I’m a Good Person | 9

On the morning of September 15th, 2023, Candice woke up and took her kids to school. Unbeknownst to her, the police were following her every move. She dropped the kids off, then drove away. As she approached a local bank, a police car pulled in behind her and flashed its lights. The moment Candice came to a stop, officers closed in and she was arrested. I would like to read you your constitutional rights from this card. And first thing you have to understand is that you have the right to remain silent, OK? Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law. Candice's manic summer had come to an end. This is Unicorn Girl, an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills, hosted and executive produced by me, Charlie Webster. Candice was put in handcuffs and taken straight to Utah County Jail, where she was strip-searched and then immediately interrogated. Whatever just happened was incredibly degrading. I've never been strip-searched before and that was degrading. In the jail here? Yeah. I'm so sorry that you had to go through that. I didn't know their process. Yeah, I'm not a bad person, so. That's how Candace's interrogation started. She chose not to have an attorney present. This is the actual audio from inside the interview room. First thing I'd like to know is just tell me about your background. I'm divorced. I have two kids. That's common knowledge. I live in Utah. I mean, what are you, what would you like to know? Oh, That's all great. Candice was questioned for 90 minutes, and things got more and more heated as the time went on. I need you to come absolutely clean with some of the stuff I'm about to ask you. I know that you have not founded several multi-million dollar companies. Why are you telling people this? Well, Exodus is multi-million. Exodus has taken multi-million in. Things escalated from there. So you're saying you donated something, but in fact are being paid for your donation. Well, yeah, absolutely. That's not how donations work, though. Candice. You said you had an SF security clearance. We had a special security clearance. Yes, we did. I have a picture of it. I'd be happy to show the picture. Candice, listen. I would really like you to be honest with me. I'm being 100% honest with you. At this point, it's a very convoluted, and it's the thing you do. It's a very convoluted round robin of you're just kind of like trying to redirect. If you allow me to answer. Yes, please. Candice did answer questions and talked a lot, but the police found it hard to get a straight answer. I think you're trying to manipulate us and just stop. No, I'm not. Finally, Candice requested an attorney, and the interview ended. Can we call the attorney to come? So it's not like Hollywood. An attorney doesn't just come here. You just said that you want your attorney, so we're done. Then Candice was allowed her first phone call. She got straight on the phone to survivor advocate Amber. And then she called her mops bestie, Danielle. Hello, this is a free call from... Candice. An incarcerated individual at Utah County Jail. Candice asked them both to go to her house. Amber was tasked with grabbing Candice's laptop and gun and looking after her dog. Danielle was finding a folder of statements and receipts. I'm like, I'm not going to dig through this. Like, it's too much stuff. She's like, we'll take it all to your house. And I'm like, no, no, no, no. I'm not moving anything to my house. Danielle left the papers at the house, while Amber couldn't find any laptop or gun. They stayed at Candice's house waiting for further instructions. Amber and I are there together, and Amber's so great. Like, Amber's going to stay the weekend with the dogs. Candice's house was a mess that day, just dishes everywhere, stuff left out. And so Amber just gets to work, like, well, I'm going to start cleaning up. And Amber's like, she's going to be back in a minute. Like, we're going to get the call. She'll get bail. We'll go get her. I'm going to have this place ready for her. So she's hustling around and Candace is calling. And so often I'm just putting it on speaker because I don't know what else to say. What you're about to hear and what you will hear through this episode are the real jail calls recorded by Utah County Jail. Here, Candace is talking to Danielle with Amber on speakerphone. There's going to be a lot of awful stuff about me on that paper, and I'm not bad. Yeah. Hold your head up. Hey, we love you. We love you. And this is going to be over before you know it. They made me sound like I was this horrible person, and I didn't do half of anything with her thing. I know you didn't hang in there. I didn't do anything. I was this proud. They made me sound like I was this proud, and I stole this money, and I didn't. Yeah. You know that. I do. Be strong. Let your heart take courage. Amber's going to stay with your dog, so that dog's covered. I'll go grab him some food. You have one minute left. Well, thanks for being my friend in all this. We knew that something was going to happen. Yep. So, just... Well, I love you. I love you. Love you. The caller has hung up. We just talked forever. Hang up. She'd call right back. So she called me 13 times that day from jail. It was like manic. Candice spent the entire day making phone calls to those closest to her, non-stop, one after another after another. But despite getting calls all day, Danielle still had no idea why Candice had been arrested. She woke up the next morning to breaking news The charges came out on the news My husband is telling me, like, this is really big It's not just like she didn't cross the T, that and I Candice was arrested on 35 charges 10 counts theft by embezzlement 8 counts unlawful conduct 6 counts forgery 4 counts communications fraud 2 counts false or inconsistent statements two counts identity fraud, one count theft by deception, one count theft of service, and one count pattern of unlawful acts. And this was just the start. More charges were being added by the day. Before Candice even got to a hearing, the charge list had grown to 42. My husband was like, this is really big and you need to get far away from it. And like, I'm thinking maybe it's just something stupid. He's like, the charges are like 42 felonies. He's like, just don't talk to anybody. Because I was so close to her as a friend, it was just so scary. It was really hard to walk away from her. But my husband was like, no. So he grabbed my phone. He's like, we're just going to block the jail. Block. I didn't talk to anybody after that. Not only did Danielle never speak to Candice again, she stopped talking to everyone in her life that had anything to do with Candice. Survivor advocate Amber had also seen the news that broke. She opened her phone and couldn't believe what she was seeing. I look at her charges and I'm like, what the fuck? Like scrolling, scrolling. and I'm like, this cannot be real. Like, what the fuck is going on? It's starting to kick in, like, mental health-wise. Candace calls me. I tell her, I said, it's hit the news, Candace. She says, it's all lines. And she's like, tell me, how bad is it? And I said, oh, it's bad. That night, I go back to Candace's house and I'm like, I don't know what the fuck is happening. Candace is calling me, telling me that it's all this big conspiracy and to trust