Covert Team Inside Newsweek Revealed as Key Players in False Human Trafficking Lawsuit

(Photo : Left: Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad. Middle: Naveed Jamali, Ex-Russian Double Agent. Right: Naveed Used Pro-North Korea Media Cell's Materials For Newsweek Article)

This article aims to objectively review the various articles Newsweek wrote against Olivet University, shedding light on the allegations and highlighting potential ethical concerns with the reporting.

Controversies Manufactured by Newsweek's Covert Inner Circle

Newsweek's modus operandi is unconventional, suggesting that a covert inner circle at the publication manufactures the controversies, reports on them, and subsequently triggers investigations against Olivet University by instigating various entities and agencies.

Especially, reporters Naveed Jamali and Alex Rouhandeh's actions depart from ethical and journalistic norms, as they continue to portray an atmosphere of turmoil and controversy disproportionate to the true circumstances around the university and its associated church denomination. Indeed, contrary to Newsweek's narrative depicting widespread controversy, it appears that such stories are primarily and exclusively generated by Newsweek alone and not by any other mainstream publication.

Accusations of Human Trafficking Morph into Labor Trafficking

Earlier, Newsweek published sensationalized headlines accusing Olivet University of "Human Trafficking," but this was shown to be untrue. Newsweek writers then quietly downgraded their rhetoric to accusations of "Human Labor Trafficking," a claim that again lacks any factual basis. Newsweek did so without acknowledging that its earlier "Human Trafficking" accusation was false. Neither does it possess any substantiated evidence for "Human Labor Trafficking," yet Newsweek persists in perpetuating these allegations against the school, prompting questions about its journalistic integrity.

Coordination Between Newsweek and Former Students Breaks Journalistic Integrity

Take for example the latest "article" that Newsweek threatened to publish. Rouhandeh has recently informed Olivet University that he will write about a civil lawsuit brought by four former students against Olivet University for alleged "Human Labor Trafficking." But this term already surfaced in Newsweek articles about Olivet University for many months before this first article on the lawsuit, raising suspicions of coordination between Newsweek's covert inner circle and these students and their attorney.

This is troubling because the media should engage in fact-finding with an attitude of public service. But if Newsweek's reporters are closely coordinating with these former students and their attorney, it is not possible to report on the same lawsuit under the guise of "fair and neutral" reporting. Coordinating with one party in a lawsuit while authoring a story about the same matter is a violation of journalistic integrity.

The reason why Newsweek is so unusually interested and invested in this lawsuit can be traced back to an internal shareholder dispute at Newsweek. To gain an advantage for Newsweek CEO Dev Pragad in this dispute, a secret team was formed within Newsweek to attack Olivet University as a proxy for another party in the dispute. It is this "covert" group within Newsweek that appears to be coordinating with these students to advance unsubstantiated claims against Olivet University, for the benefit of Pragad.

Dissecting the Lawsuit: Mere Pocket Money Dispute

The civil lawsuit involves four former ESL students who, in 2017, attended Olivet University. They came to the United States under full scholarships, but then asked Olivet University for additional pocket money for monthly personal expenses including cell phones. However, this was beyond the scope of their scholarship agreements. These students then joined student volunteer clubs and requested pocket money from these clubs.

A university source said that Olivet University will vehemently defend itself in court against the allegations made by the four former students. Court records indicate that the university has countersued the students for deceit and fraud.

"The complaint filed by the four students is ridiculous. No student in Olivet University has ever been locked or confined in the campus against their will and neither have any students been ordered, forced, or threatened to work for or at the direction of Olivet University. All the students are provided transportation from and to the campus as well as breakfast and hot meals every day," the university source said.

"The students were never told they had any debt and were never asked to repay any debt - and especially were never told to work to repay any debt."

"The allegation that the students were forced to work for several hours every day is absurd. This is the first time any student has made such a complaint. All students must follow full academic schedules to maintain good academic standing and do not have time outside of class and academic studies and student activities to work as they allege," the source said.

This dispute over pocket money, blown out of proportion by both the students and Newsweek, is not tantamount to "Human Trafficking" or "Human Labor Trafficking." Indeed, the discrepancy between Newsweek's rhetoric and the facts raises concerns about the accuracy and integrity of Newsweek's reporting.

Former Students' Lawsuit Faces Problems and Inconsistencies

Initially, the lawsuit included four former students as plaintiffs. However, one of these students from Venezuela withdrew herself from the lawsuit. Her parents testified that all these students' allegations were false, and that they were dishonoring the school that had supported them with full scholarships, betraying the hospitality shown to them.

