They took him for a ride.
A devoutly religious 91-year-old widower was bamboozled into dumping $60 million into an Oklahoma theme park by alleged fraudsters — who posed as God and “commanded him” to fork over his cash for the failed project, according to a new lawsuit.
Gene Bicknell, a wealthy former Florida businessman, was “tricked” into sinking his fortune into the American Heartland Theme Park in Vinita by three park officials, two of whom sent him hundreds of text messages posing as the big man upstairs and other religious figures, according to a lawsuit filed July 25.
The years-long scheme of “psychological manipulation” was allegedly carried out by Missouri-based preacher Larry Wilhite and supposed entertainment industry executives Richard Silanskas and Stephen Hedrick, according to the lawsuit, filed in Oklahoma federal court.
“AWAKE MY CHILD. THIS IS A DAY OF GREAT DECISION AND URGENCY,” declares one of the messages, supposedly sent from God on May 2, 2022.
“This mission will not tolerate anything but ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE,” it read, allegedly ordering Bicknell to hand over millions for the theme park.
“I AM INSTRUCTING YOU TO EMPTY THE STOREHOUSES AND ACCELERATE THIS MISSION WITHOUT DELAY,” it proclaimed.
Advertisement
Advertisement
More messages purportedly from “God” followed, prompting Bicknell — a former Pizza Hut franchise owner from a “humble” upbringing — to begin spending millions on land for the 1,000-acre theme park, which was initially designed to rival Disney destinations, according to the lawsuit.
“For years, those electronic messages preyed upon Gene’s devout Christian faith and admonished [him] to obey ‘God’s’ will without doubts or second-guessing,” the suit states.
Every morning, the NY POSTcast offers a deep dive into the headlines with the Post’s signature mix of politics, business, pop culture, true crime and everything in between. Subscribe here!
“Silanskas and Wilhite made Gene believe that God Himself was commanding Gene to infuse ever more cash into the Project.”
But after years of allegedly fleecing the elderly man out of more than $60 million and spending some of the dough on “themselves and their family members,” they ultimately constructed nothing more than a gravel road and a fence, the court papers state.
The alleged scam caused Bicknell to suffer “severe emotional distress” and “a stroke,” according to the lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial and an unspecified monetary damages.
The theme park officials ultimately “operated a criminal enterprise that defrauded Bicknell and duped him into sinking his remaining fortune,” according to the suit.
The stalled $2 billion theme park project — which was slated to include a modern indoor water park and an RV area, hotel and cabins — was initially scheduled to open in 2026 and has been delayed until at least 2028, according to reports.
A lawyer for Bicknell declined to comment Wednesday. Wilhite, Silanskas and Hedrick couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