her and all these things. When Amber wasn't speaking to Candice, she had reporters blowing up her phone. Amber wasn't sure what to believe because Candice was telling her constantly that none of it was true. Here's one of the phone calls between the two of them. All of it is just so much hearsay, like hearsay. Like they're charging with it, but it's just hearsay. They don't know what's real. And I'm like on the brink of checking myself in somewhere. Amber, I'm so sorry that you're in the middle of it. I'm so sorry. I want you to know... It's so bad. It's so bad. Like, I'm reporters. I can barely even keep my phone on. I'm struggling. I'm sorry. It's not true. Like, I'm sorry, Amber. There's so many things not true. You've got to believe me. So I'm in a place where I'm just, like, about ready to explode. Pettis calls me, tells me everything. Agent Pettis? Yeah. I'm in her house. I have her fucking dog at my house. She calls again and I said, Candice, I just got off the phone with the lead investigator. Did you really do blah, blah, blah? Amber was the last person to find out the truth. And even when she finally confronted Candice, Candice still denied everything. This is the last time Amber and Candice ever spoke to each other. Candice, you've helped me. You've helped me personally. And you've helped a lot of people. And I love you for that. But there's some fucking shit happening. If you took me on a ride and it wasn't real, Candice, if it wasn't real, and you were taking advantage and you were doing fucking shit, If this is true, you had the whole world fooled. The only thing you could do at this point would be accountability and ownership. If you can't take accountability and ownership, then I'm out. I'm sorry. I never wanted to use you. I only wanted to give you your platform and your space. I appreciate the heck out of you, and I love you, and I respect the life you've been through and just want to help more people like you because you deserve a chance. I have one minute left. I can throw everything out and I can show and prove everything. It's going to take some time and I can't be in here, but I can throw it all out. I can show it. I can prove it. The caller has hung up. She knew it was over. She knew it. And she never called me again after that. A bail hearing for Candice was set 11 days after her arrest. Candice's only CR House and Co client, author Charlene, was the investigation's first victim. But she hadn't been able to talk about the case or warn anyone what was coming for months. That was tough because I'm watching others and thinking, I want to warn you so bad I can't say a thing. Charlene wanted to present a show of strength at Candace's bail hearing She hoped she could get as many of Candace's victims as possible together but she had no idea who was on board with the case or who believed what So she sent out a text I texted as many people as I could that I had their numbers and I said, I would love it if you feel comfortable with this if we could all walk into the courtroom together I think that shows a tremendous amount of strength. Charlene told the women she'd be at the Brunch House, a restaurant just a few minutes' drive from the courthouse in Provo, Utah, two hours before the hearing. She got there early, with no idea if anyone would come. I waited and waited and waited. Nobody. And ten minutes till, still nobody. That's okay. That's all right. About five minutes till, they started pouring in. we had 13 women that showed up. And it was like, the gang's all here. We're sitting around the table and people are telling stories thinking, wait a second. She told that story to me only, Candace said this story to me, but it was this. And Candace told me the same story, only not exactly. And just listening and hearing the things that she had done. And I'm just so, so proud of them all for showing up. And I said, I just need you guys to know how much I appreciate you. And I need to apologize for knowing what I knew and not being able to say anything to any of you, but I couldn't. And that was the hardest thing, is knowing you guys were all going to get hit by a train and I couldn't warn you to get off the tracks. So thank you for being here. And thank you for just the support that we're showing each other. And we walked over into that courtroom, and I sat right in the middle of the front row. Sat in the front row, flanking Charlene's tall commanding figure and striking silver hair were the 13 women that came to the brunch house. Plus, at the back, Candice's ex-husband, Patrick. Silence fell over the courtroom as the door opened and Candice was walked in. They walked her in shackled and in her cute little brown outfit and her bright yellow plastic slippers. There was a lot of hand-holding, a lot of tears, a lot of fear that the judge was going to give her bail. Everybody was just, are they going to let her out and they're going to let her out? The judge denied Candice bail because she was seen as a flight risk She was taken straight back to county jail Without bail, Candice would have to sit in jail While she decided whether she was going to plead guilty Or go to trial After that first bail hearing Every time there was a court appearance Of which there were many Everyone would meet at the brunch house It became the tradition so much so The owner would greet the group show them to their table, and ask for updates on the case. This is when I started attending Candice's hearings and became part of the brunch house meetups. The first time I sat hugging my cup of tea, I was sat with Aura, Kate, Kim, Felicia, and Charlene. I could hardly keep up with the stories they were telling me. There were so many powerful moments as the women shared their experiences trying to wrap their heads around what was real and what wasn't and understand what Candice had done to them. I soon realized that although Candice had many besties and people in her life, she had in some way, shape or form, managed to keep them separate from each other. Now they were coming together in a way they'd never been able to before. I watched as real friendships started forming, bonding over the pain they were all feeling. The last time I was there I sat to the side of Lacey and opposite Kim at the end of a long table Lacey started talking about mops and the boudoir shoots that Candice had pushed her to do that you heard about earlier in the series Kim's eyes widened in shock She leant forward toward Lacey and said That is what Candice did to me We kind of like laughed about it in like a very, this is disturbing kind of way. Because we both acknowledged that it was like, it felt validating that someone else had been through it. But it also felt shocking just how similar they were. Like, it was disturbing that this was clearly not just something that happened out of spontaneity with friends. This was something that was more calculated than that. It was so moving to witness these two women connect over Candice taking advantage of both of them in such a violating way. And six years apart from each other. After the boudoir photo shoot, Lacey isolated herself. She left mops and never really spoke to any of that group again. Candice and I stopped talking. And so then at brunch, realizing, hold on, our stories are eerily similar. It was very validating and I'm very grateful that she opened up about