Trouble in ‘prepper’ Paradise: Bunker residents raise financial, safety concerns
The former U.S. Army depot in South Dakota that once housed military munitions now hosts people looking to live off the grid. But a News Watch investigation has revealed problems at the bunker complex.
By Bart Pfankuch
Dec. 28, 2024
The former U.S. Army depot in South Dakota that once housed military munitions now hosts people looking to live off the grid. But a News Watch investigation has revealed problems at the bunker complex.
www.dakotanewsnow.com
A former military munitions site with concrete bunkers now used as residences has become the source of numerous lawsuits, several complaints to the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office, a near-fatal shooting and now an FBI inquiry, a News Watch investigation has found.
The former Black Hills Army Depot munitions storage facility was developed in 2016 into the Vivos xPoint bunker complex that is now a residential community marketed largely to so-called preppers.
More than 500 above-ground concrete bunkers are marketed for lease to those who are worried about a potential national or global disaster or who want to live mostly off-the-grid in a remote area 8 miles south of Edgemont in southwestern South Dakota.
The concrete bunkers, which look like earthen igloos, are covered with sod to maintain a constant temperature for the military’s conventional and chemical munitions stored on site from 1942 to 1967. The town of Igloo was often home to more than 5,000 people during that span, including a young Tom Brokaw, a South Dakota native and former NBC anchor. The base and town are now abandoned.
The owner and operator of Vivos xPoint, California businessman Robert K. Vicino, told News Watch that he has had great success in leasing more than 200 of the bunkers so far and that the project is highly successful and profitable.
Vicino also said the bunker complex has evolved into a thriving community of like-minded people, most of whom are happy to live there and support one another while realizing their dream of a self-sustainable lifestyle in an area relatively safe from disasters or potential ills that could endanger society and the world.
But a different version of life at Vivos xPoint has emerged in recent months, especially for some of the few dozen individuals and families who make or have made the bunker complex their permanent home.
Over the past four months, News Watch has interviewed more than a dozen people, reviewed hundreds of pages of court records, examined emails and internal Vivos communications, filed three open-records requests and visited the Vivos site to understand the unrest that exists within the community.
At least 16 lawsuits or legal actions have been filed either by residents or former residents against Vivos management or by Vicino, Vivos or its subcontractors against former residents and property neighbors. Five formal complaints against Vivos have been filed with the Consumer Protection Division of the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office. At least two former residents have been interviewed by FBI agents.
Some legal filings relate to evictions, claims of illegal eviction, a demand for return of monies paid to Vivos or requests for legal protection orders. In one complaint to the state, a resident says Vivos has broken promises to build numerous amenities and has not fulfilled contractual obligations to provide adequate security and basic services, for which they pay a separate monthly fee. All four residents interviewed by News Watch during an October visit to the site carried handguns for protection.
Vicino attributed the lawsuits and complaints about himself and Vivos to “bad apples” who reside at Vivos xPoint and who may have “their own agenda.”
“There are a group of disgruntled (people), they call themselves the pioneers, and you know, they seem to have nothing better to do but to complain,” Vicino said.
He added that if residents follow the terms of the lease and the property rules and regulations, no legal action will result.
“I know all the gripes. ... But you cannot respond to unreasonable gripes,” he said. “I can point to hundreds of others that will say, ‘Yeah, we love it. We love what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.’”
According to records in the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office, Vicino is the owner or director of two businesses, Vivos Construction and Vivos xPoint Investment Group. A third business, Vivos xPoint, is owned by a company called Fractional Villas that lists Vicino’s home address in Del Mar, California, as its physical address.
News Watch conducted a nearly two-hour interview with Vicino in November, and follow-up questions posed by News Watch were answered by Vicino in writing in December through the offices of his Spearfish attorney, Eric Schlimgen.
Resident are tenants, not property owners
Vivos uses a 99-year lease agreement, so residents do not legally own their bunkers.
People who take possession of a bunker pay Vivos an up-front lease fee of up to $55,000 and $3,000 for water service. They also pay monthly “common area fees” of $111 and an annual $1,124 “ground rent fee” to live in a bunker or have it ready for them when needed, according to a January 2024 Vivos memo.
Lessees sign a 14-page lease and eight-page list of community rules, and those who don’t pay or violate the rules can be evicted. One rule states that Vivos residents are forbidden from talking to the media about the bunker complex or the company under the threat of fines or possible eviction.
