A 37-year-old woman who started a Utah charity to fight human trafficking three years ago is in jail accused of bilking donors out of nearly half the $1.6 million raised during that time.
Candace Lierd, founder and CEO of nonprofit organization Exitus in Lehi, Utah, remained behind bars after being denied bail following her Sept. 15 arrest. Lierd, who operated under an alias as Candace Rivera, is alleged to hold multiple valid and fraudulent passports from several countries under both names. She is being held indefinitely as authorities assess her flight risk.
The indictment unsealed by the Utah Attorney General’s Office details 34 felony counts against Lierd including forgery, embezzlement, identity fraud, and theft by deception relating to the theft of more than $730,000 from the organization she founded. Lierd, who was never authorized by her board to draw a salary, allegedly used the money to pay for personal expenses including a home, overseas trips, and a Chevy Corvette automobile. She faces hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and could spend the rest of her life in state prison if convicted on all counts.
Authorities began investigating Lierd three months ago after initially charging her with one count of felony fraud in connection with the unauthorized withdrawal of $8,000 from the charity’s bank account during June 2022. The investigation allegedly revealed a pattern of misrepresentation by her that included falsely claiming to be a doctor and nurse practitioner who worked for the United Nations, which led to her being featured as an “expert” in a BBC report and in another local television story on child trafficking that aired this past February during the NBA’s All-Star Game festivities in Salt Lake City.
Lierd allegedly leveraged her “credentials” to become certified as a victim service provider with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s anti-human trafficking taskforce and to generate additional business for herself via a luxury private branding consultancy she launched for women-owned companies, according to investigators. As recently as April, she served as lead coordinator in the medical transport of an orphan from Ukraine to an adoptive family in the United States that included providing the rescue team with “controlled substances in a medical kit” and “questionable medical directives relating to the child’s colostomy bag which would have been harmful to the child if executed,” according to investigators.
Exitus itself now appears to be defunct in all but name only and its website permanently suspended. It is unclear if the organization ever submitted a required Form 990 to the Internal Revenue Service, as one could not be located. Its charity registration in Utah dating back to August 2020 is also alleged to have expired during December 2022 for “failure to file renewal,” according to authorities.
Exitus board members interviewed by investigators confirmed the nonprofit’s mission was to fight human trafficking. However, “no member recalled permitting, approving, voting for, or otherwise granting Candace authority to draw a salary from Exitus’ business accounts. The board also did not approve or permit Candace to withdraw large sums of cash from Exitus accounts for any purpose other than to conduct Exitus business,” according to investigators. Additionally, “no board member, either individually or as a board, ever approved or permitted Candace to use Exitus funds or Exitus bank accounts toward the purchase of her home or vehicle.”
