Port: The F5 Project has squandered its credibility in personal loans scandal
MINOT — Attorney General Drew Wrigley's office has announced sanctions against the F5 Project after an investigation that was prompted by my reporting about the group earlier this year. Based on disclosures by the F5 Project in public filings with the IRS, I found that founder Adam Martin and Chief Development Officer Scott College gave themselves tens of thousands of dollars in zero-interest loans that were not initially disclosed to the board and still had a balance due at a time when the organization was facing massive revenue shortfalls and was laying off staff. My subsequent reporting also found that Martin and College had established a separate for-profit property business that received rent from the F5 Project, which was paying to house sex offenders in fulfillment of a contract with the state. ADVERTISEMENT Wrigley has characterized both of these things as illegal. During a press conference announcing the sanctions, he indicated that, but for a lack of cooperation from the F5 Project's board of directors, his office likely would have pursued criminal charges. "The board of directors ... made a decision with regard to how they are going to approach this, and I'll give you an analogy," he said. "If a witness on the street reports they've seen a pickpocket, someone stole your wallet, and law enforcement approaches you, and your answer is, 'No, that's just the way I chose to give money to that person, money was not taken from me,' it becomes beyond a complicated criminal case." The agreement signed between Wrigley's office and the F5 Project is a remarkable document. Click the image above to view the PDF document. In it, the attorney general and his staff assert that the F5 Project broke the law. The F5 Project, meanwhile, maintains that there was no foul, but nonetheless agreed to a series of sanctions including a ban on any F5 Project executive or board member approving, paying, or taking loans or wage advances. They are also prohibited from engaging in unapproved conflict-of-interest transactions or entering into arrangements that personally benefit themselves, and the board must approve any major act or transaction outside the normal, regular course of activities. Finally, the organization must conduct a comprehensive financial review to determine the exact balance of all past loans and wage advances made to officers or directors, submitting a report to the attorney general within 180 days. Further, they are required to make annual compliance reports to the AG's office for the next five years. Is that enough to restore the public's trust in the F5 Project? An organization that receives significant private contributions and is paid millions under contracts with the state to provide services for addiction and recovery? Particularly for people released or paroled from prison? ADVERTISEMENT I'm not so sure. A big part of the F5 Project's mission is rooted in accountability. "Personal Accountability" is even the title of a 2024 episode on the F5 Project's podcast. It's an interesting listen, in light of the agreement the F5 Project just signed with Wrigley's office. Martin has long preached to the public that the path to recovery lies through being accountable for your actions. Did he ever really mean it? Is he accountable in this situation? His organization continues to maintain that he did nothing wrong. In May of this year, during comments before the Becker County Commission in Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, Martin described my reporting about his actions, and those of his colleague College, as a "hit piece." Alternative, it was an accurate report that has now been substantiated by the Attorney General's Office. How Martin, College and the F5 Project have approached this matter does not seem like the actions of a group of people who are accountable for making bad decisions. What message does that send to the people who are trying to recover from addiction, or find their way back to a prosperous and meaningful life from a criminal conviction? Again, the state of North Dakota does millions of dollars worth of business with the F5 Project. That is a huge amount of trust. Do they still deserve that trust?
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