An American mother says she watched her son grow thinner and more distant over more than two years in a religious community in Pérez Zeledón, and that she was able to bring him home this year only with help from relatives and U.S. Embassy staff. The community, known as EarthWaking Village, is under investigation by the Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) over alleged fraud against foreigners, and a Canadian woman says she lost about $350,000 there.
Four Americans, including the community’s alleged leader, were detained in an Oct. 6 raid and released under precautionary measures. None has been charged. The mother, who spoke to local media under a pseudonym, said her son was 24 and going through a difficult period in 2023 when he came across a book describing the community as a remote place where residents grew their own food and lived apart from the pressures of the outside world.
He traveled there for what was presented as a memorable experience, she said, and stayed after members persuaded him to remain. At first, she said, the family saw little cause for concern. The first warning sign was that he began pulling away from relatives. She said he was told not to speak with his family because his new family was in the village.
According to her account, the alleged leader, identified by authorities by the surname England, presented himself as a spiritual authority through whom members believed God spoke. She said staying in the community required members to hand over their money and belongings to the group and to him.
She visited in April 2024 and said she attended ceremonies in which the leader claimed to drive demons and egos out of residents. She said she saw him mistreat people and that he tried to pressure her as well. She stayed less than two weeks and could not persuade her son to leave.
Back home, she continued paying his phone bill and health insurance so he would not lose contact or coverage. She said he ran his credit cards to their limits on the leader’s instructions, after being told he would never return to the United States and that the money was not his, and that she paid the charges to keep him out of debt.
Late in 2025, she said, she learned that residents had begun fasting intermittently as a way to cleanse their souls, and that her son had lost about 10 kilograms (22 pounds). When she returned to Costa Rica in December 2025, she said, he looked pale, gaunt and very ill, and everyone she saw in the village was very thin. She said she contacted the U.S. Embassy to report that people there were sick, going hungry and in danger.
In late February 2026, with help from relatives and embassy staff, she got her son out. He returned to the United States and spent five months in a mental health facility, where he was diagnosed with psychosis induced by a psychedelic substance, she said. She said she does not know what substance he took. He was discharged earlier this month.
Her account could not be independently verified. On Oct. 6, OIJ agents, prosecutors and the investigations department of the U.S. Embassy raided properties in Platanillo and Barú. They detained England, 44; Hallman, 44, described as his partner; McDow, 63; and Gingras, 62. Investigators have counted 11 foreign alleged victims, including U.S. and Canadian citizens, and estimate the losses at about $600,000, a figure they have described as preliminary.
According to the investigation, recruits paid for supposed land purchases, received a certificate as apparent proof and were then asked for more money to administer the lots. Some were allegedly urged to apply for credit cards with the highest possible limits, leaving the debt in their names, and some who had already paid were later told they did not qualify to stay.
The four were released under six-month precautionary measures that require them to report to prosecutors every 15 days, surrender their passports and remain in Costa Rica, among other conditions. The group has said it is not a sect. Javier Chaverri Ross, a lawyer who represents several of the alleged victims, has said he believes there are more victims than those counted so far. The investigation remains open, and the four remain in the country under court supervision.