Custer attorney J. Scott James, who is litigating several lawsuits related to Vivos, said evicted residents can lose the lease monies paid as well as any financial equity or the value of improvements made to their bunkers, which can then be leased again by Vivos.
A lawsuit filed by James on behalf of former resident Daniel Sindorf alleges that Vivos misrepresented facts to illegally evict Sindorf. In an eviction notice, Vivos claims that Sindorf pointed a gun at a person, thereby violating his lease. Sindorf’s lawsuit claims that Sindorf actually pulled his gun only to prepare for a possible attack by “dangerous dogs” owned by Vivos subcontractor Shear “J.R.” Rodriguez and did not point it at a person.
The lawsuit demands that Sindorf and his wife be refunded the majority of the $35,000 they paid up front to lease a bunker for 99 years and for the monthly fees that were supposed to go toward amenities and services the lawsuit alleges were never provided.
“Plaintiff (Vivos) accepted the common area fees, but failed to complete its obligations ... specifically there was no evidence of potable water, and no trash removal was ever done as described, and no security was provided as described,” Sindorf’s lawsuit states.
Vicino said in an email that there is no provision in the lease signed by Sindorf and others that allows for a return of prorated lease funds. Vivos is fighting the Sindorf counter-lawsuit in state court. James said a trial on the case in January will challenge the legality of some elements of the Vivos xPoint lease.
This photo, taken on October. 4, 2024, shows the TV room in a finished bunker within the Vivos xPoint survivalist community south of Edgemont, S.D.
Former bunker resident Brandon Elliott said he was illegally evicted by Vivos, which then leased his bunker to a new resident after he made $15,000 in improvements.
“There have been many people in my situation,” Elliott said. “As soon as there’s a problem and they complain, they get pushed out illegally and their bunkers are resold.”
Vicino said that bunker residents who leave Vivos xPoint are allowed to re-lease their bunkers to someone else, and they are free to remove any improvements made prior to leaving.
James is representing at least three former residents of Vivos xPoint in civil actions related to the bunker complex and actions by Vicino and his company.
“A lot of these people paid between $35,000 to $50,000 for what Vivos calls a 99-year lease on these bunkers. And if it’s truly a 99-year lease, and you’re evicting my client in year three or four, and they’ve prepaid 95 years of lease money, then you should have to give it back, at least a prorated amount,” James said. “They (Vivos) get to say, ‘OK, we just get to keep reselling these things over and over to people,’ and that seems like it’s an inequitable relationship.”
Former residents: FBI investigation underway
News Watch recently learned that FBI agents from the San Diego office have interviewed at least two former residents of Vivos xPoint. One former resident, Elliott, said he was interviewed by FBI agents in November related to Vicino “dealing with problems in an illegal way.”
Former Vivos xPoint resident David Streeter said he has been interviewed by FBI agents twice since November. Streeter said they inquired about the leases and financial dealings at the Vivos xPoint complex and were also investigating other allegations related to Vicino.
Streeter, who shot a Vivos subcontractor in the chest during a confrontation at the complex in August but was not charged in the shooting, is involved in a number of lawsuits related to Vivos xPoint. He has two pending small claims lawsuits against Vivos and is fighting his eviction. Vivos has filed eviction and defamation lawsuits against Streeter, who has become a leading critic of Vivos and Vicino.
A spokesperson at the San Diego FBI office said the agency would not comment on ongoing investigations nor confirm if an active investigation was underway.
Wayne Corriea, shown outside his bunker on Oct. 4, 2024, has lived in a bunker at Vivos xPoint for five years and once worked for complex owner Robert Vicino. But Corriea says he now believes Vicino to be unethical.
Bunker resident Wayne Corriea, one of the first people to lease a Vivos xPoint bunker and who formerly worked security for Vivos, said Vicino is an unethical businessman who takes questionable and possibly illegal actions against anyone who disagrees with or challenges him.
“When I was head of security, there were several things I wouldn’t do,” Corriea said. “I won’t torment, harass or intimidate people, and I won’t do anything that I feel is wrong. If it’s right by the law, it’s good to go and if you’re doing it for the right reasons. So several times I disagreed with him, and I wouldn’t do stuff, and I think that caused a lot of issues with him and me because he wanted me to lie for him, but not to him.”
In an email response to Corriea’s claims, Vicino said he “enforces the agreements that he enters and wants all parties to follow those agreements.” He called Corriea “a former employee hostile to Vivos” and said he disagrees with any allegations that he acts in an unethical or retaliatory manner.
