Federal lawsuit accuses Tim Ballard of laundering money to pay for prostitutes

SALT LAKE CITY — Six women have filed a federal lawsuit against Tim Ballard and the nonprofit he founded, Operation Underground Railroad.

The lawsuit alleges that Ballard and OUR violated the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA).

“Ballard and OUR engaged in human trafficking and exploitation of women under the guise of humanitarian anti-trafficking operations,” according to attorneys for the women. "Instead of rescuing women and children from trafficking, these defendants used their positions of trust to exploit and abuse and traffic women."

The TVPRA provides a civil remedy for victims of trafficking.

The lawsuit was filed by Celeste Borys, Kira Lynch, Sasha Hightower, Mary Hall, Krista Kacey, and Bree Righter. They also filed lawsuits against Ballard in 2023. In response, Ballard sued them for defamation in 2024.

Matthew Cooper, Michael Porenta, and MS Williams and Company were listed as additional defendants.

Claims against Tim Ballard

The women say they were coerced into "performing sex, labor, and services for (Tim Ballard's) personal benefit and the benefit of OUR.”

They also say they were groomed and controlled to "simulate intimate relationships,” as part of an “undercover technique” known as the couple’s ruse.

The couple’s ruse encourages women to pose as Ballard’s girlfriend on operations. It reportedly requires the women to develop sexual chemistry with Ballard while practicing for an operation.

The women say they were "exploited" by the couple’s ruse and that, in some cases, they were subject to "violent sexual assault, all while promising it was 'necessary to rescue children.'"

The women attached several audio and video files, which they say show attempts by Ballard to groom them.

In one of the recordings, Ballard complains to one of the plaintiffs how he is not being sexually satisfied by his wife, because she insists on wearing “Jesus Jammies” to bed instead of “laying naked.”

The recording is presumably referring to sacred garments issued by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Ballard has been sued six times by 11 plaintiffs since 2023. Four of the lawsuits are still active; two have been dismissed. Five of the six plaintiffs in the federal lawsuit have active lawsuits against Ballard in Utah court. Ballard and his legal team filed motions to dismiss, but they were not successful.

“After a nearly unbroken string of defeats in every state court that has heard their cases the plaintiffs are engaging in desperate forum shopping with the same allegations which one judge after another has called inconsistent and unsupported by facts," wrote Mark Eisenhut, an attorney for Ballard. "Two suits against Tim Ballard have already been dismissed and a third is headlined by a woman convicted of pimping minor children. This new suit is unlikely to be any more successful.”

Ballard is also the subject of multiple criminal investigations.

Claims against OUR

According to the lawsuit, OUR “actively participated” in the solicitation, recruitment, and exploitation of Ballard’s couples-ruse partners.

The women also accuse OUR of "cooking the books," instructing them how to manipulate work records so that they could take time off to spend with Ballard.

"OUR Rescue is deeply committed to combating sex trafficking and child exploitation," wrote OUR Spokesperson Jessica Carlson. "Regarding today's Federal lawsuit, these are recycled claims that have been dismissed repeatedly. We are confident they will be dismissed again."

Claims against Mike Porenta, MS Williams

According to the lawsuit, Ballard used money from MS Williams to hire prostitutes when he was supposed to be conducting anti-trafficking operations.

“The 990 forms filed by OUR reveal significant payments made to MS Williams for ‘operations support.’ Specifically, in the 2023 filing, MS Williams & Company, LLC is listed as having received $1,510,262 from OUR.”Porenta is specifically named as the OUR employee accused of laundering money from MS Williams, “so that Ballard would have cash to pay for his escorts and pay bribes to foreign officials.”

Claims against Matt Cooper

According to the lawsuit, Matt Cooper was Ballard’s “right-hand man” at OUR.

The women allege Tim Ballard would sexually assault them “in private settings where Matthew Cooper would be present or nearby, ready to provide false testimony if necessary."

Cause of action

The women are asking for a jury trial.

They are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, and reasonable attorneys’ fees.