Rick Alan Ross

For other people named Rick Ross, see Rick Ross (disambiguation).

Rick Alan Ross
Born1952 (age 71–72)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation(s)Deprogrammer, cult specialist, founder and executive director of the Cult Education Institute
Websiteculteducation.com

Rick Alan Ross (b. 1952) is an American deprogrammer, cult specialist, and founder and executive director of the nonprofit Cult Education Institute.[1] He frequently appears in the news and other media discussing groups some consider cults.[2][3] Ross has intervened in more than 500 deprogramming cases in various countries.[4][5]

Ross faced criminal charges of unlawful imprisonment over a 1991 forcible deprogramming of United Pentecostal Church International member Jason Scott; a jury acquitted him at trial. In 1995, a civil lawsuit filed by Scott resulted in a multimillion-dollar judgement against Ross and his co-defendants. Later, Ross and Scott reached a settlement in which Ross agreed to pay Scott US$5,000 and provide 200 hours of professional services at no charge.

Ross was the only deprogrammer to work with members of the Branch Davidians prior to the Waco siege; some scholars later criticized his involvement with the siege.[6][7]

  1. ^ Nark, Jason (March 12, 2011). "Cults are Jersey man's bread and butter". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011.
  2. ^ Tron, Gina (October 22, 2020). "Who Is Rick Ross, the Cult Expert That NXIVM Spent Millions Suing and Allegedly Surveilling?". Oxygen True Crime. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  3. ^ Toutant, Charles. "Suits Against Anti-cult Blogger Provide Test for Online Speech". New Jersey Law Journal. Archived from the original on October 6, 2006. Retrieved October 26, 2023 – via Law.com.
  4. ^ Cox Henry, Joanie (July 20, 2015). "Palm Beach woman at center of explosive new book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely". Sun Sentinel.
  5. ^ Zinsli, Christopher (April 14, 2007). "He ain't afraid of no cults". Jersey City Reporter.
  6. ^ Wright, Stuart A., ed. (1995). Armageddon in Waco. University of Chicago Press. pp. 98–100, 286–290. ISBN 0-226-90845-3 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ Chryssides, George D. (1999). Exploring New Religions. Continuum International Publishing Group. pp. 55–56. ISBN 0-8264-5959-5.