Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel raided two homes, including one connected to Twin Flames Universe leaders Jeff and Shaleia Divine on July 1 with cooperation from the U.S. Department of Labor, Michigan State Police, and the Leelanau and Grand Traverse County Sheriff's offices.
The group was the subject of a Netflix documentary that portrays them as a cult. Former members have alleged abuse.
Nessel said in a statement that the raid was conducted after a judge found “probable cause that crimes have been committed by Twin Flames and their leadership,” and that they are seeking tips from the public.
Jacob Wheeler publishes the Glen Arbor Sun and has covered this story extensively. He spoke with IPR’s Ed Ronco about the raid.
Listen to their conversation in the audio player above.
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
ED RONCO: Refresh us on what Twin Flames Universe is and the allegations against it, which were made widely known in a Netflix series, right?
JACOB WHEELER: Yes, this really all blew up and kind of entered our collective consciousness in November of 2023, when a Netflix series, "Escaping Twin Flames," aired. And what was hard for a lot of us was that we realized this was happening right in our backyard in Suttons Bay and Leelanau County. It became, for a week or so, the most watched Netflix series nationwide.
Twin Flames Universe is alleged to be an online organization, kind of a relationship cult that preys on people looking for love. The Divines, Jeff and Shaleia, are accused of charging their cult members thousands of dollars while pressing them into toxic relationships, manipulating their emotional and mental health struggles and pressuring members of the online community to cut ties with their own families, appealing to some to get sex changes, and dissuading members who suffer from depression from seeking mental health treatment. One Twin Flames member took her own life.
RONCO: The Attorney General does not indicate what specific crimes her office is investigating, but as you just highlighted, there are many accusations out there. What seems to be most likely to be in Dana Nessel's sights here?
WHEELER: That’s a good question, it is maybe the million dollar question — we don't know. What was interesting was that in Nessel’s press release yesterday, among the agents that showed up in Suttons Bay to carry out a warrant, were some from the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General. One of the fears in the Twin Flames Universe has long been that they're bringing people to northern Michigan and asking them to do work and not paying them. Another thought has been that they might be using their "Church of Union" as kind of a tax haven, as a shell corporation, and so there could be some tax things at play here.
Early last year, in February of 2024 when Twin Flames survivor Keely Griffin came and spoke to the National Writer Series — I got to be guest host of that evening — about Twin Flames, her experience and why she got out. At that event, there were a couple IRS agents who approached her after the event and gave her their business card, just to say the IRS is looking into this. Does that mean that Nessel has tax things in her sights? We don't know.
RONCO: Former members keep an eye on this group. Someone living in another state made you aware of the raid almost in real time yesterday. Why?
WHEELER: Keely Griffin — who came to the National Writer Series, who's been to Traverse City — since escaping the Twin Flames Universe and moving to the West Coast, she and others have really made it their goal to investigate this, to tip off authorities about what they've done and to bring down the Twin Flames Universe, what they call a cult.
Griffin is in close contact with lots of people, including other survivors. She's also in contact with neighbors who live near Jeff and Shaleia Divine, south of Suttons Bay, and shortly after 11 a.m. when, as far as we know, when the raids — there were two raids yesterday, according to Nessel’s press release — but when the raid of their home near Suttons Bay began, Griffin received a photo of a blue Michigan State (Police) squad car and other unmarked vehicles parked outside the house, and (was told) pretty soon thereafter, maybe around 11:15 a.m., that something was happening. That witness who was corresponding with her did tell her that they witnessed a police woman carrying out at least one box of information.
RONCO: Have you ever been able to speak with the leaders of Twin Flames, Jeff or Shaleia Divine?
WHEELER: I have not. When I first began covering this, when this all blew up on Netflix in late 2023, I reached out via email or phone, one would get the kind of canned response that other media outlets got. But, they've never returned calls. They've tried to maintain a very, very, very secretive, low profile.
Jacob Wheeler publishes the Glen Arbor sun. You can read his reporting about Twin Flames Universe on their website, glenarborsun.com.
