Laura Silsby, detained American (Haiti), "left trail of financial woes in Idaho"

[Solly Mack]

"The Boise woman has a pattern of flouting laws. She's due in Ada court again this month."




"Silsby has been the subject of eight civil lawsuits and 14 unpaid wage claims. The $358,000 Meridian house at which she founded her nonprofit New Life Children's Refuge in November was foreclosed upon in December

Three years later, building an orphanage for Haitian and Dominican children became Silsby's vision, and the 40-year-old brought others on board, including her 24-year-old nanny, Charisa Coulter.

"The folks in the church embraced their vision, and it became a shared vision," said Coulter's father, Mel. "The church made it part of their missions program.

An e-mail circulated Wednesday at PersonalShopper.com urged employees not to speak to the press or post any information on Web sites. "Given the aggressive nature of the press and the fabrications already being invented, we need to make sure nothing in writing is published that can be misconstrued in any way," the e-mail says. Employees also were given the option to work from home to avoid reporters."



Laura Silsby has some major problems...legal and otherwise.

[hobbit709]

1. A "good" Christian.of the loudmouthed variety.

[Solly Mack]

4. Her mouth seems to have overloaded her butt

[CanonRay]

2. Not to worry, God will provide

or so they believe.

[Blue_Tires]

3. kick

[slipslidingaway]

5. knr nt

[Karenina]

6. Who'd a thunk it? ;-)

HBTY!!! :loveya: What on für Karneval? Ich errinere mich an NOLA.

The more things change... whatever.

[Solly Mack]

7. Hey! Thanks! I'm getting old. lololol

We're bogged down with deployments and are staying close to home. My eegit isn't going.(Yes!)


The Silsby woman strikes me as more than a bit of a scam artist. If it were to come out she lied to some of the other people involved I wouldn't be surprised. Not excusing the actions of the others involved....but there does seem to be an ever growing body of evidence that Silsby isn't big on veracity or integrity.

[BurtWorm]

10. She could be a scammer, or she could be someone with a very loose grip on reality.

Maybe a scatterbrain who thinks everything magically works out. Or she could be all of the above.

[Solly Mack]

13. True, true.

[Matariki]

30. You see the photo of that group? Some creepy looking people really.

Wouldn't be surprised if more than a few of them were in on a scam - or worse. They really don't look trustworthy.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=7641911&mesg_id=7641911

[Solly Mack]

31. I agree. That's why I used some and not all. The Coulter person was in on it

from the beginning.(imo)...she was "co-founder" of the never been built orphanage...

Their lawyer, Coq, said in an article I read not too long ago that:


"Coq said that nine of the 10 knew nothing about the alleged scheme, or that paperwork for the children was not in order.

"I'm going to do everything I can to get the nine out," Coq said. That would still leave mission leader Laura Silsby facing charges"

http://www.idahostatesman.com/eyepiece/story/1066874.html

I just laughed when I read that.


They just might start turning on each other in an if I go down you go down kind of way...

Or...Silsby could paint herself as a martyr to get the other ones home.

The whole damn thing stinks and jail time is called for...

[leftstreet]

8. I wonder how many impoverished children in Idaho she could have helped

K&R

[Posteritatis]

9. This debacle just keeps getting more, well, debaculous. (nt)

[suffragette]

11. Clear pattern of behavior

As regards one of the unpaid wages case:
"In multiple e-mails during 2009, Ms. Silsby repeatedly told plaintiff that she had investors 'committed,' that the money was being 'wired,' and that investors were going to be providing funds," the suit says.

Similar to planning to build the orphanage. Also, after looking the PDF from her website about those plans, it's clear she planned a resort for adoptive parent, who would be dropping money at the villa and restaurant, either their own or money that would somehow be raised.

It looks more and more that she viewed the children as a commodity she could trade for money by acting as the middle man in adoptions.

She seems to view herself as above the law - hope this brings her crashing down to earth.

[Solly Mack]

14. I read the 'mission statement' when I first read the story - I went looking online

and found it...it contradicted everything she had been saying at that point.

Then in subsequent interviews she would make more contradicting statements...and now this article.


I wonder if she voted herself spokesperson for the group or they all agreed she should be spokesperson...it being her "vision" and all that

[suffragette]

24. She seems to be doing as well at being the

spokesperson as she's been at managing legal and financial affairs - which is not very.

I wonder how much money they solicited and received and what portion of that might now be going to legal fees.

[Solly Mack]

25. I'd imagine she thought people wouldn't 'google' her...

Oops

[EFerrari]

16. She sounds like Bev Harris's twin separated at birth. n/t

[Solly Mack]

21. Oh...you done gone and went there.

lololol

[suffragette]

23. Oh no she didn't

Oh yes she did and an apt comparison it is!

