Law&Crime Sidebar - Ruby Franke’s Ex Slams Partner-in-Crime in Bombshell Lawsuit

Starting point is 00:00:00 Wondery Plus subscribers can binge all episodes of this Law and Crimes series ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. We went out to like a dinner afterwards, and that's where Jody really opened up to the women in a private conversation that she believed she was being tormented and haunted by shadow figures every night. And that was spooky. A bombshell new lawsuit has just been filed by Kevin Frankie, the ex-husband of disgraced YouTuber Ruby Frankie, and the allegations are next level. He is accusing Jody Hildebrand,

Starting point is 00:00:44 the licensed mental health counselor at the center of the child abuse scandal of emotional manipulation, medical negligence, destroying his family. This legal filing pulls back the curtain on what Kevin claims he endured behind closed doors. And you know what? It may change how we view this already horrifying case. Let's break it all down. Welcome to Sidebar. Presented by Law and Crime. I'm Jesse Weber. A major new lawsuit was filed by Kevin Frankie against Jody Hildebrandt, and we're going to talk about it right now. So Kevin is, of course, the ex-husband of former mommy vlogger, YouTuber Ruby Frankie.

Starting point is 00:01:22 And we know Ruby and mental health counselor Jody Hildebrandt, her associate, were both. arrested and pled guilty to aggravated child abuse of Ruby's two young children. It was a horrifying, horrifying case, bondage, starvation, physical injuries, emotional abuse, physical labor, awful. We're talking about these kids being rescued by police after her young son was able to escape and run to a neighbor of Jody's in Ivan's, Utah. Both of these women pleaded guilty and meant they didn't have to go to trial and went directly to sentencing in February of 2024. They were each sentenced to 40 to 30 years in prison. It's going to be up to the parole board to decide when they're released. But now we've got to talk about Kevin. Because Kevin has always maintained he had no idea

Starting point is 00:02:08 that this was going on, that he was living separately from Ruby at Jody's direction. That Jody had taken complete control over Ruby, manipulated her, and manipulated him, divided their family. So what happens? Not totally unexpected. We're seeing this. But Kevin Frankie filed this lawsuit in Utah State Court against Jody Hildebrand. And that is what we're going to break down. Now, I will tell you, it echoes a lot of the allegations that he is made against Jody after her and Ruby's arrest. But this is a lot more detailed. So first thing I noticed is that it was filed on his behalf by his attorney Randy Kester. This is somebody that we have interviewed before here on Sidebar. Okay, this is essentially a medical malpractice like lawsuit. Okay.

Starting point is 00:02:56 he's suing for negligence, where someone owes you a duty, they breached that duty, you were harmed, and their actions caused that harm. Those are the kind of elements. Duty, breach, causation, harm. Here's what it says in the complaint. Quote, defendant owed Kevin a duty of care as a patient and in a vulnerable emotional state, she was in a position of trust. Defendant breached this duty of care using improper mental health care techniques as outlined in the paragraphs listed above. And we're going to go through the allegations. But real quick, something to point out, under Utah law, there are tiers. So depending on how much you're seeking in damages, you know, compensation, that dictates what this case will look like and maybe how long you'll actually

Starting point is 00:03:40 get to a trial. Because basically, what we're talking about is how the sides will be able to obtain material and evidence in a case like this, really discovery. So they argue in this complaint, this is a tier three case. Frankie is claiming that his damage. exceed $300,000, which allows for things like 30 hours for total fact depositions, 210 days for standard fact discovery and stuff like that. I don't know, just thought it was interesting. This is a legal show. Want to pointed out.

Starting point is 00:04:09 Anyway, I'm going to get to damages later, by the way, because you might be saying, wait a second, she's locked up in prison. What is he going after? What are her assets? It's a good question. We'll talk about it later. But what are the allegations? So first of all, it gets into how Kevin and Ruby got married on December 28.