that because I think having that commonality together is really powerful. Candice just had this way about her that just got to the deepest part of your soul that you're like, oh, well, she knows better. Of course I'll do that. Why wouldn't I? And that's scary. In our reporting, we found that as well as Kim, Lacey, Timber, and the rest of the Mops group, there were at least two other people who had the same coercive experience with Candice, and all at separate times. Candice told different people different things about who and what she was. Some of her charges were related to the fact that she lied about being a nurse, but practiced as one. Her own family thought she was a nurse and she even told some people she was a surgeon But Candice never had any kind of medical license to practice anything anywhere in the entire country What do you mean she's not a nurse? I have pictures. I legit have pictures from Ukraine where she is a nurse on these patients, these kids. That's survivor Felicia. And she's right. There are real pictures, and plenty of them, where Candice looks like a nurse. She has a stethoscope around her neck, treating children with severe medical needs. Candice gave medical advice, and had the nurse followed this advice, the child probably would have died. On her trips to Ukraine, Candice claimed to have worked as a nurse in acute care for over a decade. Gave disabled orphans controlled substances and even exerted a catheter. On a trip to Uganda, Candice claimed she was a heart surgeon and treated approximately 100 patients in just four days, giving children injections and performing a surgical procedure on a boy's toe. These are just a few examples of the ways in which Candice put vulnerable children at risk. She did this for years. Somebody posts something. Did you see this? And I saw it in the group and was like, my jaw was hanging open. The news of Candice's arrest broke in the For the Love book group. I was shocked and, you know, my first inclination was, Dave got the wrong person. Like, this is just a big mistake. The notifications went into overdrive as the comments flooded in. Very quickly, the book group broke into two factions, pro-Candice and anti-Candice. They even coined the hashtag ScamDice. You know, kind of like that other hugely successful true crime podcast. You don't hear that number of felony charges and think, oh, this is a mistake. This is something that can be explained. Annalise was team anti-Canvis. There was just something that had always been fantastical and unbelievable. And it almost felt like, oh, this is what makes it all make sense. There's a reason it was unbelievable, because it wasn't true. But those who were pro-Candice didn't like the gossip that had now started. Kimberly from the book group didn't want to jump to conclusions before Candice had even had her day in court. The compassionate side of me kicked in and I thought, you know, she probably feels really alone and cut off. Everybody deserves a friend and innocent until proven guilty. Team pro-Candice started writing to Candice in jail. and Candice started replying. I just started writing and we went back and forth. Brandy received letters back about how the police had got it all wrong. It was just kind of like a lot of her saying, when I get out, then I could speak freely and I could have my day in court to say my truth. She had a reason why every charge was going to be dropped. Her reasoning was so logical that I thought, surely she can't be making this up. Candice was facing 42 charges against her, including hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraud connected to her housing. She practically never paid rent since she moved out of her house with her ex-husband Patrick, even telling one landlord she was an FBI agent so they would stop chasing her for rent money. The fancy CEO house she moved into? She never made a mortgage payment, though she did have to pay a down payment of a quarter of a million dollars. That money came via a mystery transfer from the Bank of Baghdad. $240,000 appeared in Candice's bank account from some guy in Lebanon. That was just the start of the stolen money. There was so much more, plus a litany of false claims. Not just that she said she was a nurse, but that she had clearance with the Department of Defense, she was part of a United Nations task force, her car had bulletproof glass, and even that she appeared on the BBC. And there was a charge for using the Exeter's credit card to spend $1,200 on a weight loss program for herself. The list of charges is so long and so convoluted. If I read them all, we'd be here all day. The police report is over 100 pages long. Candice spent 342 days in jail before she finally made up her mind about whether she was going to plea guilty or not guilty. On the 22nd of August, 2024, we all filed back into the courtroom to find out Candice's decision. It turned out she'd been offered a plea deal, reducing the charges against her from 42 to just 9. That sounds like a massive reduction, and it is, but it's fairly common when it comes to plea deals. The final nine charges covered two counts of communication fraud, basically lying to extort money from people, credit card fraud, theft by deception, theft of service, forging checks, embezzling money, and lying about being a nurse. We asked the Attorney General's office why so many charges were dropped, and they declined to comment. Candice took the plea deal, but she didn't plead guilty. Instead, she entered a plea of no contest. No contest means you accept the consequences of a conviction, but you neither admit nor deny, and you don't have to actually say the words, I'm guilty. A sentencing hearing was set for eight weeks later, where a judge would decide if Candice would serve prison time. To everyone's shock, as part of the plea deal, Candice was going to be released on an ankle monitor until she was sentenced. All of the women were on edge, scared of what Candice was capable of now that she wasn't confined to a cell. We went back to the brunch house again and sat there for hours drinking endless cups of tea and coffee. As we were sitting there, everyone's phone started to go off. They were all getting the same notification. Candice was out of jail. I was so desperate for her to be put behind bars because I was scared of her. That's kind of where mine was and was just in a very, very dark place. Aura was really struggling with everything. And then I kept remembering that she was my friend, one of my best friends. And she knew everything about my life. She knew about my childhood. She knew about the hard things my kids had gone through. She knew about me leaving the church. That hurt a lot because then that friend side came back. And I'm like, that was never real. And then just feeling so much pain for myself that someone could do that to me. As the weeks went by, the tension amongst the victims grew. They had all written victim impact statements to Reid in court at Candace's sentencing to try and convince the judge to send her away, and for a long time. But they were told that there wouldn't be enough time for everyone to read theirs, and each person who did speak would only get a maximum of 15 minutes. To make matters worse, four days before the sentencing The victims found out that Candice had been given all their statements And