Vicino said he wasn’t aware of any FBI inquiry but said he welcomes any investigation by authorities.
“I welcome it, good, come talk to me,” Vicino said. “We love being vetted because as far as we know, we’re all by the book.”
“We do exactly what the lease says. ... There’s nothing criminal here, there’s nothing under cloak, it’s all right out there and it’s all justified.”
Residents worry about on-site subcontractors
At least three current and former Vivos residents told News Watch they are concerned about the actions of two on-site subcontract workers for Vivos who have criminal records.
One worker, Kelly Anderson, lives in a Vivos bunker and does construction work on the property, Vicino said.
Anderson, according to information received from a News Watch public records request, served time in prison in Colorado in 2006 after a felony armed robbery conviction. Despite the felony conviction, several residents and former residents told News Watch that Anderson routinely carries a gun while on the premises at Vivos xPoint.
Anderson, 47, pleaded guilty to marijuana possession in Fall River County in May 2024 and was ticketed for driving without a license in Edgemont in January 2023, according to court records.
David Streeter stands on Oct. 4, 2024 in front of his former bunker in the Vivos xPoint complex at the site where he shot a Vivos subcontractor who he says threatened him and his family. Streeter was not criminally charged in the shooting.
Anderson was shot in the chest during an August confrontation with Streeter, a former Vivos xPoint resident who is fighting his eviction. Streeter said he shot Anderson in self-defense after Anderson threatened Streeter and his family. Anderson, who was unarmed at the time of the confrontation, sent threatening messages about harming Streeter to an acquaintance just prior to the shooting, according to text messages records obtained by News Watch.
According to that text log, Anderson wrote: “I’m about to f— his ass up,” and “What he did isn’t right and I’m gonna educate this mother f———.”
Streeter provided aid to Anderson after the shooting, and Anderson was life-flighted to Rapid City for care. After a grand jury review in Fall River County, no one was charged in the shooting, which was videotaped by Streeter’s daughter. Streeter was charged with simple assault in a separate confrontation prior to the shooting.
Anderson, who is now suing Streeter for damages and sought a protection order against him in civil court, did not return a News Watch call seeking comment.
Records obtained from Jefferson County, Colorado, indicate that Anderson was arrested on Sept. 27, 2005, and charged with six felony counts related to the burglary of a home in which a female resident’s hands and feet were bound with a telephone cord.
According to an Arvada Police Department report, Anderson broke into the home with a sawed-off, 12-gauge shotgun and was in the home when the woman arrived. He bound the woman and made her lie face down with a towel over her head. Anderson stole items and fled.
After an investigation, Anderson pleaded guilty to aggravated robbery while menacing a victim with a deadly weapon and committing a violent crime with a deadly weapon, according to records.
Vicino said Anderson is a good person and worker who, despite prior criminal convictions, deserves a chance to make a living just like anyone else.
“If we were to say that in South Dakota, ‘You’ve been arrested and been in jail, then you can’t be employed by any company,’ you’re going to have the scarlet letter on your forehead,” Vicino said. “That might wipe out, what 20%, 25% of South Dakota (from employment).”
Vicino acknowledged that Anderson might be a convicted felon, but said “that doesn’t mean he doesn’t serve society and that he’s upstanding at this time.”
Vicino also downplayed Anderson’s arrest on marijuana charges.
“That wouldn’t have an effect on us,” he said. “As far as possession and use (of marijuana), tell me somebody up there (in South Dakota) who isn’t.”
Vicino said he also wasn’t overly concerned that Shear “J.R.” Rodriguez, another on-site subcontractor for Vivos, pleaded guilty in September to a misdemeanor charge of having a dog that killed domestic animals on the Vivos xPoint site. Court records from Maryland show that Rodriquez has an active bench warrant for his arrest on a misdemeanor theft charge.
Rodriguez could not be reached for comment.
Several residents of Vivos xPoint said that tensions in the complex have been especially high since the August shooting. When News Watch visited the site in October, the entrance gate was open and there was no security system or personnel in place. Vicino said he recently hired a private security service to protect residents and workers within the complex.
According to a Vivos memo obtained by News Watch, Vivos announced in November 2023 that it had hired a new chief of security, Mike Archer, who has a background in military and real estate. Archer’s term of employment lasted only a short time, however, and Archer said he could not comment on his former employment due to signing a non-disclosure agreement.
Vicino said residents, many who use satellite services for cell phone and internet connections, can call the Fall River County Sheriff’s Office for assistance if needed or dial 9-1-1 in an emergency.