Starting point is 00:04:24 2008, 2000, they had six kids, and then they get into how Jody got connected to Ruby, namely how Jody engaged Ruby to associate with her in a new Facebook group called Moms of Truth. And Jody apparently continued to practice as a mental health counselor. And the complaint explains how Jody and Ruby did social media posts together, and they were designed to promote Jody's business, and Jody was creating and selling written materials to promote her business too. This all leads into the allegation that Jody solicited Ruby and Kevin to be her patients and to buy her books and her workbooks and how Jody allegedly referred to herself as a psychologist.

Starting point is 00:05:10 And by the way, they cite this in the complaint, how proof of this is from her August 2023 police interview. The whole reason we're sitting here today is we just, there's a lot of questions we have that we just may be a misunderstandings, that we just, need clarifying. I know, and I'd love to tell you if you were here, because I don't know, I don't, I don't know what's going to happen with what I say, you know, I, I watch, I'm a psychologist. I've watched people flip things all the time. So I get it. And I sit on your side.

Starting point is 00:05:45 I get it. By the way, if you've been watching Sidebar, you know how many videos we put out every day, every week, even on the weekend, and we use something called Opus Clips. So if you're in the content creation game, if you're putting things out on social media, this might be for you. This is an all-in-one AI editor that makes it easier and faster to cut, create, and upload videos across all social media platforms. Through the power of AI, Opus clip automatically generates B-roll, it cleans up audio,

Starting point is 00:06:10 it reframes your videos for any platform. And Opus clip is so easy to start using. I'm going to show you how right now. All you got to do is go to opus.pro slash sidebar, sign up, and then upload a video. In just a few minutes, you'll have tons of perfectly edited clips ready to go. So whether you're making videos for TikTok, shorts, Instagram reels, Opus Clip is your one-stop shop for getting your best content seen by more viewers across all these platforms with the press of just one button. And if you're wondering how good the AI edited videos are from Opus Clip, just look at our content here at Long Crime. Our producers have used Opus to help us cut and share clips of some of our most major trials.

Starting point is 00:06:44 And having a tool like Opus Clip means we can get you even more viral updates from inside the courtroom faster than ever before. At Sidebar, we know our listeners have a lot of opinions and ideas to share. And this is the most powerful tool there is to help you edit like a pro and grow your own audience. So give it a try for yourself. Go to opus.pro slash sidebar to start creating your own videos today. Now this is the big allegation. Quote, during the spring of 2022, Jody asserted that based upon her experience, education,

Starting point is 00:07:12 expertise, and observations as a licensed clinical mental health counselor and psychologist, She, without undertaking any assessments, testing, or other formal diagnostic protocol, advised Kevin that she had diagnosed him as being lustful, narcissistic, manipulative, deceptive, controlling, and selfish, and that he needed her professional services. She also advised Ruby of her diagnosis of Kevin. She convinced Ruby to support this diagnosis and adopt Jody's subsequent professional advice for remedial treatment for Kevin and his family. Kevin engaged Jody's professional services.

Starting point is 00:07:50 She undertook to provide him professional mental health services and thereby assumed a heightened position of trust as a licensed health care professional in the state of Utah with its attendant duties. So that is key to negligence. It establishes the duty that Jody allegedly owed to Kevin. Quote, her further professional advice was that Kevin should have no communication or contact with his children because Kevin's personality, emotional and mental health. conditions would have a negative impact on the children and might lead them to adopt these same negative behaviors and conditions. This was mandated by Jody as part of Kevin's treatment. On July 20th, 2022, Jody and Ruby mandated that as a condition to protect the children and preserve the marriage and family, Kevin and his oldest son Chad, then 17, should remove themselves from

Starting point is 00:08:40 the family home and reside elsewhere and have no communication with the other family members, including Kevin's wife, Ruby. Remember, Chad was actually a patient of Jody at one point. Quote, at this point, both Chad and Kevin were paying for her professional services and advice, and Kevin was enrolled in her online men's group therapy, in reliance upon her professional status, education, licensing, and experience. And upon Ruby's adoption of Jody's advice, Kevin and Chad left the home. Now, that's key, right? That's key.