she was able to read every single one While the victims had no idea what Candice was going to say Candice was able to put together her statement for the judge By cross-referencing what the victims had written While we were waiting for the sentencing I was spending a lot of time with Candice's victims trying to get to the bottom of everything she'd done Her official charges account for a lot of embezzled money but there were so many other things that were bothering me that had nothing to do with money Candice often talked about the twin girls that she tragically lost not just to her friends but publicly too Candice and her boys, along with her mops bestie Danielle and Danielle's kids, would celebrate with balloons and cupcakes on what would have been the twins' birthday every year. But Candice told a number of different versions of the same story. In our reporting, we heard eight different versions of how she lost her girls. The ages of the twins changed depending on who we heard the story from, Candice told some people she was six months pregnant, others that the twins were two years old. She told some people she had a miscarriage, some that they were lost in a car accident, and others that they died during childbirth. One person had been told it wasn't twins at all, but just one child who had been lost in a car accident. As the only person who could help clear this up, I went to Patrick and asked him about the twins. Did you have other children with Candice? We only have the two boys. She said she was pregnant with twins. I was told that she had a miscarriage, like maybe three months along. I never went to the appointments. I never went to the ultrasounds. I was working. As far as I know, I was told the truth. That's what I know. Why would you lie about miscarrying babies? But I don't know. Were you ever in a drink-driving accident? No, I don't drink. Were you ever in a drink-driving accident where somebody else was driving a different car that was drunk? No. We never had two-year-old girls. When I investigate a story, I spend most of my time listening, creating a space where people feel safe enough to trust me with their experiences. and then as I talk to you, I'm really careful not to take over or insert myself too much. I debated a lot whether I should share this with you but I kept coming back to how important it is to share our experiences. The reason this cut so deeply for me is because while I was investigating this story, I lost twins to miscarriage. I was reflecting on the way Candice takes people's experiences and weaves them into her own lives as a way to connect. And then I sat down with the person Candice claimed was her CFO, Sarah. Candice forged Sarah's signature on Exeter's checks. The two met before our story even started, and they'd been friends for a long time. This is what happened when I spoke to her. My husband and I tried for years to have another baby and never did. And I finally got pregnant one more time and lost it. Candace told me she lost her twin girls. She told me she lost them during childbirth. And so that was really what we connected over. And I, you know, believed her and this girl said she would lie about that. But that's what we really connected over. She just made you feel like that she cared and caught it. and would just... that she was my friend, you know? Found out later that she told people a bunch of different stories. I'd already been told that Candice had taken someone else's loss as her own, but I didn't know whose it was. It's hard to even put into words the pain that I felt. It broke my heart, and the grief can still feel so overwhelming. to take something that has caused me so much devastation and many other women out there, to then use this as a way to manipulate people's emotions and capitalise on their pain. It's hard to get your head around. I knew there was a woman who that had happened to, but I didn't know if it was you. I'm sorry. So I just cross that she'd lie about that. That wasn't the only time Candice used an experience that causes so much grief and heartbreak to connect with people and gain sympathy Candice said she had cancer but again she told different people different things Early in their friendship Candice told her mop's bestie Danielle she had breast cancer She said I have breast cancer I'm gonna do oral chemo and then get radiation for it. I went to her house while she was at that appointment and I was just trying to get it ready for her to come home. She like walked in and puked and she's like, I feel awful. And so I got her up to bed and she showed me her left breast. And it did, like, it looked burnt. It had that rubbery texture. You know, if I Google image or if I search, what does radiation look like? That's what it looked like. But Candice told Kim and Starley from FoundHer that the scar was from a hot poker when she was in Turkish prison. I remember her showing me scars on her body from where she was in a Turkish prison and they used like a hot poker on her. It was near her breasts. As you might have guessed, Candice was not in a Turkish prison. Candice claimed to have at least four different types of cancer over the years Breast, ovarian, cervical and stomach Stomach was the cancer she said she'd been recently diagnosed with When she showed up in the compression bandages To the last Exodus Gala you heard about in episode 6 Danielle was at that surgery But Candice didn't tell Danielle she had stomach cancer and that surgery wasn't actually a cancer surgery at all. It wasn't cancer, lymph node, anything. She had gone to laser lipo. It was a fat removal procedure. Laser liposuction. Done at an air sculpt clinic in Salt Lake City. I was with her when she got it. You do, like you ooze, like you have holes now and they wrap you in gauze and whatnot, but you're oozing as you're recovering. She came to my house and I helped her, like, change the bandaging. We can't access Candice's medical records due to privacy laws, but notes from her initial interrogation state that Candice said she did not have a terminal or serious illness. On the 22nd of October 2024 It was finally time for Candice to be sentenced It had been over a year since she was arrested All of the victims gathered outside the courthouse Once again wanting to all walk in together as a show of strength. Candice and her legal team arrived and had to walk past every single one of them. Then Charlene led the way into the courtroom. She sat again in the middle of the front row, surrounded by the other women, all hand in hand. Patrick and his wife sat in the last row. This time it was a full house. The special agent on the case was there and even home on security agents. I took my usual spot at the back. The judge entered the courtroom and the proceedings began. What you are about to hear is the actual audio from the sentencing. All right, orders now in session. The House of Judges, Mr. Nairn, is presiding. Thank you. You may be seated. We'll call the one o'clock matter, State v. Laird. Are we ready to proceed? We are, Your Honor. We are, Your Honor. Four hours were allotted for the sentencing. It started with the victims reading their statements. As each one spoke, Candice looked down at a notepad in front of her and spent the entire time fiercely taking notes throughout each person's statement. The only time Candice looked up