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Jodi Hildebrandt was living a wealthy lifestyle – thanks to her faith-based ConneXions classes – before she was arrested for child abuse.
In the Netflix documentary Evil influencerpremiering on Tuesday, December 30, Hildebrandt’s life as a Utah therapist was re-examined following his arrest for child abuse alongside YouTuber Ruby Franke.
“When we searched the residence, in Jody Hildebrandt’s closet, we found a large duffel bag containing approximately $80,000 in cash,” recalled Detective Jessica Bate. “In Jodi’s office I found a book with all her clients. She was meeting [about] 46 people per week.
The paper also interviewed Hildebrandt’s customers, who recalled running into financial problems while subscribing to his ConneXions self-help courses.
Jodi Hildebrant’s controversial organization ConneXions played a role in former YouTube star Ruby Franke’s child abuse case. Hildebrant and Ruby met in 2019, when the “8 Passengers” vlogger was looking for help raising her and husband Kevin Franke’s eldest son, Chad. (Ruby and Kevin welcomed six children before filing for divorce in 2023.) Ruby, […]
“Jodi was making a lot of money. I could do some math right now,” said one of the men who took her classes in the past. “I was paying him $175 an hour for each individual session, and then a group of men and women was $75 a week. Paying for you and one other person, that was $2,000.”
Another member of Hildebrandt’s teachings revealed that she was “paying more than” her mortgage to Hildebrandt “every month”, adding: “We found ourselves in so much debt that we maxed out all our credit cards. We paid well over $50,000. I remember saying at the time, “It’s worth it for us to heal and then have a good life together.” »
Jody Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke.
Truth moms/InstagramEvil Influencer concluded that Hildebrandt, 56, earned at least $46,000 per week. She got her start as a therapist before founding ConneXions, a program providing marriage, parenting and life advice, usually to other Mormons.
Hildebrandt became friends with Franke, 43, in 2019 after connecting through their church. From there, Ruby and then husband Kevin Franke started attending ConneXions takes classes to work on their marriage, which later fell apart.
Ruby and Hildebrandt began living together with the influencer’s children until their arrest. (Ruby and Kevin welcomed six children, which was documented on their channel 8 Passengers when it initially launched in 2015. Ruby and Hildebrandt were eventually rebranded as Moms of Truth in order to share more faith-based content.)
The duo was arrested and charged with six counts of child abuse in 2023. The arrest came after Ruby’s youngest son, who was 12 at the time, escaped from Hildebrandt’s home and sought help from a neighbor. Authorities noticed the child was malnourished and had duct tape on his ankles and wrists.
YouTuber Ruby Franke and her life coach friend Jodi Hildebrandt have been arrested and charged with child abuse – but where are they now? Ruby and her husband Kevin Franke launched their channel 8 Passengers in 2015. Initially, their content featured the couple and their six children before Ruby’s friend Hildebrandt came on the scene. Ruby and […]
In December 2023, Ruby pleaded guilty to four counts of child abuse and admitted to torturing his children. As part of her plea deal, she agreed to serve time in prison and for her sentences to run consecutively. She also agreed to testify against Hildebrandt, who also pleaded guilty to four counts and was sentenced to 4 to 60 years in prison. They will serve no more than 30 years because of a Utah law regarding consecutive sentencing.
Hildebrandt is currently serving a 4-30 year sentence in the Utah State Correctional Facility in Salt Lake City. She will not appear before the Utah Board of Pardons and Paroles – which determines the exact length of her sentence – until December 2026.
YouTube banned Ruby and Hildebrandt and removed the strings associated with their names. Hildebrandt’s counseling license was frozen after their arrest. In a recording of Hildebrandt’s call from prison, released months after her arrest, she defended herself and said Ruby’s son “did this to himself” when speaking of his serious injuries.
The high-profile case was the subject from the Lifetime 2024 movie A Mormon Mom Gone Wrong: The Story of Ruby Franke with Emilie Ullerup like Ruby and Heather Locklear like Hildebrandt. Hulu released a documentary series — The Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke – in February with Ruby’s ex-husband and her two older children featured in the series.
That same month, Investigation Discovery made Ruby and Hildebrandt the subject of their investigation. The strange case series. The network then produced Ruby & Jodi: a cult of sin and influencereleased in September.
If you or someone you know is a victim of child abuse, call or text Helpline for children at 1-800-422-4453.