Starting point is 00:09:10 They're really building that up to say, this wasn't a stranger telling them to do this, providing this advice, she, by all accounts, gave her credentials. Why shouldn't she be trusted and believed? That position of trust, that duty. Key to a negligence analysis. And this is now where Kevin alleges that Jody insists that Ruby and Kevin live separately. Actually, by the way, when Kevin was interviewed by police after Ruby's arrest in a later interview, because he was much more on the offensive against Jody in a later interview, not so much in his initial one, but in this later one, what he says take a listen basically there were all these rules now placed on me like i could leave when i wanted but i couldn't come back until ruby gave me permission i couldn't come into the

Starting point is 00:09:56 kitchen to eat until ruby gave me permission and the upstairs where jody roamed was completely off limits i couldn't go upstairs anymore in my own house um and there would be ruby would dictate all of the terms of how our interactions would be when we would talk when and and that was hard and it was during that time that i really became i would say dependent upon ruby like if she said a kind word to me like my whole day was made right very similar to what's being alleged now in the lawsuit right so now let's go back to the complaint quote chad was paying for his weekly therapy sessions and she actually raised her price for him to approximately $900 per month. Kevin paid Jody for his participation in online men's group therapy beginning in

Starting point is 00:10:51 July 2022. She requested that Kevin pay through Venmo because, quote, it's easier. Kevin paid between $300 and $375 monthly for his participation in men's group therapy. Jody, knowing of and having observed their family practices and devotion to their religious beliefs, and commitments used her knowledge of Kevin's commitment to his religious beliefs, his marriage and family to leverage and manipulate him into adopting her unprofessional and deceitful advice. Kevin was paying her and relying upon her professional therapy, his objective being to preserve his family in marriage. She would often tell him that unless there was strict compliance with her mandates, that his, quote, soul was in danger of being damned. In addition, during his time of

Starting point is 00:11:37 separation, other men, Jody was instructing, who were part of her online therapy, were directed by Jody to threaten Kevin that if he didn't comply and change quickly, Ruby was going to run out of patience and divorce Kevin. This manipulation made him fear the threatened consequences if he didn't maintain absolute and unquestioning compliance with Jody's mandates. You know what we call that? Potential witnesses, right? At a trial, would he call these men?

Starting point is 00:12:06 they testify? That would be huge. Now, Kevin claims that Jody ordered that he and Ruby have complete separation, that Jody would emotionally and mentally abuse other patients who violated a no contact separation. So in other words, if he didn't follow her advice, look what was going to happen. There were, however, a couple times when she did allow Kevin to speak to Ruby, but it wasn't so simple as picking up the phone and saying, hi, no, this is the allegation from the complaint. Quote, each time Jody instructed Kevin to write a letter and list everything that he did that he was told by Jody that was selfish, entitled, narcissistic, lustful, and manipulative. Jody would tell Ruby to hold on to these letters to use his evidence for leverage in divorce

Starting point is 00:12:46 proceedings should that be necessary. Now, I do wonder if there are physical copies of these letters, are there emails? By the way, I should note something about this case. If this goes to trial, this presumably is going to rely heavily on Kevin's testimony, right? He would presumably have to take the stand. You have to imagine that in this kind of case. And he would face tough questions. questioning from Jody Hildebrand's lawyer or lawyers about why he did all this. First, Jody's lawyers could deny all these allegations, say she never advised any of this. All of this is untrue. Or they could say, look, there was a reason she told them to separate. And it was Kevin who voluntarily consented to doing all this. He's an adult. She provided advice.

Starting point is 00:13:27 She didn't pressure him or manipulate him. He did it voluntarily. Not saying, by the way, that that defense would work, but just keep in mind that would be what I imagine cross-examination would look like and what their argument would look like should this go to trial. But when we talk about that, I mean, just listen to what Kevin told police in an initial interview after Ruby's arrest. Jody and Ruby have a close relationship. And Jody saw the need for me to get help. And frankly, I agree. The space has been exactly what I need. to face, you know, my own addictions and, and receive the support and help that I've needed. And so this space has been very, very good for me.