was when Aura got up to speak. Candice tried to stare her down. Aura spoke at the stand first. Your Honor, regarding the case, State v. Candace Rivera-Leard, I would like to present my victim impact statement. It feels impossible to fully capture the depth of destruction Candace has caused in my life the lives of my family and so many others I love She took the best of me as a human being It is soul She has stripped away my ability to trust to believe in myself and others and to feel safe And by speaking up for myself and other victims. I also fear that I am making myself a target by standing here today. After Aura, it was Kim's turn. She manipulated me by creating a false reality only to turn that narrative against us all once we realize the truth. The irony of my struggle to write this statement is that it reflects the loss of my voice, the most valuable thing I could have lost from all of this. The experience I gained was real. But if the facade I was working under wasn't real, did it even matter? Then Aura's daughter, Bailey, spoke, ending her statement with... We are scared and I hope the system will protect us. Candace exploited our trust. I hope that all the victims can heal and find peace so when the opportunity comes to help others, they'll be able to do so without fear. This isn't just about what she's done to us, but preventing her from doing it to anyone else. And the last of the women to speak was Charlene. It is difficult and emotional to explain the toll my association with Candice Lear took. I berated myself for being so stupid and gullible. Candice deceives, scams, and cheats people out of their money, reputations, dignity, and livelihood. She disregards the law and refuses to admit her guilt even when faced with irrefutable evidence, hence her cowardly plea of no contest. If Candace is shown a modicum of mercy today, she will undoubtedly take that as weakness on the part of this court, and who knows what that would mean for her victims. Candace Leard must be stopped. Thank you. Then a statement was read from Candice's uncle. Candice called him from jail and asked him to sort out her affairs. He went over to her house to collect one of her Cadillacs. Just after he got there, there was a knock at the door. It was a debt collector coming to take that very Cadillac. Her uncle said that he started to see Candice for who she was, a pathological lying sociopath. As it turns out, Candice owed money on all of her cars. Her fancy Corvette had already been repossessed. And as for the Toyota 4Runner Candice bought for her eldest son for his 16th birthday, using the credit card she took out in Aura's name, that was also repossessed. That wasn't all that her eldest son had to endure because of her. It was time for Patrick, Candice's ex-husband, to speak. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. My sons are my pride and joy. My son was a victim of check fraud and account manipulation. She knowingly used his checking account to scam $4,500 from his account. which my son is now on the line to pay back to the bank before his 18th birthday as that is when he will be on his permanent record and crush his credit. This is what he gets to look forward to at 18. Candice stole $4,500 from her own son's bank account. This is the only time that Candice was visibly upset. She was wiping away tears, but still looking down at the notepad in front of her. As his father, I was heartbroken for my son. He was totally betrayed by his own mother. He was a junior in high school, dealing with the embarrassment of his name, being drugged through the dirt. Teenage peers, friends and teachers looking at him differently. Judging his character by the choices of his mother. what kind of mother would do that to their own son my son deserves better candace made me look like an abuser a cheater and a bad father she ran my name through the mud for years i should have left candace years before before i did but i just i stayed because of my sweet boys as any devoted father would do I'm truly sorry for all the victims of her crime. I was one of her original victims, and when I left, she moved on to other people. Her lies and crimes have created a path of destruction that my boys and I are still trying to recover from. My hope is for the court to send its candidates to the maximum time permitted by law so that she cannot victimize anyone else. She will never stop. The victim spoke for two hours. Then it was time for Candace to make her statement. She stood confidently in a black suit. Her long black hair, always styled in a perfect blowout, was in a formal updo. This is how she started. A reminder, this is the actual audio of Candace speaking. Thank you, Honourable Judge Johnson, for seeing me today. After over a year in this process, this will be the first time I will get to address you Candice spoke for 37 minutes Longer than any of the victims And she packed a lot in She spoke very quickly and barely took a single breath Over the course of the last year and a half almost My life has been chaotically turned upside down, twisted, wrung out and driven over Basically destroyed While the forefront of the narratives before you are of betrayal and allegations of millions and embezzlement, I did not embezzle from my beloved non-profit. I would really like the court to see my heart and to know the woman standing before you. Then Candice turned her attention to the victims. She called them out by name, one by one, attempting to refute everything they just said. She even read out text messages from both Aura and Charlene, where they'd said nice things about her in the past. And of course, the ex-husband, Patrick, got a mention. My ex-husband had personally decided to keep my voice from me. I chose to keep many of the things that transpired in my marriage private, out of protection for my children, and honestly, my ex-husband as well as he is their dad. I prefer not to publicly disclose this area of our lives, but felt the need to clarify that statement. That a narrative is being painted by me of his abuse. I can only say that the narrative is not painted by me. As Candice was talking about keeping things that transpired in her marriage private, I couldn't help but think about the details she went into about her marriage to Patrick in her near daily posts in the For the Love book group, as well as all the things she told everyone else in her life about it. Candice then turned things to the harm she has felt Finishing her 37-minute statement with Throughout these circumstances, people whom I thought would protect my children Instead took the mother that my children love and publicly crucified her Burning me at the stake and standing by where my children watched Adding their own commentary This past year and a half have been excruciating I am deeply regretful and saddened at the destruction and hurt that has been caused by everything involving these circumstances. I am deeply sorry. I am sorry and beyond remorseful for the things that have caused so much hurt and pain. However, my heart remains the same as it was from day one. My heart will never not include the desire to serve and help those who cannot help themselves. Thank you, Your Honor, for your time, attention, and considerations. Candice sat down and the courtroom felt tense and uneasy I could see the victims visibly distressed