{"id":80,"date":"2020-05-14T18:44:27","date_gmt":"2020-05-15T01:44:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bescofield.net\/?page_id=80"},"modified":"2020-06-05T22:59:31","modified_gmt":"2020-06-06T05:59:31","slug":"5-more-than-twelve-years-later-be-scofield-mysteriously-arrives-on-orcas","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bescofield.net\/nl\/sections\/5-more-than-twelve-years-later-be-scofield-mysteriously-arrives-on-orcas\/","title":{"rendered":"5. More Than Twelve Years Later, Be Scofield Mysteriously Arrives on Orcas\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

return to section 4…<\/a><\/p>\n

More Than Twelve Years Later, Be Scofield\u00a0 Mysteriously Arrives on Orcas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Although neither Reed Goodrich nor Jim Shaffer-Bauck were able to interest the local media in publicizing their unsubstantiated theories on Carla\u2019s death, someone did not want to let the case end with the official verdict of accidental drowning. That person or persons was determined to implicate Aaravindha, and gave Be Scofield the opportunity to tell the world that a dangerous cult had killed Carla, or at least convinced Carla to take her own life. So, that someone contacted Be Scofield, who very quickly published a highly defamatory article on her own website, gurumag.com: \u201cAaravindha Himadra and the Mysterious Orcas Island Death of Carla Jean Shaffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a very long blog post that also appears in the police records, and so has therefore become public record. You can find Scofield\u2019s article in Appendix B at the end of this report.<\/p>\n

Be Scofield is a self-designated \u201ccult reporter.\u201d She was born male, and identifies herself in her internet writings as a \u201cqueer\/transgendered individual.\u201d Scofield is commonly seen with a scarf wrapped around her head, as pictured on her gurumag.com and bescofield.com websites. This \u201cturban\u201d seems to have become her trademark uniform. Here\u2019s one of her photos that she commonly posts on the internet:<\/p>\n

\"\"But clothing, appearance, and even gender are largely irrelevant in the larger scheme of things. She has a master\u2019s degree in Divinity, and no evidence of journalism training. When her articles first began to appear, some were thoughtful discussions of the subject matter she chose. But somewhere along the way, she became totally focused on making herself the star of her own show, a self-proclaimed \u201ccult hunter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scofield seems to be obsessed with the word \u201cguru\u201d and the idea of dangerous cults everywhere. She fits the description of a \u201ccultphobe,\u201d as described later in this section.<\/p>\n

She has written articles and blog posts that claim to expose abuses within cults. We did not investigate her claims about other spiritual leaders, but based on her \u201creporting\u201d in this particular case, it\u2019s likely she did little to no investigation, interviewed only the disgruntled types she could find, and used the same tactics of gluing together juicy bits of gossip to accuse other spiritual teachers of a variety of crimes and unethical behaviors.<\/p>\n

Scofield doesn\u2019t need first-hand knowledge or actual evidence to level an accusation at any victim. Her principal weapon is innuendo, the suggestion<\/em> that a person is guilty of something heinous, or that people associated with that person are part of a \u201ccult.\u201d<\/p>\n

A quick Google search of \u201cBe Scofield\u201d will turn up many articles she\u2019s written, nearly all of them posted on her own websites. Scofield owns and publishes on at least four URLs: decolonizingyoga.com, gurumag.com, agamajustice.com, and\u2014of course\u2014bescofield.com. She also uses Facebook and LinkedIn and other social sites to praise herself and promote her reputation.<\/p>\n

How does Scofield fund all her \u201ccult-hunting\u201d activities? Many people we spoke to asked that question. All her websites include handy links for donations, and she often asks for donations on Facebook as well, but it seems probable that she has other sources of money, possibly from large cult-phobic organizations.<\/p>\n

All her websites proclaim her cult journalism expertise. The description of Be Scofield on these sites was written by Be Scofield herself.<\/p>\n

