Who is Max Tilleman? All about the man suing Jodi Hildebrandt ahead of The Curious Case of...

Max Tilleman from Utah is suing two vloggers Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt for influencing his ex-wife to spend over a million dollars on their counseling sessions. This case will be explored on episode 6 of The Curious Case of... which is dropping on February 10, 2025, bringing to viewers how a therapist, Jodi Hildebrandt, was exposed for her crimes.

Max Tilleman has filed a lawsuit against the two incarcerated parenting vloggers Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt, claiming that he lost more than $1 million due to the two women. He is also suing his ex-wife for physically abusing and endangering their child with the guidance of Franke and Hildebrandt.

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All about Max Tilleman and why he is suing Jodi Hildebrandt

According to Times Now, Max Tilleman has accused Hildebrandt and Franke of running a "fraudulent" and an “organized criminal enterprise” on their joint parenting and lifestyle YouTube channel, ConneXions Classrooms, and of preying on "individuals in vulnerable positions who were seeking legitimate mental health services” for "lucrative fees."

Max Tilleman filed a lawsuit against them claiming that he and his ex-wife, Michal Savage, attended therapy with Hildebrandt where Hildebrandt instructed his ex-wife to threaten to divorce him if he did not attend ConneXions classes and courses. The couple could not reconcile over this and Savage refused to see any other therapist besides Hildebrandt. Max Tilleman is seeking $2.25 million in damages.

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Who are Jodi Hildebrandt and Ruby Franke? Where are they now?

Jodi Hildebrandt is a therapist and parenting coach who became infamous for her controversial ways. She formed an alliance with a Mormon mommy vlogger Ruby Franke based on some bizarre beliefs they shared which were eventually exposed, landing the duo in jail.

Hildebrandt and Franke were business partners in the former's mental health counseling business called ConneXions Classrooms. It was a cult-like system that followed extreme parenting methods which were not only controversial but bordering on child abuse.

Ruby Franke rose to fame with her YouTube channel called 8 Passengers, where she documented her family life in Utah with her ex-husband Kevin and their six children.

But she deleted the channel after separating from Kevin in 2022, following which she began working as a mental health coach at ConneXions, the company run by therapist Jodi Hildebrandt.

In August 2023, when Ruby Franke’s 12-year-old son escaped from Hildebrandt’s home with clear signs of physical abuse and called for help, authorities were notified. They raided Hildebrandt's house and discovered some shocking truths. Franke’s son and 10-year-old daughter were malnourished and being abused by the two women.

Both Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt were arrested and they pleaded guilty to four counts of second-degree aggravated child abuse in December 2023. The duo were sentenced to 30 years in state prison.

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What is The Curious Case of... all about?

The Curious Case of... is a six-episode series on Investigation Discovery that explores mind-bending criminal cases, featuring exclusive insights from those directly involved in them. The docu-series brings us shocking real-life stories and jaw-dropping revelations with each episode.

Every episode brings to viewers a new case and in this week's episode, the case of Jodi Hildebrandt will be explored. The series premiered on January 13, 2025, and is set to conclude with its final episode on February 10, 2025, with the story of Hildebrandt.

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Don't miss the final episode of The Curious Case of... on Investigation Discovery today.