Everything went perfectly still and everyone held their breath to see what Judge Christine Johnson would decide Judge Johnson looked up from her papers and addressed the court looking directly at Candice I find it extraordinary that much of the time Ms. Laird expended in her address a few moments ago was spent talking about the damage that she has felt herself. She has been destroyed. How this has all harmed her. It's a little tone deaf, considering the circumstances that you're in, to not recognize the harm that's been done to others. and the harm that was at your own hands. What I heard was, Ms. Laird say, mistakes were made. People were hurt as if this happened by some unknown entity. What has transpired as if to suggest that this happened by some hand of God rather than by her own malfeasance. It's a little tough to take, and I imagine it's been pretty hard for the people behind you to sit and listen to. Judge Johnson then revealed that the nine charges Candace was facing accounted for around $2 million in embezzled money. I started to wonder what the amount might have been if her charges weren't reduced. At this point, I noticed that the bailiff had started quietly walking over to Candace. Finally, Judge Johnson delivered her verdict. she ordered Candice to be taken straight to prison. The court finds the guideline recommendation of imprisonment to be proper. And the court imposes the prison sentence. Good luck to you, Ms. Laird. Candice didn't react. She sat with her head down, staring at the table in front of her. Then very slowly started to take off each one of her rings. She had a ring on nearly every finger. She was put in handcuffs before she could even stand up. As everyone filed out, the energy was palpable. Charlene spoke outside the courtroom. Truly are some of the most incredible, amazing people I have ever met in my entire life. You, you, I wouldn't, I wish, there's part of me that wishes I never got involved with Candice. Never, never, never. But I'm telling you, I would not give back any of it, none of it, for what I've learned, for the people that I've met, for what we've done. We have done something great here, you guys, something truly life-changing and great. And you guys, we did it. We did it. Ready? Three, two, one. Justice! Everyone was elated that Candice was going to prison. But we were all wondering what Candice's exact sentence was going to be. The Utah system differs from nearly everywhere else. The amount of prison time is actually decided once you're in prison by the Board of Pardons and Parole. So all we know for now is that Candice will serve a minimum of three years and a maximum of 15 years. The hearing to decide the exact length of her sentence is set for November 2026 The nine charges Candice was convicted of cover extensive financial loss and years of fraud But they don't account for the deep emotional hurt and mental trauma she caused Survivors Felicia and Camilla, the 21-year-old who lived in Candice's basement Both submitted victim impact statements, but were told on the day that there wasn't enough time for them to speak. I was super pissed because they wouldn't let me speak. She took our stories, our pain, our experiences, and then she flipped them and sold them for profit. She pretty much trafficked our pain for her personal profit, and they didn't want me to speak today. Felicia had taken her written statement into court, and was devastated when she was told she wouldn't be able to read it. The other victims comforted her, then took her statement to the prosecutor, who did eventually pass it on to the judge. So in a way you did have a voice? I did. So the prosecutor took my statement that I was supposed to share today in court and he gave it to the judge during recess and she read it right before she got back to the bench, before Candace got up and spoke. As we stood outside the court speaking to Felicia, Camilla came over. And even now that Candice had been sentenced and taken to prison, things were still unravelling. So I have a question, Camilla. Which mission are you from? I'm not from a mission. Wait a minute, so one of the... She reached out to me on Instagram. Whoa! Candice told everyone that she'd rescued Camilla from trafficking. But that wasn't true, even though Camilla did stay in Candice's basement safe house. Were you a victim of sexual abuse? Yes. But not trafficking? No, I was not rescued by Candice. Camilla was sexually abused as a child by a family member who is a serial abuser. During this time in my life, I was an activist with human trafficking. but I'd also been investigating my past abuser. And this past abuser had found out and he knew where I was living and I didn't feel safe. Candace reached out to me. She DM'd me on Instagram and she said that she wanted to meet. I thought that it had to do with my activism and maybe discuss partnering or something. And so I showed up and I started off like talking about my work. And she was like, oh my goodness, like we have a safe house because you're not safe where you're living. Let us help you. Candice told different people that I was from the Afghanistan operation. She also told people that I was from the NBA operation. Seeing the shock on people's face of when they're like, wait, what operation are you really from? And I'm like, she contacted me on Instagram. Eyebrows went high, mouths dropped open. Just the shock of that is something that will stick with me of just how do you twist someone else's story to be these things? I was already so distrusting and Candice took the last little bit. and I remember driving to the court that morning and I'm like this is it like I'm never trusting anyone again and how that flipped when I saw the other victims that these were people I could trust I think was very healing to me I was outside the courthouse with Camilla after the sentencing I asked her if she would read her statement to me so she could at least be heard by us Candice's other victims gathered around and listened as Camilla spoke. My life has been full of exploitation and abuse. When I was in the midst of fighting, one of my past abusers, Candice Rivera, reached out to me. I stayed in the safe house in the basement of her home, and for the first time in my life, I felt safe. But just as quickly as she gave me that sense of security, she shattered it, taking me further down than I ever thought possible. Just like my past abusers, she exploited my vulnerabilities. As a survivor, trying to rebuild trust, she took advantage of that. She took advantage of me. She claimed that she was rescuing me from the fire, but instead, she led me into the dips of hell. This is a breaking experience for any individual. But she didn't just choose any individual to target. She chose the vulnerable, the victims, and the abused. Thanks for sharing your statement with us. Thank you so much for the opportunity. Candice promised Camilla that she would work with Homeland Security to bring her past abuser to justice. But Candice never did. Though Candice was working with Homeland Security. What we told you about Homeland Security and the NBA All-Star operation is true. Homeland did sign an agreement with Candace to put together an anti-human trafficking task force. When we spoke with private investigator Sam Brower, he couldn't believe what Candace had been able to get away