By Dennis McCaslin, Today in Fort Smith
Once again, tabloid “journalist” Javier Leiva from the Pretend Podcast has attempted to mislead his listeners with outlandish accusations—this time, targeting Northwest Arkansas author, podcaster, and director LaDonna Humphrey.
Leiva, along with his sidekick Anthony Christopher, shamelessly speculated in one of their outlandish episodes that Humphrey was involved in the burning of Jon Allen’s home and embezzling payroll taxes from Lake Hills Church.
But, as we at Today in Fort Smith will prove, these wild claims are nothing more than sensational lies with absolutely no factual basis.
The crux of Leiva’s theory rests on a house fire that occurred at Jon Allen’s home in 2015.
Yet, documents obtained by David McClam of the We Are Not Afraid Podcast paint an entirely different picture. In an FOIA request to the Washington County Sheriff's Department, submitted by Humphrey herself, it is revealed that she was never a suspect in any fire investigation or in any criminal investigation at all in that county.
A similar request made independently by Today in Fort Smith yielded the same results: there is not a single record showing that Humphrey was ever considered or investigated as a suspect.
This is something that Leiva conveniently omits. Instead, he spins a narrative that Humphrey somehow inserted herself into the investigation—an absolute falsehood. In reality, Humphrey, like nearly a dozen other individuals connected to Lake Hills Church, was contacted by investigators to provide insight into Allen’s character.
There was no self-insertion; there was simply standard investigative procedure.
The deception doesn’t end there. Leiva and Christopher further claimed on the podcast that Humphrey embezzled funds from Lake Hills Church, pocketing payroll taxes she was supposed to pay.
This, too, is another clear fabrication.
Thorough investigations by both Today in Fort Smith and David McClam reveal that Humphrey left the employment of the church in May 2003. According to the tax lien placed on Jon Allen’s home, the payroll taxes in question were not assessed until the fourth quarter of 2003—months after Humphrey had already departed.
These tax issues continued to accrue through the end of 2007, long after Humphrey had left her role at the church.
As anyone familiar with the IRS process knows, when a corporation fails to pay taxes, the government rigorously investigates to determine who is most responsible. In this case, the IRS identified Jon H. Allen as that person, a fact that Leiva conveniently overlooks.
One glaring flaw in Leiva’s podcast is his lack of dates and timelines. Not once does he mention that Humphrey's employment ended in 2003, or that the house fire occurred 12 years later, in 2015. By blurring the timeline, Leiva attempts to concoct a narrative that distorts the truth and misleads his listeners.
Furthermore, in an official deposition obtained by Today in Fort Smith, Jon Allen himself told USAA Insurance that his secretary (not Humphrey) informed him that the preschool director had left, leaving behind financial records.
Leiva deceitfully implies there was no other secretary after Humphrey, but this, too, is categorically false. Additionally, the church’s preschool, Alpha Christian Preschool, had its own separate bookkeeper—a role that Humphrey never filled.
In reality, she served as a Pastor's Assistant, not as a bookkeeper.
Leiva’s misleading claims, backed by no credible evidence, reflect a troubling lack of journalistic integrity. Instead of conducting a thorough investigation, he peddles baseless allegations as if they were facts, all while failing to provide any substantial documentation or timeline to back his assertions.
Leiva’s Pretend Podcast has proven to be just that—pretend. It is little more than a "shodcast" driven by sensationalism, devoid of fact-checking or responsibility. In reality, Leiva is nothing more than a tabloid journalist who relies on half-truths and innuendo to captivate his audience.
Stay tuned for our next segment as we continue to dismantle the fabrications presented by Javier Leiva.
For the full documentation debunking Leiva’s claims or to listen to David McClam’s rebuttal podcast, visit wearenotafraidpodcast.com.
And remember, at Today in Fort Smith, we deal in facts—not fabrications.
