Businessman Admits Posing as God To Push 91-Year-Old Investor Into Funding Oklahoma Theme Park Project

Richard M. Silanskas Jr. has admitted sending emails that purported to come from God and other religious figures to 91-year-old Oklahoma businessman and investor O. Gene Bicknell. Bicknell's federal lawsuit alleges those messages were part of a broader effort to persuade him to keep funding the American Heartland Theme Park project.

The admission surfaced in documents filed on 24 August in the US District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. The filing backs a motion by Bicknell's lawyers to compel Silanskas to turn over his mobile phone data, Google accounts and other electronic material in the ongoing case, O. Gene Bicknell v. Richard M. Silanskas Jr., Larry K. Wilhite and Stephen D. Hedrick, Case No. 25‑cv‑00383‑SH.

The lawsuit, filed on 25 July 2025, accuses the three men of serious wrongdoing tied to Bicknell's investment in the ambitious American Heartland development. The defendants deny liability, and none of the core civil fraud allegations has yet been proven at trial.

How 'Today's Word' Emails Became Central to the Richard M. Silanskas Jr. Case

According to the recent court filing, Silanskas Jr. acknowledged sending 'Today's Word' messages to Bicknell that were framed as religious guidance. Some emails were presented as coming from a fictitious nun named 'Sister Catherine,' using addresses including '[email protected]' and '[email protected].'

Earlier court orders summarising the complaint say roughly 100 'Sister Catherine' emails were sent from multiple Gmail and Yahoo accounts starting in January 2024. The messages are alleged to have encouraged Bicknell to stay the course on the project and to view his support as part of God's plan.

In the August filing, Bicknell's legal team quote Silanskas as saying that in June he 'chose to disclose information that he had previously withheld.' They characterise him as someone who, in their words, 'decides for himself what information to withhold, when he feels comfortable revealing it, when he'll lie, and when he'll tell the truth.'

The motion to compel asks the judge to order production of Silanskas' mobile phone data, Google accounts and any electronic versions of the notes he allegedly kept about the dispute. Whether those records alter the shape of the case remains to be seen.

The American Heartland Theme Park and Resort was announced in July 2023 as a more than $2 billion (£1.48 billion) destination in northeast Oklahoma. Plans called for a 1,000‑acre site anchored by a 125‑acre 'Americana‑themed' park, comparable in size, developers said, to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom and Disneyland.

Public materials projected that the development would create more than 4,000 jobs and deliver a significant tourism and economic boost to the region. The opening was originally targeted for 2026, and local leaders talked up the project as a potential game‑changer.

According to allegations summarised by the federal court, construction later halted after the project ran out of money in spring 2024.

Lawsuit Against Richard M. Silanskas Jr. Moves on Without RICO

The complaint portrays Bicknell as both primary backer and primary victim. It claims he ultimately invested more than $60 million (£44.33 million) and alleges that Silanskas and co‑defendant Larry K. Wilhite used religious messaging to influence his financial decisions and to support a structure that would grant the defendants substantial ownership.

'They intentionally targeted Gene, a 90+‑year‑old who they knew was a devout Christian,' the lawsuit states. It alleges that religious appeals were intertwined with business discussions to reinforce the idea that God wanted him to support the project.

Elsewhere, the complaint focuses on signatures. It alleges that Wilhite signed Bicknell's name on vendor contracts without permission and that Silanskas emailed Wilhite a statement that purported to authorise such signatures. Those claims remain disputed.

Originally, Bicknell also brought claims under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act alongside counts of civil conspiracy, fraud, deceit and intentional infliction of emotional distress. In May 2026, Magistrate Judge Susan E. Huntsman threw out the RICO counts, finding the complaint did not establish the required pattern of racketeering activity. Other key claims were allowed to proceed.

The complaint further says Bicknell suffered a stroke in July 2024, which he attributes to stress from the project's debts and his belief that he was failing to fulfil what he saw as God's will. The court has not made any finding that the defendants caused the stroke, and that issue sits firmly in allegation territory.

On top of the hit to Bicknell, the complaint argues that the stalled development left 'a trail of victims, foremost among them Gene Bicknell, as well as the citizenry of northeast Oklahoma, whose hopes for an economic renaissance caused by the American Heartland Theme Park were falsely raised and cruelly dashed.'

Lawyers for the other two defendants have moved to distance their clients from the religious emails now linked to Silanskas Jr.

Chris Davis, who represents Wilhite, said his client was 'very surprised' to learn that Silanskas had taken responsibility for the 'Today's Word' and 'Sister Catherine' communications. Davis said Wilhite 'had no knowledge or understanding that it was Mr Silanskas behind the Today's Word messages until the cell phone records began to be produced in this suit and for the first time when Mr. Silanskas testified in his deposition.'

He added that the Wilhite family were 'devastated by the events of the collapse of the project and the accusations against them in this lawsuit,' stressing that Wilhite had worked with Bicknell and his family for two decades.

Liz George, representing theme park designer Stephen D. Hedrick, has taken a similar line. She said Silanskas' testimony 'confirms what the evidence in this case has shown throughout discovery, Steve Hedrick had nothing to do with the 'Today's Word' or 'Sister Catherine' communications.'