with. She pulled the wool over Homeland Security's eyes. I looked into it to see if that was real, and it kind of rocked me a little bit because I thought, God, maybe she is legit. I mean, Homeland Security bought it hook, line, and sinker. It was hard for me to fathom. Holy mackerel. To be able to do that, that's something. I don't mean that in a complimentary way. I mean it like, man, Homeland Security needs to get their act together and start vetting people. At the time she was doing those things, the exodus, the corporation part of it, had expired. And so she wasn't even a legitimate entity at that time. but nobody, I guess, bothered to look. We spoke to a representative from Homeland Security who told us that it's not standard practice for them to investigate non-profits before working with them. Exodus was not the first non-profit to partner with Homeland, and as for Candice's claim that she was deputized, Homeland's representative told us that kind of deputization doesn even exist And the badge Candice showed people is actually a souvenir lapel pin that they give to kids on school trips They only three bucks if you want to buy one online Homeland Security gave us an official statement from HSI special agent in charge, Lester R. Hayes Jr., which said, It's heartbreaking when someone entrusted to stand beside victims instead chooses to exploit their pain for personal gain. This is more than just fraud It's a betrayal of trust, of duty and of the vulnerable we are sworn to protect While justice has been served the damage done to the victims and to the integrity of advocacy efforts remains compromised With Candice, it can be so difficult to know where the line is between what's real and what isn't So reporting on this story has not been straightforward. It can be tempting to assume everything she says is an outright lie. But part of what made her so convincing was that every lie was built on a foundation of truth. Everything we told you happened actually did. And in a very short amount of time, there was only three years between Exeter starting up and Candice's arrest. She did go to Ukraine, many times, though she didn't go to Afghanistan. There really was a black ops team at Candice's house with a load of guns. She did get a letter to the desk of the president of South Africa. And she actually did have access to two planes to transport people out of Afghanistan. But those planes were commandeered by the CIA and were some of the last planes to leave Afghanistan. Yeah, really, that is true. In the end, the Black Ops team only ever got as far as Dubai and Hillary Clinton was never involved. You can see how complicated some of this stuff is. When Candice was in Dubai, she bought Rolexes with $300,000 of donor money that she took with her. When she got back to Utah, she sold the Rolexes and pocketed the cash. In our reporting, we managed to track down a lot more missing money than the $2 million that was part of her final conviction. Yet when authorities went looking for Candace's assets to seize for restitution, they could only find $40,000 worth. One of the biggest questions we've been on the hunt to answer is, What did Candice do with the money? This question kept us up to the early hours in Utah and beyond. We trawled through paperwork, accounts, receipts, and still couldn't figure it out. While Candice did have some nice clothes, a couple of designer purses, and a pair of Louboutins, she certainly didn't have $2 million worth. No one seems to know where all the money went. We asked the Attorney General's office whether they knew And they once again declined to comment When I met some of the people in this story They were so conflicted about their part in the work that Candice did They'd been front and centre to what they thought was a whole lot of good Candice and the Exeter's team did rescue at least five at-risk orphans And did help some women escape trafficking But with every good thing that Candice did There was always a catch She acted in fraudulent ways even when she was actually helping people So it's confusing to reconcile the good things she did against the bad With everything out in the open I asked how people felt now This is what survivor Felicia had to say. These things did happen. You cannot take away the reality of our truths just because she used them to extort for her personal gain. What we told you, it's real. Trust me, it happened. I could show you the pictures. She was the dictator and the organizer. We were the movement. Candice said she rescued Felicia from trafficking. And although she is a survivor, she wasn't rescued by Candice. Amber, the survivor who was heading up the Homeland Task Force, felt that despite everything... Did she do any good? I hate to say it, but yes, she did some good. Others were less convinced, like Kim. I've always thought that I could find the good in anyone. No. I've seen too much I mean down to what she's done to her own family members I have searched to hold on to things that humanize her and make her that there's good no I've not found anything as for Aura do you think Candice did do any good no I don't because anything good that might have happened hurt someone else or was for selfish reasons. If something good came out of it, it was an accident. Aura was so close to Candice and spent so many years as her friend and assistant. And even after Candice was taken away to prison, Aura was still dealing with the fallout of Candice's actions. Even though Candice stole Aura's identity and took out a credit card in her name. Chase Bank spent over a year harassing Aura to cough up $24,000 for Candice's fraud. This has ruined my credit, and that's obviously devastating. It's also personally devastating to me because as a stay-at-home mom for so long and relying on my husband's credit, it, and then finally working and trying to be as financially responsible as I can without really making money, just relying on the man. And then now if something happened to him, I don't even, I can't even take care of myself. I can't get a loan. And I still don't have my identity. And that, that hurts. Her stolen identity is not the only thing that haunted Aura. When we spoke to her, Aura read us some of the hundreds of emails she received from people trying to flee during the Afghanistan operation, desperate for help that Candice had promised. We need your support in the process. Help us to leave so that my mother can go to work and I and my sisters can go to school and have a bright future and achieve our big goals. All night we did not sleep and think what will happen. We are in deep depression. Hope one day we can walk and see cities. We will have a dark future in this country. We are not safe. Please take our hands and save our lives. Please save Afghan immigrant life. It's about seven months without any clear pathway. Looking forward to your response. Thank you. Please tell us about the current and future situation of Afghan refugees and our final destination. What will happen? Will we be transferred or not? If yes, when, please provide clear information for us. I don't feel safe inside the country anymore, and we still do not know exactly what will happen to us. Most of the Afghans that Candice promised to rescue are still unaccounted for. However, the police report states that because of Candice's actions, four of