Latest Update: Court Slashes Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad's Christmas Bonus by $3,529,092 as Hired Gun Naveed Jamali Lashes Out in Retaliation: Exclusive
Dev Pragad is under fire again as the Newsweek CEO has reportedly been caught recruiting sources from an extortion network. Here's what HNGN discovered.
Federal raid connected with "erratic" student who made false allegations against Olivet University
In April 2022, Newsweek surprised its readers by reporting about a 2021 federal raid and accusations of human trafficking at a Christian university in California. But in an even more surprising turn of events, sources have now revealed to HNGN that the Newsweek CEO, Dev Pragad, personally contacted former students seeking information about a "troublesome" coed at the same university. Thanks to a tip from a Newsweek reporter himself, the girl has been identified by HNGN as the primary "trigger" of the human trafficking investigation.
The girl, Rebecca Singh, flunked out of Olivet, sources say, before linking arms with an extortion network in a desperate play to achieve U.S. permanent resident status.
Now new evidence directly links CEO Pragad to this extortion network of ex-students providing false testimonies about the school to the U.S. government in exchange for Green Cards.
A revealing text message and social media message from the Newsweek CEO to former university students come amidst increasing scrutiny about Newsweek's newsroom independence following the threats Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad made to weaponize the newsroom against shareholder Johnathan Davis.
Pragad's expressed aim is to force Davis to give up his shares of Newsweek. He isn't willing to take "no" for an answer and has threatened to go "nuclear" against Davis and anyone else who stood in his way.
One would have likely taken Pragad's words as the rantings of a madman, but Pragad proved that he was not deranged but rather a dangerous person to cross paths with, as the story published by Newsweek in April was the first among many salvos that would be fired from Newsweek against Davis, against Olivet University (Davis' wife was the former president of the university), and against others that stood in the way of his greed.
Pragad tapped freelance reporter Naveed Jamali -- an ex-FBI double agent who once argued that the "Muslim Brotherhood" should "not" be labeled a "terrorist group" -- to produce a steady stream of additional pieces attacking the Christian university.
Now additional new information indicates that in their hit pieces, Newsweek has relied on false accusations from former Olivet University students to falsely accuse the university of "human trafficking," among other things.
Who was the source of the human trafficking charge?
After the story of the raid broke in Newsweek, many people were curious about the credibility and identity of sources of the "human trafficking" and "visa fraud" allegations against the university. Since the Department of Homeland Security did not name these sources, this fell upon Newsweek to verify their identities for credibility.
Now HNGN has been provided with an email to Olivet University from Newsweek reporter Alex Rouhandeh dated July 13, 2022, stating that a 911 call in March of 2018 "triggered" the federal government to investigate the university.
HNGN learned that this 911 call was made on behalf of Singh, a former Olivet student who was in the process of being removed from the campus for unethical behavior and academic failure. She also conspired with other former students to form an "evil network" to make false accusations and threats against the university, various sources corroborated.
After seeing this recent Newsweek email, HNGN is now able to connect the dots from the federal raid to these former Olivet University students, their "evil network," and their false accusations against Olivet. Specifically, Singh and former students from Venezuela made false statements about Olivet University to the United States federal government, resulting in the campus raid on April 21, 2021.
Bad source Rebecca Singh's "erratic" and "troublesome" behavior
According to sources, Ms. Singh had engaged in "erratic" and "troublesome" behavior during her time at Olivet's campus prior to making false allegations that resulted in the federal raid of Olivet University.
An Olivet alumnus shared with HNGN under the condition of anonymity, due to fear of retribution and harassment by the Newsweek CEO and his team of reporters, that Singh often stole money and personal items from other students.
Although Ms. Singh arrived in the U.S. from India on an international student visa - requiring students to stay at the campus where they study - she would often create fake doctor's notes as an excuse to avoid classes and travel to other states, alumnus told HNGN. Additionally, Singh often kept her dorm-mates up all night with incessant, loud music despite their pleas.
For these and other misdeeds, in addition to failing academic performance, Singh was suspended and required to return home to India, according to the Olivet alumnus.
