Allegations levied against SWMO film organization in anonymous report

David Carr is the founder of Ozarks Film Foundry.

John Farmer de la Torre is co-founder of Ozarks Film Cooperative, formed in summer 2024.

Monty Dobson: Allegations against Ozarks Film Foundry are false and misleading.

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An anonymously issued report calls for an investigation into the Ozarks Film Foundry, but officials with the burgeoning southwest Missouri film production support nonprofit say allegations of conflicts of interest and misrepresentation are false. 

A group called the Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks this month sent a report with multiple allegations of “serious ethical and governance concerns” against Ozarks Film Foundry to members of the media and noted that the Missouri attorney general’s office and the Internal Revenue Service had been informed, as well. The group noted in an email that the report was submitted anonymously “for safety and confidentiality.”

The Missouri attorney general’s office confirmed it has received the report and opened an investigation.

“At this time, I can just confirm that we have received the report and have an investigation open as we review it,” said Abigail Bergmann, deputy press secretary for the office.

Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks alleges a pattern of “systematic fraud” was carried out by Ozarks Film Foundry and its founder, David Carr – specifically that the nonprofit’s assets such as physical space, grant funding and branding have been arranged to benefit his for-profit businesses: multimedia agency Creative Endeavors LLC and The Film Foundry, an event space for music, comedy, improv, theater and film screenings. The report states Creative Endeavors and The Film Foundry share space at 1300 W. Poplar St. with the Ozarks Film Foundry. The Ozarks Film Foundry, founded in 2022, also operates the Southwest Missouri Film Office, which was announced in August 2024 as a central hub for filmmakers, producers and industry professionals.

The report alleges tens of thousands of dollars in grants from the Hatch Foundation, Community Foundation of the Ozarks Inc. and the Springfield Regional Arts Council Inc. were awarded to the Ozarks Film Foundry “based on representations that are now demonstrably false, as they ignore the underlying conflicts of interest, lack of expertise and the imminent risk of fund diversion.” The claims include allegations that Carr and other Ozarks Film Foundry board members misrepresented themselves as “qualified industry experts” despite not having experience with major motion picture studios or national TV networks. The report alleges violations of the IRS code related to rules that charitable organizations must be independent from commercial entities and that the promotion of a business through a nonprofit’s assets amounts to “inurement and/or private benefit.”

“The ongoing and imminent misuse of nonprofit resources undermines donor confidence and erodes the public trust in charitable organizations. The deliberate self-dealing not only violates federal and state law but also jeopardizes the reputational integrity of the grantors involved,” the report alleges. “This systemic, willful breach of fiduciary duty and violation of statutory nonprofit requirements mandates immediate regulatory action. To safeguard public trust and protect donor funds, it is imperative that grant funding be suspended, a full investigation initiated and The Ozarks Film Foundry’s 501(c)(3) status revoked.”

Ozark Film Foundry Board of Directors President Monty Dobson provided a statement on behalf of the organization and Carr that denies the allegations in the Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks report.

Dobson said in the statement that the report lacks evidence to support the Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks’ claims related to diversion of nonprofit resources for private business operations and violations of IRS rules, and that it misrepresents the composition of the Ozarks Film Foundry board and their qualifications.

The report does not include financial records or documentation to substantiate direct misuse of grant dollars, but it argues that the concerns raised warrant an investigation.

Dobson added that the report “appears to be motivated by a personal vendetta rather than an objective concern for governance.”

“The allegations are entirely false, misleading and appear to stem from a disgruntled former volunteer at the organization who was removed from the organization after community partners expressed they no longer wished to work with him,” Dobson said in the statement. “This individual’s actions unfortunately seem to be motivated by a desire to damage the reputation of a nonprofit that has worked tirelessly to serve the public and the creative community in good faith.”

The origins of the Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks remain unclear, but an emailed Missouri Sunshine Law request to the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments names Chad Rollin Johnson in the signature. Members of the media were copied in the request to the SMCOG that seeks documentation from meetings in which the Ozarks Film Foundry was discussed. In the email to SMCOG, Johnson seeks “access to public records and information regarding the recent vote by the Southwest Missouri Council of Governments to endorse the Ozarks Film Foundry – or any other entity – as a regional or local film commission.”

