A YouTuber from West Virginia is facing serious allegations of fraud and exploitation for purportedly taking advantage of a family known as “the world’s most inbred.” The accusations claim he solicited donations under false pretenses, only to keep the money for himself.
John Roark, 47, was taken into custody last Friday and charged with fraud and exploitation. The charges stem from accusations that he misled supporters into donating to the Whittaker family through fictitious fundraisers advertised on his social media platforms, according to documents from the county court.
The Whittaker family resides in Odd, a small rural town in central West Virginia. They became widely recognized in 2020 after a YouTube documentary shed light on their unique way of life.
Several members of the Whittaker family live with significant mental and physical challenges, with many being nonverbal.
Roark reportedly portrayed himself as an ‘agent’ for the Whittakers, creating content featuring them for his YouTube channel and social media in collaboration with Lawrence ‘Eric’ Carroll.
Prosecutors allege that Roark falsely presented himself as a representative for the family, directing potential donors to his personal Venmo, Cash App, and PayPal accounts. Through these platforms, he allegedly amassed over $10,000 meant for the family.
Roark ‘utilized their disabilities and shortcomings in life to produce social media content for monetary gain,’ the West Virginia State Police Department said.
A criminal complaint revealed text messages sent by Roark to Carroll, in which he allegedly admitted he wanted to make money from the videos.
John Roark, pictured above last year for an interview with the Daily Mail, was arrested on Friday in West Virginia
Roark, pictured above in his mugshot, was charged with five counts of fraudulent schemes, five counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person or incapacitated adult, and one count of fraudulent use of a device
Roark was accused of exploiting the Whittaker family, pictured above. The family are inbred and have mental and physical defects
Followers of the family’s long questioned why they were still living in poverty despite a flood of donations.
Police launched an investigation into the alleged fraud in September, asking anyone who donated to the Whittaker’s to contact the department.
Roark and Carroll started playing the ‘blame game,’ alleging that the other was responsible for the donations.
Roark previously told the Daily Mail that the donation money came in through YouTube and that he didn’t control the channel.
‘Eric is the one that got paid for that, I didn’t. I just have one platform, and that’s my personal Facebook,’ he explained.
Roark accused Carroll of owing him money and pocketing over $100,000 from the family’s YouTube account.
Carroll hasn’t been arrested in connection with the alleged fraud. He told the Daily Mail in November that he only received ‘standard platform monetization’ for the YouTube videos and denied pocketing the donations.
‘I have ensured the Whittaker family will receive their appropriate share of the revenue,’ he added.
Larry Whittaker, pictured above, accused Roark and his collaborator of taking off with cash and donations that were meant for the family when approached by the Daily Mail
The family homestead has several rundown vehicles and property, including a trailer and an outhouse, pictured above
Carroll said in a statement that he was cooperating with law enforcement and proactively reached out to police.
‘The Whittakers are entitled to their share of certain revenue generated from social media content,’ he added.
However, the family told a different story when previously approached by the Daily Mail.
Larry Whittaker angrily called Roark a ‘lying f*****’ and said the content creators pocketed ‘a lot of money’ from them.
When asked how much he believed he was owed, he responded: ‘I’ve got no idea, there was a lot of money, but no idea.’
‘Far as I know, Eric got it and took off then, that’s all I know,’ Larry continued. ‘Patrick [Roark] got some of our money, I don’t know how much.’
Larry said that Roark and Carroll were collecting money to build them a new home, but the plan never came to fruition.
‘They didn’t do it, they took the goddamn money and left!’ he added.
Roark, pictured above, previously denied the accusations against him to the Daily Mail, pinning the responsibility on his collaborator, Lawrence ‘Eric’ Carroll
Roark previously explained in a YouTube video that he grew up in the same community as the Whittakers and had known them since childhood.
He later bought a house down the street from the family in Odd, according to property records previously seen by the Daily Mail.
Roark and Carroll started filming the Whittakers last June, posting content depicting the family grocery shopping and working around the home.
They even set up a Cameo account, which allows fans to pay for personalized messages from their favorite creators.
Roark was charged with five counts of fraudulent schemes, five counts of financial exploitation of an elderly person or incapacitated adult, and one count of fraudulent use of a device.
He was booked into the county jail on a $150,000 bond and has yet to enter a plea for the charges against him.