Starting point is 00:14:22 See, so that was very close in time when all of this was allegedly going on. And right after the arrest, he has obviously changed his tune about Jody and Ruby since that time. But could that interview be used by Jody Hildebrand? defense to argue consent? Maybe. Which is why, by the way, Kevin in his complaint, and probably ultimately at a future trial, is really focusing on the alleged mental abuse that he suffered at the hands of Jody, how she allegedly berated and belittled him during online men's group therapy sessions, that she allegedly accused him of, quote, being a lover of darkness, lover of Satan, and accused him of hiding something very dark and evil, and she withheld her counseling and help

Starting point is 00:15:05 unless through coercion, he confessed it to her, and she was satisfied that it was all disclosed. Again, this goes to the alleged power imbalance, the credentials, the coercion, this is all important for the purposes of this case. Quote, during these group sessions, totaling over 300 hours, Jody would electronically, privately communicate with other members of the group and share confidential and detailed information about Kevin, his family, and his struggles. She would then enlist and instruct others using that information. to mentally, psychologically, and spiritually abuse Kevin.

Starting point is 00:15:39 She would have him called out for his behavior and comments, which she characterized as inappropriate. During her treatment of Kevin, she would also relate to him vivid details of her other patient's lives, activities, and choices. Now, during the course of pretrial discovery, you know, exchanging information and potential evidence, I do wonder if they can get these messages to show she allegedly did this, right? To be clear, when you file a lawsuit, you aren't claiming you have all the actual evidence.

Starting point is 00:16:05 to prove your claims as of yet many times you have secondhand information you believe it to be true but now you need to commence a lawsuit where you can get that potential evidence to prove and corroborate your claim so then the complaint claims that by september 2022 jodi had told kevin he wasn't worthy to enter the temple for the lDS church church of latter day saints he said this led him to not actually trying to renew his certification to enter an lDS temple it's called a recommend he claims you He also encouraged him to get fired from Brigham Young University, BYU, that it would wake him up if he was fired. And he claims that's what happened. He was fired.

Starting point is 00:16:44 And then he alleges when that happened when he was fired, Jody turned on him, called him selfish for doing this. So then finally we get into when Ruby and two of her kids were living with Jody in this house in Ivins. He claims Jody never told him this. And by the way, he alleges that Jody told Ruby to get tested for SDDs. Okay. And he says, while all this is going on, by the way, he's still pain. for Jody for these professional services. He's thinking that these counseling sessions would lead to reunification of the family.

Starting point is 00:17:12 But this is important. He claims what was Jody doing, that she was allegedly trying to convince Ruby to buy up land, property in Arizona to liquidate these financial accounts that were for Ruby, Kevin, and their children in the sum of $80,000. By the way, kind of similar to what Kevin told police back in the day in that later interview I mentioned. Around that time things with Ruby started like picking up and I didn't understand why but like Ruby wanted to meet in a parking lot and wanted me to sign over titles of documents like the two of our cars wanted me to sign them over to her name but I was like okay you know I'm just not I'm in total compliance mode at this point.

Starting point is 00:18:04 Just like, I'm a good husband. You see, you can trust me. And so whatever she asked, like sign over the cars to me, no question, it's just okay. And then another thing, she was like, I might want to do an investment, but I will need your signature. Do you trust me enough that I could get your signature

Starting point is 00:18:29 if I wanted to pursue my own investment? uh yeah sure whatever you say okay so from there kevin claims that jody suspended her services with kevin that he had his last men's group session on july 26 2023 and this is while she was mentally emotionally and physically abusing his two children in that ivan's house so then we get to two important parts of this lawsuit and the first one says this quote the specific allegations of negligence which are believed to be below the standards of mental health care for this community include, but are not limited to the following, and it's a full list. Failure of Jody Hildebrandt professionally diagnosed and explained to patient from what specific

Starting point is 00:19:11 mental health condition he suffered and how such diagnosis warranted the applied treatment. Failure of Jody Hildebrandt to institute an appropriate remedial method of treatment, affirmatively misdiagnosing this patient's condition, affirmatively acting to apply unprofessional, inappropriate, and improper methods of treatment within the applicable standard of care, engaging in dual conflicting relationships with patient, members of his family and other patients, engaging in acts detrimental to patient's children contrary to the stated objective of the purported professional advice and services being provided to and paid for by patient. Committing criminal acts against patient's children, disclosing Kevin's confidential