Reached by email, Johnson said, “I was not involved in the compiling or submitting [of] the original report to the IRS and Missouri attorney general. However, I supported the compiling and submitting [of] the original report to the IRS and Missouri attorney general.”

John Farmer de la Torre, former executive director of Ozarks Film Foundry, said he was consulted about content contained in the report but declined to say who wrote it, adding it was not him.

“No one needs to really have any knowledge to do that report. It’s all public documents,” he said about materials in the report such as Missouri secretary of state filings by Ozarks Film Foundry and Creative Endeavors, as well as information about the Film Foundry on its website.

In July 2024, Farmer de la Torre told Springfield Business Journal he was asked to resign from the organization he co-founded with Carr in 2022 with no consideration of succession planning.

Farmer de la Torre said at the time that the board told him unidentified stakeholders were withholding funding unless he left the organization. He additionally said the board told him he was moving too quickly in his efforts to establish a film industry in the region.

Speaking this month, Farmer de la Torre said that soon after his exit from Ozarks Film Foundry,  he and Alicia Hutsell, who also previously worked with the nonprofit, founded the Ozarks Film Cooperative. It focuses on filmmaker education, workshops, cultural programming, festivals, special events and access to resources for filmmakers, according to an August 2024 news release announcing its start. Its articles of incorporation, filed in January with the Missouri secretary of state’s office, said the nonprofit Ozarks Film Cooperative “will function as a motion media industries leader in developing a regional media production industry in the Ozarks for motion picture, television and new media.”

Ozarks Film Cooperative’s annual membership is $50, which includes voting rights at meetings and discounts on events and workshops, according to its website. Johnson is a member of the organization but does not work for it, Farmer de la Torre said.

Speaking out against the Ozarks Film Foundry, Farmer de la Torre acknowledged people might perceive him having a bone to pick.

“They probably will say that, but look at the pattern. The good that we were doing ended July 1, [2024],” he said. “All that programming gone, all that education, all that community contribution ended. The reason it ended is because they’re not qualified and don’t have the expertise to do it.”

Despite Farmer de la Torre’s assertions, the Ozarks Film Foundry does continue programming, including the organization’s production assistant workshop gaining recognition in January through the Missouri Film Office as a certified apprenticeship, according to past reporting.

The Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks report states Ozarks Film Foundry received a $5,000 grant in 2024 from SRAC, while in March it was awarded a combined $47,500 in grants from the Hatch Foundation and CFO. SRAC’s $5,000 grant was for programming support, while the $22,500 grant from CFO was designated to renovate classrooms and provide equipment storage and a theater, according to past reporting. The $25,000 grant from the Hatch Foundation was dedicated in support of Ozarks Film Foundry’s trades development initiative, which trains and develops film industry crew members, according to a news release.

“These grants were awarded based on misleading assertions regarding the Ozark Film Foundry’s role, authority and qualifications within the film industry, including its advocacy for an unprofessional film office incapable of fulfilling film industry standards,” the report alleges.

Representatives for CFO, SRAC and the Hatch Foundation were all contacted by SBJ and declined to comment on the report’s allegations.

Leslie Forrester, SRAC’s executive director, said via email the nonprofit’s standard competitive grants process “includes a thorough vetting prior to awarding funds and follow-up reporting to ensure grants are used as intended.”

Matt Lemmon, vice president of communications and marketing with CFO, described a similar process for its grant process. He said via email the organization’s staff and grant selection committees “take their role as stewards of charitable dollars very seriously.”

Hatch Foundation Executive Director Erin Danastasio was unavailable for comment by press time. Jim Batten, treasurer for the organization, declined to comment.

What’s next
Much like the report’s origin, the potential implications of the report from the Concerned Creative Professionals of the Ozarks also remain unclear. Through the allegations in the report, the anonymous group seeks formal investigations by the Missouri attorney general’s office and the IRS, a suspension of grant funds and audit and a revocation of the Ozarks Film Foundry’s nonprofit status.

Bergmann, from the state attorney general’s office, declined to answer further questions from SBJ about how the claims in the report would be investigated or what kind of penalties might apply if the claims are substantiated.

Anthony Burke, a spokesperson for the IRS, declined to say whether an investigation would be conducted.

“Federal employees are barred by law from disclosing return information, including confirming or denying that the agency is or is not examining the returns of a taxpayer or investigating a tax matter,” Burke said in an email.