Yet before being removed from campus, Ms. Singh attempted to stay longer in the U.S. by transferring to another college. Strangely, on the final day of her removal from campus, Singh "bizarrely" requested a 911 phone call to be made on behalf of her welfare, according to sources. This was done despite comfortable arrangements for transporting her to the airport, authorities confirmed.
After finally leaving the campus, Singh later provided false allegations to the federal government that led to a raid on Olivet University.
Former students extort school, giving false testimony in exchange for U.S. green card offers.
Another Olivet alumnus revealed that after leaving Olivet's campus, Singh made a pact with former Olivet students living in Venezuela, agreeing to make false accusations against the university together.
According to the alumnus, these former students from Venezuela also extorted money from the university. The father of one of these students warned that they had formed a "malicious" network and that the U.S. government had been misled into offering them green cards in exchange for false accusations against Olivet. They demanded money under the threat of providing false statements to the U.S. government against Olivet.
The former students from Venezuela also fabricated a story about their passports being "confiscated" while they were "imprisoned" in campus. The alumnus said that these accusations were untrue and "made up out of thin air," and that the campus atmosphere was supportive and friendly, based on their experience.
Nonetheless, this "malicious" network of former students eventually provided the false accusations of "human trafficking" and "visa fraud" to the federal government that led to the raid on Olivet University, which was confirmed by the Newsweek reporter's recent email connecting this raid with Singh. And according to the email, this "malicious" network continues to make more false allegations to this day.
Evidence shows that Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad personally contacted these bad sources
After Newsweek wrote the April 22 article alleging "human trafficking" and "visa fraud" at Olivet University, Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad immediately reached out to sources behind those allegations, according to a text message and social media message seen by this reporter. This connection was made possible by Pragad's personal involvement with the subject matter of the story, as well as Pragad's personal connection with people in India who know Singh. Pragad provided these sources to Newsweek reporters.
In the quote below that was shared and verified by HNGN, the CEO was seen searching for the full name and contact information of a person named 'Mohna' through various Indian intermediaries. This same 'Mohna' is the relative of Ms. Singh, who was the source of false allegations against the university that resulted in a federal raid.
"Hi Claude, do you know Nithin and Mohna's full names? They were both in Riverside."
- Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad. Mohna is a cousin of Rebecca Singh. Riverside refers to Olivet's campus. Text message from May 2, 2022, soon after Newsweek's article publication.
"Hi Moses, I'd like to talk to you about this and understand your experience in Riverside."
- Message on LinkedIn from Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad to a former Olivet University student. Dated April 25, 2022, with a link to Newsweek's story published days earlier.
This follows a broader pattern of the Newsweek newsroom being fed information from Mr. Pragad.
For example, soon after Pragad told various sources that he was ready to unleash his newsroom against Davis -- the shareholder Pragad is attempting to oust from Newsweek -- and against Davis' associates in an effort to control the company, Newsweek wrote on April 22 that Olivet was linked to "human trafficking" and that a raid occurred at its campuses.
While this raid story was not published anywhere else, the story was published in Newsweek as headline news. This is consistent with Pragad's threat made one month before publication: "I'll go to media about OU raid by DHS for human trafficking etc to protect myself as well as defend myself legally," Pragad warned in March 2022.
Misrepresentation of Christian Education, Shelter for the Persecuted
According to the Olivet alumnus, Olivet University serves young men and women from around the world by providing Christian education, especially for students who have no other way to access Christian education due to religious persecution in their home country.
"Olivet University is a shelter for the persecuted, a peaceful and safe place for Christian studies," said the alumnus.
Olivet's educational program includes biblical and theological classes, along with Christian worship services and opportunities to learn practical church planting skills. However, these educational and religious programs have been misconstrued by a handful of "malicious" former students as "human trafficking" and "visa fraud," according to the alumnus.
"This is a complete misrepresentation of Olivet's beautiful Christian educational programs that have immense benefits for students," shared the Olivet alumnus. "I personally know so many happy and successful graduates who have become missionaries and pastors and ministry workers, so why is the U.S. government allowing itself to be deceived by these false accusations?"
This story was covered by HNGN's contributor writer, Ryan Lee, following the developing story of Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad.
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