those people were found by the Taliban. Two were forced to join, and tragically, two of them were killed. The web of Candice Rivera is that if you listen to all of our stories, each one focus on the point when she comes in. It's not in a point where we feel whole. It's not in a point where we've healed. It's not a point when we're going through trauma, when we're going through abuse, when we're going through divorces. I just have an empathetic heart. And all of the volunteers are the same way. We all come from trauma, wanting to do better in the world to heal. And she knew that. What a con to be able to get money by using trauma victims as your volunteers. She manipulated us easily because we were so desperate to heal our own pain in helping others. And when I felt the red flags, when I saw the red flags, I saw the people that needed help. It's one thing to hear about it. It's another to have them in front of your face for years. and every time you see a red flag, if that person is standing in front of you, needing you, when you're a mother and when you've suffered already so much, every time they couldn't walk away and that is ultimately how she did it. Her victims were her volunteers. And her victims were trauma survivors. Without Candice keeping all of the women apart, they were able to come together. And though Candice has caused so much trauma, the victims found comfort and healing through their shared experiences. People who barely knew one another are now close friends and are discovering what their life looks like now that they're out from under Candice's control. We have created new purpose and meaning to our lives, but that did not come from Candice. I do not believe that Candice created goodness in us. That's philanthropist Mary Crafts, who is part of the Ukraine operation. Mary has only been further impassioned by what she went through. She's also found love at the age of 71. She told us all about her wedding in Scotland when we spoke with her. Speaking of love, survivor Felicia is now happily married to the man she was so excited to tell Candice about during manic summer. I met Felicia for the first time the day after her wedding. The anonymous survivor from the first gala is also now married and wants to tell more of her story publicly. And Patrick, Candice's ex-husband, is happily married to the woman Candice called the mistress, although they didn't meet until well after Candice and Patrick separated. Jason from the Ukraine operation now lives in Spain with his family. And yes, I did go to Spain to hunt him down. Lisa from the Black Ops team, well, we can't say much, but she's been doing her bit to protect and serve. Camilla, the survivor who lived in Candice's safe house, has been given a grant to study at university. Private investigator Sam Brower is still working to take down the worst of the polygamist cults. Author Charlene has meticulously ripped Candice's foreword from every single one of her books. She's now working on her second book, TBD on the foreword. She also still owns all of Candice's business licenses. Aura's daughter, Bailey, has channeled her passion that was ignited through Exodus and is now working as a phlebotomist, helping people to donate blood. Non-profit leader Kate is doing her part to help rebuild the reputation of legitimate non-profits. Candice's Mops bestie, Danielle, has started speaking to the Mops group again. She's reconnected with Lacey, Timber and Patricia, and the Mops women have rekindled their friendship. Danielle's also got herself a personal trainer. It's Candice's other bestie, divorce club member Matt. Trafficking survivor Amber is continuing to heal and do outreach on the streets of Salt Lake with trafficking victims with a legitimate organisation. We spent a day with her when we were in Utah, volunteering and spending time with victims. Kim is now working for non-profit Holding Out Help whose gala tipped Sam Brower off. Kim was inspired to work with them after reading Charlene's book. Kim and Aura have become especially close. Aura, after a year and a half, finally had Chase Bank drop the fraud case against her. She now has her identity back. Brandy and Kimberly from the For The Love Book group are no longer supporting Candice. And the group is as strong as ever. People still post in there every day. And best-selling author Jen Hatmaker, who started the group, occasionally makes an appearance. The rest of us are all just normal people. We're just having normal relationships with each other and transparent ones at that. And so it's just very bonkers just to know that someone was among us that was so calculating and predatory. I'm sorry for all the women who ever shared anything vulnerable with her or felt taken advantage of by her, exploited by her. As for Candice, she started her own group, mentoring and tutoring women in prison. We also finally figured out her actual age. Though she has a passport that says she was born in 1985, turns out she was actually born in 1986. We weren't the only ones confused. The Department of Corrections changed Candice's age on her custody records a few times until they settled on the right date of birth. As of the conclusion of production of this podcast, Candice is about to turn 39 Yep Despite what she told everyone She's still not 40 I hope that you love me as much as I love you all And if you don't, I still love you You're amazing And thank you for riding this little journey P.S. I don't know what I'm doing I'm lost Anyways, love you guys That's the end of our story for now But that's not the end of Candice's story The day she was transferred from county jail to prison She got married Her new husband, Brad, has a rare kidney disease They met while she was in jail Though he was on the outside It's a bit convoluted but it was through a friend of a friend of someone Candice was in jail with. Candice and Brad started writing letters to each other. Then, after some steamy prison phone calls, well, I guess the rest is history. At 12pm on October 29th, 2024, Candice's mum FaceTimed into the intimate ceremony in county jail. Candice was not wearing a wedding dress. Once the I do's were said Candice was whisked away to prison To begin her sentence That's where she'll be for the next 3 to 15 years It frustrated us too To not know exactly how long she will spend in prison I'm sure we'll speak again when we find out You're a part of the wild world of our unicorn girl Candice now too So we're in this together We've done as much as we can to get to the bottom of everything Candice was up to. But who knows what else is in store. You can never get to the bottom of it with Candice. That might be one of the few things that is 100% true. But it doesn't mean we have to stop trying. Keep checking in for the next update. Unicorns might not be real but that doesn't mean they don't affect us This has been Unicorn Girl an Apple original podcast produced by Seven Hills and hosted and executive produced by me, Charlie Webster Unicorn Girl is produced by me, Charlie Webster and Jackson McLennan Original score and theme music by Ryan Sorenson Editing and sound design by Nico Pallella Assistant producer and fact-checking by Emmy Jory Candice's social media posts are also read by Emmy Jory Mixed by Little Big Room Additional production support by Fun Meter follow and listen on apple podcasts