Second Lawsuit Filed Against Arizona Religious Community Alleging Child Labor and Forced Servitude From Age Seven Until Escape at 18
TUCSON, AZ — A lawsuit filed on behalf of Nikai Khriad Joseph against the Global Community Communications Alliance (GCCA), its leaders, and a network of affiliated businesses alleges that he spent his childhood and teen years working without pay inside a closed community in southern Arizona that presents itself as a spiritual community.
Mr. Joseph is represented by Singleton Schreiber and Merchasin Law. The complaint, Case No. 4:26-CV-00369-JGZ in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Tucson Division, brings claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). It is the second lawsuit filed in federal court against GCCA this year, following Lilly v. Estate of Van of Urantia et al., which Singleton Schreiber filed earlier in 2026 in the same court on behalf of Joshua Lilly.
The complaint describes GCCA as a secretive community sitting on about 227 acres in Santa Cruz County, led, until his death in August 2025, by a self-proclaimed prophet named Anthony “Tony” Delevin, who went by Van of Urantia. The plaintiff, Mr. Joseph was brought to GCCA around 2010, when he was four or five years old. According to the complaint, he was soon separated from his mother and placed in the basement of a communal house, where his caregivers changed at Delevin’s direction. By age seven or eight he was doing commercial farm work. At eleven he was on roofing and construction crews, and by fourteen he was using heavy equipment and working at heights. At fifteen, the complaint says, he was taken out of whatever limited schooling he had to hand-pollinate hemp in shifts of twelve to fourteen hours, wearing a mask that was not rated for the dust. He was also trained in music and placed in bands that recorded and performed for GCCA’s commercial media business, and he filmed and edited video for it. The complaint alleges he was never paid and never had a bank account or any money of his own.
“Nikai did the work of an adult for years while still a child, and GCCA never paid him for any of it,” said Kristina Aiad-Toss of Singleton Schreiber. “He walked away with almost nothing. Federal law gives survivors of forced labor a way to hold accountable the people and businesses that profited from it, and that is what this case is about.”
The lawsuit alleges that GCCA kept Mr. Joseph working in a highly controlled environment. According to the complaint, the compound was extremely remote and completely fenced in, members’ phones were monitored, and a firewall blocked outside internet access. Members answered to a ranked hierarchy of elders, were required to take part in counseling and disciplinary programs, and lived under the threat of shunning and permanent separation from their families. A child who did not comply could be sent to the fields for a full day or lose his bed and belongings for as long as three months, according to the complaint. Mr. Joseph did not get a phone until about age seventeen, and it could not reach anyone outside the community. After turning eighteen in May 2023, he kept working without pay until October 2023, when he climbed the compound’s perimeter fence at night. He left with his birth certificate, the clothes he was wearing, and no money..
“Nikai grew up in a place where nearly every part of his day was decided for him, from where he slept to whether he could make a phone call,” said Carol Montgomery Merchasin of Merchasin Law. “Speaking out took real courage, and he is doing it so that other young people raised inside closed groups know they are not alone.”
In addition to GCCA and the Estate of Delevin, the complaint names Nancy “Niánn” Emerson Chase, Tiyiendea DellErba (also known as Stacy Lee Myszka), Catherine “Centria” Lilly, and Amadon DellErba, whom it identifies as GCCA leaders. It also names Soulistic Medical Institute, Avalon Universal Enterprises, Inc. (doing business as Arc Roofing and Earth Harmony Builders), Camp Avalon, Global Change Media, and Avalon Slow Food(s) Enterprises, LLC, which it alleges benefited from his labor. The complaint also names United Global Partners, LLC, which it describes as the outside partner of GCCA’s hemp operation. Mr. Joseph seeks economic damages, damages for emotional distress, restitution, and exemplary and treble damages, along with attorneys’ fees and costs, and has demanded a jury trial.
About Singleton Schreiber
Singleton Schreiber is a client-centered law firm, focusing on mass torts/multi-district litigation, fire litigation, personal injury/wrongful death, civil rights, environmental law, insurance bad faith, tribal law, and sex abuse/trafficking. Home to the nation’s largest fire litigation practice, the firm has represented over 30,000 wildfire and explosion victims caused by utilities, government negligence, railroads, and corporate misconduct. Its nationally recognized team has played a leading role in high-profile cases including the 2025 Eaton Fire, 2025 Moss Landing Battery Fire, 2025 Esparto Fireworks Explosion, 2023 Maui Fires, and is also actively litigating wildfire cases throughout New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Oregon, and Washington. They are also pursuing groundbreaking litigation against Tesla for misrepresenting their autopilot system, which recently resulted in a historic verdict. Additionally, the firm advocates for survivors of abuse involving hotel chains in California and Washington. With deep experience in complex claims, the firm is committed to helping individuals, families, and communities recover and rebuild.
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