On her bescofield.com website, Scofield claims that every article that mentions her is \u201cbased on her reporting.\u201d She also claims to be regularly invited to appear on The Dr. Phil Show, Leah Remini’s A&E Cult Series, movie networks, documentary film makers and producers. Why, then, if she is a professional journalist and expert in her field, has she never appeared on those shows<\/em>? It should also be noted that all the enthusiastic \u201creviews\u201d posted on her bescofield.com website include no identification of the sources of the accolades. It seems likely that not only does Scofield report on herself as if she were a third party telling the story, but she also writes her own reviews.<\/p>\n

On various websites, Be Scofield has claimed to be represented by United Talent Agency. Our investigator called the agency. Julianne, the UTA employee who answered the phone, said, \u201cThat is definitely a lie. Be Scofield is definitely NOT represented by UTA<\/em>.\u201d Our investigator asked if Scofield was represented by their subsidiary, Greater Talent out of NYC, or if Scofield was part of their speaker\u2019s bureau. Julianne said, \u201cBe Scofield is in none of our agencies, on none of our lists<\/em>.\u201d She said she would be turning the matter over to their legal department.<\/p>\n

Most of Scofield\u2019s posts appear on gurumag.com under the title of \u201cThe Guru\u201d (a reference to Be Scofield\u2019s self-image?). The site also includes a subtitle of \u201cExposing Cults & Spiritual Abuse,\u201d thus insinuating evil intentions and deeds to the subject of each of Scofield\u2019s articles by an article\u2019s mere presence on her website.<\/p>\n

Scofield also has at least one Facebook page, and has been known to represent herself using a variety of names and personalities, including Metta Peace, Shakti Hunter, and Jamie. Traveler99, who regularly posts in the forum on culteducation.com, is also likely to be a name used by Be Scofield, because Traveler99 has posted links to information known only to Scofield, and repeatedly praises Be Scofield. The site reallyguru.com also praises Be Scofield and includes links to her writings, as well as posts that continue to denigrate Aaravindha, so that information is also likely posted by Be Scofield herself. She routinely uses multiple email addresses.<\/p>\n

Self-adulation is a hallmark of Be Scofield\u2019s work. She rarely posts anything without praising herself. She often repeats her accusations about her victims in a multitude of places, using different names to make it seem<\/em> as though the information is coming from multiple sources.<\/p>\n

Scofield stated right on her website that she is not subject to copyright laws. The screenshot shown below is from the \u201cAbout the Guru\u201d page on gurumag.com. This information was posted on the website when she wrote her defamatory article on Himadra in 2019. Scofield has since removed the statements about cloaking her gurumag.com website information and living in hiding, but the current version still claims she is not subject to copyright laws.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Be Scofield believes she should be able to evade all normal laws and ethics standards, because that\u2019s what she plans to do.<\/p>\n

This is not how professional journalists behave. This is how internet trolls behave.<\/p>\n

\"\"A screen capture from the About page on gurumag.com in 2019,
\nwhere Scofield admits to evading the law. Scofield has since edited this page to remove or hide some of this information.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Scofield seems to have become convinced of her superpowers in identifying and exposing cults after she wrote about Bentinho Massaro in 2017. The internet audience loves a scandal, and due to the way Google and other search engines work, Scofield\u2019s blog post on Massaro received an avalanche of online attention. Scofield mentions that story at every opportunity. She even recently self-published a book glorifying her self-proclaimed successes in exposing \u201ccults.\u201d She likes to write especially about those supposedly led by Massaro and Himadra. The book is available only from her website bescofield.com, which allows her to conveniently gather any buyer\u2019s contact information and avoid reviews on Amazon and other reputable bookselling sites.<\/p>\n

Multiple articles have been written criticizing Be Scofield\u2019s tactics and unsubstantiated conclusions. Two of the best and most thorough are \u201cCult Mania: Inside the Attack on Bentinho Massaro: Parts 1 and 2\u201d by Alexander Vera, posted on medium.com (a site that has banned Be Scofield) in January of 2018.<\/p>\n

Scofield\u2019s targets are many. Because she has been known to use multiple names, it\u2019s hard to keep track of her victims. We have not investigated her claims about others, but based on her standard methodology, her accusations are likely to lack any credible sources and be only her opinions, based on malicious gossip she was able to dig up. At the time of this writing, she has attacked the following individuals (list in no particular order):<\/p>\n