A hoard of federal agents raided a California home tied to the pastor at the center of the Netflix docuseries “Dancing for the Devil: The 7M TikTok Cult,” as part of an investigation into sex trafficking, money laundering and other crimes.
The joint operation was carried out by FBI agents and the El Monte Tactical Team at the residence in Tujunga on Friday around 7 a.m. They served warrants related to allegations of sex trafficking, money laundering, mail fraud, tax evasion and COVID-19-related fraud, after which several people were placed in handcuffs, per footage from KTLA.
The identities of those detained were not immediately clear. No arrests have been announced.
According to property records cited by the Los Angeles Times, the home on the 7700 block of McGroarty St. has several owners, including Robert Shinn, pastor of the Shekinah Church. Both he and his church are featured in a three-part Netflix series, which follows several former members who also worked with the 7M Films talent agency.
Shinn founded the L.A.-based talent management company in 2021, and he allegedly used it to lure dancers into the church with the promise of turning them into TikTok stars. They said 7M and the religious organization were inextricably linked, with Shinn often offering fiery sermons encouraging them to abandon their families.
Shinn also reportedly called himself “the Man of God” and said his teachings would grant his followers salvation.
In February 2022, former member Melanie Wilking went viral after she expressed concerns for her sister, Miranda, suggesting that she was in a cult that was preventing her from contacting them. Their father, Dean, later revealed in the docuseries that Miranda refused to attend her grandfather’s funeral because she needed permission from “someone closer to God.”
“I am not held against my will and I’ve never been a hostage,” Miranda later said in a statement to the Cut. “I go to church and I have faith in God. If one day I wish to pursue my faith elsewhere, I will and feel completely free to do that.”
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