Starting point is 00:19:49 information and communications to and providing advice to patient's wife, contrary to patient's best interests, and contrary to the stated objective of the purported professional advice and services being provided to and paid for by patient. Engaging in conduct toward her patient that displayed a lack of honesty and candor was dishonest and designed to benefit the self-interest of Ms. Hildebrand and was contrary to the mental health and best interest of her patient. Representing herself to be practicing or engaging in a profession, psychology for which she was not licensed, engaging in conduct that resulted in a conviction with respect to a crime that when considered with the functions and duties of the profession for which the license was issued, there is a

Starting point is 00:20:29 stance a relationship to the licensee's ability to safely or competently practice the profession. Engaging conduct that has resulted in disciplinary action, including suspension and revocation by the licensing and regulatory authority under the division of professional licensing for the state of Utah for a licensed clinical mental health counselor. Practicing a profession regulated under Utah state law through gross incompetence, gross negligence or pattern of incompetency or negligence. Practicing or attempting to practice a profession requiring licensure under this time. title by any form of action or communication, which is false, misleading, deceptive, or fraudulent, verbally, physically, mentally, or sexually abusing or exploiting any person through conduct, connected with the licensee's practice under this title, or otherwise facilitated by the licensees license. By the way, you remember when I said that Frankie was paying hundreds and hundreds

Starting point is 00:21:20 of dollars a month for these online group therapy sessions and was doing it through Venmo? That last part is very, very important for purposes of damages, compensation. How much was he essentially owed because of what Hildebrand did to him. How can he be restored whole? So in fact, towards the end of this lawsuit, this complaint, Kevin Frankie alleges what he suffered and what he is seeking, that he was subjected to unnecessary and damaging mental health treatments that he paid for all of this. Monetary damages for past, ongoing, and future mental health treatment because of what Jody allegedly did, general damages for things like physical and emotional pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, depression, attorney's fees,

Starting point is 00:22:00 costs, therapy costs, lost earnings, cites damages in trying to reconcile and restore his family to what it was before Jody did what she allegedly did and any and all other appropriate damages. Now, Utah may put a cap on certain damages, but you're still talking about what could be a very sizable a number if this goes to trial. And by the way, Kevin is asking, demanding a jury trial for this case. And here's something else to remember. We can't tell you what Hildebrand's current financial condition is or what her assets are. However, two news investigates out in Utah reported that her $5 million home in Ivans, where the abuse of those children occurred, was taken off the market. Also, it was alleged in another lawsuit against Hildebrand, one that we discussed here

Starting point is 00:22:48 on Sidebar, filed by a man named Michael Tillman, that he was victimized by Hildebrand through her connections business. And this part is key. Quote, the enterprise has become a multi-million dollar operation by fraudulently luring individuals to the enterprise through connections and then charging them exorbitant amounts of money under the threat of pain, abuse, and destruction of one's family if the individuals do not fully invest in connection services and products and the enterprise itself. So in Kevin's litigation, there will possibly be an examination of the profits that Jody potentially earn from her services. And it goes to the harm and damages analysis. And I will tell you, look, based on what we have seen in the criminal case, Ruby's own statement

Starting point is 00:23:29 when she was sentenced talking essentially how she was manipulated by Jody, Kevin's own statements to police, analyzing the credibility of his allegations in this lawsuit is very, very different than if he had just filed the suit before Jody's arrest and we never heard about any of this. So does it make it more credible? Maybe. So depending on Jody's assets and a risk loss analysis, she's got to decide if she wants to fight this and if she contends the allegations are untrue or if she's going to try to work for a settlement of some kind we'll wait and see interesting development nonetheless it's all we have for you right now here on sidebar everybody thank you so much for joining us and as always please subscribe on youtube apple

Starting point is 00:24:09 podcast spotify wherever you get your podcasts i'm jesse weber i'll speak to you next time You can binge all episodes of this law and crime series ad free right now on Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

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Law&Crime Sidebar - Ruby Franke’s Ex Slams Partner-in-Crime in Bombshell Lawsuit

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