The Davis County Cooperative Society (DCCS; Co-op) and their leadership categorically denies the existence of any conspiracy to unlawfully obtain government aid, to systemically commit fraud, or to engage in any doctrine that could be described as ‘bleeding the beast’ within the Co-op.
Bryan Nelson and Mary Nelson appeared on an episode of CBS' "Whistleblower" making allegations of fraud, improper financial and business practices, incest, underage marriages, and more. Bryan, a non-member, began a relationship with Mary against her parents wishes when she was 16 and Bryan was 26.
18 year old Joanna Kingston faced a scary situation in South Salt Lake when an enraged man pulled her from her vehicle and attempted to carjack her with her 3 younger siblings, ages 9, 10, and 12, inside the vehicle.
Melissa Ellis, a former member of the DCCS, has filed a complaint with the Utah State Bar for 7 attorneys she alleges are practicing plural marriage. Her compliant is an attempt to stop individuals from plural families from being eligible to practice law in Utah.
A number of national organizations have spurred a discussion on whether or not to ban legal marriage for individuals under the age of 18. Utah State Rep. Angela Romero, D-Salt Lake City introduced a bill in 2019 that would raise minimum age of legal marriage to 18 in Utah.
We're following ongoing developments as the defendants in the WRE case await trial.
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In the 2018 Utah Legislative Session, a bill was introduced to change the definition of abuse in cases where minor children are able to be harbored by 3rd parties.
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The producers of the TV Series "Escaping Polygamy" sent copies of the same letter to a number of DCCS members including the one shown below in June of 2017 and again in January of 2018. Included also is a response from the DCCS Public Relations desk.
In 2016, multiple agencies in the State of Utah were approached by the federal government to investigate law abiding DCCS members for fraud. This was done in a “guilt by association” campaign by Federal agencies targeting DCCS members. No fraud was found.
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Rep. Mike Noel went to extreme measures to make sure his anti-polygamy bill passed the legislature this year.
In the 2017 Utah Legislative Session, a Bigamy Amendments bill was introduced by Rep. Mike Noel. This year's bill (HB099) essentially “re-criminalizes” polygamy in the State of Utah.