Upon losing one student from the lawsuit, the remaining three former students urgently sought another complainant to take her place. They found one former student from India, named Rebecca Singh, who had already been deemed a false witness in a matter concerning a 911 call, and who had disciplinary problems during her stay on campus. It appears that in their desperation to add a complainant, they inadvertently added a person with credibility issues who further weakens their allegations.

Furthermore, the former students' lawsuit contains troubling inconsistencies. Timesheets, submitted as evidence to support the students' claim to have worked on campus, appear to be general templates that could be easily printed or copied, not official or authorized school documents. One student's timesheet shows all lines written with the same handwriting, including both the supervisor's and student's names. This timesheet, and that of another former student, both lack signatures next to the daily log where a supervisor is required to sign. Another timesheet has completely illegible handwriting. Also, the timesheets themselves do not support the students' own claim to have worked 40 hours a week, and appear to be just a fraction of the number of hours claimed. In short, these fail as evidence completely, and perhaps even disprove rather than support the students' claims.

A former volunteer at the school named Edward Yoon, whose name appears on one timesheet, provided important details about the former students:

"I was one of the volunteers at the school. These students were definitely not employees, and I did not sign any timesheets for them. At that time, a load of furniture was donated to the school. That's why many students helped to unload it with a Christian volunteer spirit. It's not like one guy was carrying a heavy load by himself like this one student makes himself out to be. Everyone was happy that the school received a donation, that's why we unloaded it joyfully together. We had a really fun time helping out the university together."

False 911 Call Story Retracted

Previously, Newsweek had published a false story about a 911 call made by the former student from India, leading to a follow-on article by the MediaNews Group. Olivet University filed a defamation lawsuit against MediaNews Group asking for significant compensation for damages. While MediaNews Group retracted portions of the story and then went on to remove the story entirely from its news websites, Newsweek has yet to address its false reporting.

Newsweek Sued for Defamation

Consequently, Olivet University has initiated legal action against Newsweek and writer Naveed Jamali for defamation in a New York court. Although Newsweek's editor-in-chief Nancy Cooper has claimed that no one outside the newsroom is involved in editorial decisions, the lawsuit will likely reveal whether Newsweek's covert inner circle includes persons outside the newsroom. It may also reveal other rumored connections to Newsweek's covert team, including to secretive Asian and Pro-North Korean groups.

Newsweek's Role in Licensing Bureau's Investigation (BPPE)

In recent months, Newsweek extensively reported on alleged "violations" cited by the California Bureau for Private and Post-Secondary Education (BPPE) against Olivet University. However, the magazine fails to disclose that Jamali himself prompted the licensing bureau to carry out the investigation, again following the troubling pattern of being personally involved in a story that is subsequently reported on.

This is especially troubling because Naveed Jamali is an ex-Russian double agent with a Pakistani background who has defended the Muslim Brotherhood against being labeled a terrorist group. Olivet University is a Christian higher education institution.

An email sent by Naveed Jamali to BPPE on June 28, 2022 contained unsubstantiated claims of "money laundering, trafficking, and visa fraud" against Olivet University.

(Photo : Email from Naveed Jamali reaching out to BPPE)

According to BPPE internal reports shown to this publication, on September 1, 2022, Jamali's email and other communications led directly to the assignment of BPPE special agents to investigate the university.

On November 15, 2022 and January 31, 2023, under the influence of Jamali and Newsweek articles authored by him, BPPE conducted surprise site visits on the university's campuses. On March 17, 2023, BPPE filed an official complaint against Olivet University.

On March 28, 2023, Naveed Jamali and Alex Rouhandeh co-authored a Newsweek article titled "California Moves To Shut Down David Jang's Olivet University As Feds Circle."

On September 18, 2023, Olivet University filed a lawsuit in New York federal court against Newsweek and Naveed Jamali for defamation over false statements, including the March 28 article.

The goal that Newsweek's covert inner circle seeks to accomplish by intervening into the school's state licensing relationships is to sow bias against Olivet University using Newsweek's own articles containing defamatory content, in order to disrupt the school and to prevent it from receiving fair and due process. All this for the sake of advancing the personal business interests of Newsweek's CEO Dev Pragad.

Conclusion: A Tempest in a Teapot

The ongoing "controversies" surrounding Olivet University, as presented by Newsweek, are nothing more than a tempest in a teapot, exaggerated by a covert inner circle within the publication. These stories, driven by a select group, lack veracity and underscore the need for a careful examination of journalistic practices within Newsweek.