}(

[Blue_Tires]

22. I think she was also looking to cash in a lot donations

Especially with so many people in the giving mood at the moment...

But the main questions I haven't seen answered by the media and her defenders is:

WHERE is this imaginary "planned orphanage" in the D.R. these lowlife pieces of shit keep harping about? I haven't seen the first photo...

WHERE is the build site? Are they planning to use existing buildings or build new from the ground up (and if the latter; WHERE is the money coming from)??

WHO was going to staff it and WHAT were their credentials?? Were they even legally authorized by the D.R. government to run an orphanage??

WHAT about utilities, beds, books, food, schooling, medical care, etc etc??

HOW was this crazy woman supposed to run an orphanage when she was heavily in debt and her business interests back home turned to pure shit?? HOW were the daily operating costs going to be covered once the earthquake disaster moves to the back of peoples' minds?

And finally; if all of these points were not addressed, then WHY hastily take away a busload of kids (and try to escape across the border) before they were??



quote from a story:

A mission statement for Silsby's New Life Children's Refuge, an orphanage the group planned to build in the Dominican Republic, says the organization eventually planned to "help facilitate adoptions and provide grants to subsidize the cost of adoption for loving Christian parents who would otherwise not be able to afford to adopt."

The plan included the creation of seaside villas at Playa Magante in the Dominican Republic "for adopting parents to stay while fulfilling requirement for 60-90 day visit," and a restaurant to serve "the community and adopting parents."
==========

I know they are sticking to their "passionate, well-meaning xtian missionaries victims of not knowing the law" -cover story, but the media needs to get off their asses on this one...

[suffragette]

27. All good points

I wonder how many donations were solicited and how that's being used now - legal fees, perhaps.

There was something in the NYT article about the planned orphanage:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/03/world/americas/03orphans.html
The missionaries’ account of their activities in the Dominican Republic was hard to verify. They said they had been in the process of buying land and building a complex in Magante, on the north coast of the country.

Mayor Aniceto Balbuena said that he had been approached by two women about building an orphanage, but that the idea had fallen through because of a legal entanglement.

~~~~
Fits with her pattern of legal issues and misrepresentation. I haven't seen any follow-up on the hotel which some reports say they planned to rent and some say they rented. You raise a key point when you write: "if all of these points were not addressed, then WHY hastily take away a busload of kids (and try to escape across the border) before they were??" That is the big question, isn't it?



The PDF from their website is where the mission statement and the rest is laid out. Mostly asking for donations for items, a little on what they planned for the children and a bit on the resort they planned for the adopting parents:

http://www.esbctwinfalls.com/clientimages/24453/pdffiles/haiti/nlcrhaitianorphanrescuemission.pdf

• Seaside Villas at Playa Magante*: Villas for adopting parents to stay while fulfilling requirement for
60‐90 day visit as well as Christian volunteers/vacationing families.
• Provide opportunities for adoption through partnership with New Life Adoption Foundation which
works with adoption agencies in the U.S. to help facilitate adoptions and provide grants to subsidize
the cost of adoption for loving Christian parents who would otherwise not be able to afford to
adopt.
• Seaside Café at Playa Magante*: small beachfront restaurant serving the community and adopting
parents

This wasn't about rescue, it was about profit and by any name that's trafficking.

[malaise]

28. Think about it - they were about to rent an entire hotel

This poor ass hustlers - what a scam.

[KingFlorez]

12. That certainly looks like some sort of intent

[Solly Mack]

15. Certainly adds more weight to the money motive

She had to be in major debt.

[malaise]

17. Looks like Jebus will not save

this crook and her fellow crooks.

Did you hear them singing Amazing Grace in the prison on CNN last night?

add

[Solly Mack]

19. Yes. I saw it when someone posted (I forgot who, sorry) posted a link to it.

Instead of answering the questions...started singing

She's a piece of work isn't she?

[Bluebear]

18. And how much were there Dominican Rep. adoption "vacations" she was selling?

[Solly Mack]

20. at the seaside villas....I wondered about that too.

Sounds like it was going to an expensive adoption...

Oh...but wait...they weren't going to adopt them out...No..they were only going to adopt some out....No...the parents could see the kids whenever they wanted to...no wait...

So many stories that woman told...

[JI7]

26. glad the kids were saved from being sold off by her

[fascisthunter]

29. Ouch!

Was she child trafficking in order to pay her debts?

[mbperrin]

32. Scams on top of scams, but without charm or charisma.

Gonna build me a business on the backs of poor black children. How very American.