy con-folks, like this piece of work, who fool their parishoners or others to go along with their schemes of personal enrichment at the expense of someone else… all in the name of Jesus and “god told me to do this.”
I hope that the foolish people who went along with Silsby on this mendacious “errand of mercy” learn a good, hard lesson, and I hope that Haitian court system throws the book at them. Shame on them! And I have no doubt they’re all self-righteously praying for their deliverance because they were just doing the “lord’s work.”
These people need to wake up and smell the coffee. Just because you think something is “right” does not mean the “god” gave you special dispensation to do it, esp if it breaks laws.
This is just but one example of “christianists” jumping the shark in the name of making money for themselves (I do not lump all persons of faith in this definition; just people like Silsby). Whenever you hear stories like this one, rest assured that money is involved and it’s not benefiting someone who really needs it.
Disgusting.
I don’t know why these people had to go all the way to Haiti to kidnap kids. Right here in the good ol’ US of A there is a whole Industry that takes kids from poor families on trumped up charges and then adopts them to other families
The hatred and disdain for the poor is not only for those in Haiti.It is right here. Why these nimrods had to go all the way there instead of just revving up a bunch of tea baggers (and progressives) to think kids are being horribly abused here, is all they would have needed. Kids will be legally kidnapped, perspective parents could put on their God badges and all is well ~ for everyone but the kid and the family they’ve been taken from.
I am on my way to DC on the 23rd of this month to speak to TANF Reauthorization as the states and feds are using a great deal of TANF (welfare) monies, not to help families, but to fund CPS along with a bottomless pit of Title IV-E monies to take little kids from their birth families and adopt them out.
Because DSHS gets no extra money for sending the kid back home and there is no accountabilty with CPS workers and their minions (CASA, contractors, consultants)who work for the “Foster Care Industry Complex”, thousands of (mostly) low-income families are decimated every year for what is “concern and in the best interest of the child”. No one questions these people because most of the kids taken are poor and of course because “poor families can’t be good parents …”
One “coincidence” is the statistics that show white kids are taken almost 2 X more than kids of color (though those cute little black kids would go SO nicely with the decor …). It is considered “cheaper” for states to take the kids and give them away than help preserve families because Title IV-E monies will fund them for adoption and foster care but not any help to poor families with resources ~ along with taking even more of the already paltry amounts of TANF monies that is desperately needed for family assistance and preservation, not decimating little kids for a nice job with bennies, which in reality is merely for a buck.
My 2 cents
Cat In Seattle
Whoa, that’s shocking, creepy, and oh so capitalist. But the free market means freedom, right?
Yes I wish someone with some credibilty would investigate this story. The link I gave in my first comment are credible as they have long-term observations about what is going on.
The name of the Director of the National Coalition of Child Protection Reform in that link is Richard Wexler (no relation to former Representative Robert Wexler, but a Progressive who is trying to get this message out).
What is sad about this is that the feds are giving these meager TANF block grants out to already richly funded agencies and TANF already does not begin to help low income families as it is. To take any away what little there is to decimate families is worse.
I do not mean to confiscate this thread, but the lack of knowledge about what is happening in Haiti is directly connected IMO to the disregard for low income families here. It is somehow better to “look over there” rather than address what is being done ~ or worse, NOT being done ~ here in the States that is about our attitudes toward the poor.
The hubris of DSHS and its policy makers combined with the ignorance of our citizens as to what is going on is the perfect storm as far as the damage it can do. Our society and the staff being paid to assist are deliberately demeaning to the American poor as it is. This hubris often results in tragic consequences for low income American families.
The way these people operated in Haiti like these dolts, is the same type of assumptions being used here on low income American families, who now assume it is even more of a right to go overseas and do this elsewhere.
You need to make your comments into a diary. Something like “We are Kidnapping Children Here as Well as Haiti”.
I agree, make a Diary somebody else in the media might pick it up.
I agree. The Religious Reicht is disgusting. Its leaders are into making money off the fears of followers, NOT about God.
Until they follow their own prophet’s words and live in poverty, they are nothing but hypocrites. As he told a rich man who thought he was so holy but wanted to know what the most Godly thing he could do: “Take everything you have and give it away to the poor, then come and follow me …” or “…Why do you worry about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field, they sow nor do they reap, yet Solomon himself could not dress in their splendor …”
To use God to generate fear and then prophet (I use that spelling as a pun) from that fear, which is the root of greed and inflicted misery, is beyond disgusting, Using their empty words about trivial things that hurt no one but for whom they disdain, these propheters are the greatest sinners.
I say kudos to the Haitian government for standing up for their children. I hope our state department will support them in their efforts to do this right.
I have for years struggled to be “correct” and fair of my judgement of these arrogant Christians. Of course everyone must have the right to private belief. But these people are beyond private. They feel so entitled that they would blunder into everyone’s life to remake them.
As a former Christian I sincerely believe it is true for most that if you scratch them deep enough and you find Laura Silsby.
I say the same. The Haiti government has a long history of dealing with people who think they are better and impose their wills upon them. The same is happening here ~ now when is our government going to have half the guts for our own low income kids who are being taken?
“Charisa Coulter, who works for Silsby as a nanny, began working with Silsby to create an orphanage on nine acres in the Dominican Republic, Mel Coulter said.
Silsby and Charisa Coulter had visited Haiti and the Dominican Republic last summer to firm up details. Their plans were expected to take about a year to come together, Mel Coulter said.
Then the earthquake hit Jan. 12. Charisa Coulter and Silsby’s plans went on fast forward, he said.
[...]
While she acknowledged that the group did not have documentation that the children were orphans or permission to remove them from the country, she told reporters on Saturday, after they had been arrested, that they had planned to return to the capital to complete the paperwork.
On Monday, Silsby said that in the midst of the crisis they did not think they needed the documents. She said the group did not intend to offer the children for adoption. “We intended to raise those children and be with them their entire lives, if necessary,” she said.”
http://www.idahostatesman.com/273/story/1064614.html
Jeez, looks like they saw an oppurtunity to snatch some kids, and they took it. Frickin creepy.