Bunker resident Rich Roehm said he always carries a .357 handgun but that after the August shooting, he removed the “snake shot” cartridges and replaced them with hollow-point bullets with far more stopping power. Roehm called Anderson, the subcontractor who lives and works at Vivos xPoint, “dangerous.”
“Now I have to worry about the two-legged snakes,” Roehm said.
Amenities offered but not provided
Numerous amenities offered to current and potential residents, listed on a large sign at the complex entrance and marketed in a video with computer-generated images on the Vivos website, have not been completed several years after the complex opened.
Some current and former residents – in interviews, court filings and complaints to state and local authorities – said Vivos takes payment for bunker leases or bunker improvements up front and that those projects can take years to be completed, if ever. Even though amenities are not being built, residents must continue to pay the monthly common area fees.
This sign just inside the entrance to the Vivos xPoint bunker complex, shown Oct. 4, 2024 near Igloo, S.D., indicates that most promised amenities have not been built and are still "coming soon," several years after the project launched.
Vicino pointed out that while community amenities such as a workout bunker, gym, general store, community theater, medical clinic, woodworking shop and restaurant are planned for Vivos, contractual language states they are not guaranteed and that a leasing decision should not be made based on expected completion of the amenities.
And yet, some residents say they are frustrated at the slow pace of building common area amenities or finishing projects they have already paid for.
In an interview with News Watch, Vicino blamed the slow pace of construction of common area amenities and bunkers build-outs on the worker shortage in South Dakota.
“We have a backlog, and why do we have a backlog? A lack of laborers, not a lack of money, so we can only do it so fast,” he said.
But later in the interview, Vicino did point to the costs of hiring contractors as a reason for long project delays at Vivos xPoint. “You could go to Rapid (City) and bring a contractor down and do it all, but for twice the money,” he said. “Our job and offer is to offer and maintain it at the lowest price possible.”
Also, he said, “All our contracts with these people and the work agreements say, ‘Subject to available labor,’ so there can be delays.‘”
Roehm, who has leased a Vivos bunker for three years, said in a three-page complaint to the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office that his septic system was not installed correctly, that he paid for roof repairs that have not been completed, and that Vivos has not provided security systems or personnel as promised.
“Due to all the maintenance that is not being done, and the positions that are not being filled, I have to question where our fees are going,” Roehm wrote in his complaint.
In an interview with News Watch, Roehm said he is disappointed that Vivos xPoint has not lived up to the claims made when he inquired about leasing, and that the company has not met his expectations that it would be a safe, well-run community for him, his wife and their son.
“It’s a shame because I think he (Vicino) could have done this right and still made money,” Roehm said. “I mean, just treat people right.”
Vicino: We’re doing things ‘by the book’
Vicino said his son, Dante Vicino, who manages on-site operations at Vivos xPoint, has been in “constant contact” with the state attorney general’s office. Vicino said his son was told by AG officials, “You guys are doing it by the book. We’re pleased with what we see, and congratulations.”
Tony Mangan, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office, confirmed the office has received five consumer complaints about Vivos xPoint. He said the agency is not conducting any criminal investigations related to the complex at this time.
Some residents also question the level of response and protection provided by the Fall River County Sheriff’s Office, which has received complaints about Vivos xPoint and the behavior of its subcontractors.
Fall River Sheriff Lyle Norton did not return two phone messages seeking comment.
As far as the rule restricting media communication by bunker residents, Vicino said it is a common practice that is akin to how a major corporation limits what its employees can say to the media about the business and its operations.
“We want to have control of that,” he said. “We don’t want hundreds of different stories because, you know, they’re coming at us left and right, the media. It’s really for coordination or control.”
James, the Custer attorney, said it is unusual to see a landlord place a restriction and possible penalties on tenants who speak to the media.
“You wonder about the rationale that went into drafting that, and what’s the purpose?” James said. “It’s because they have things that they prefer not to be scrutinized is the only rationale that you could think of.”
Corriea, the bunker resident who used to work for Vicino, said he expects that he will likely face consequences for speaking to News Watch. But he said the truth about Vicino and Vivos xPoint needs to be told by those who really know it.
“I know that whatever happens, there’s gonna be retaliation to me because there always is,” Corriea said. “He (Vicino) retaliates for whatever you do against him, whether you don’t go along with what he does or what he wants (you) to do.”
Work not done, or not done right
Edith Horn, who retired to the Vivos xPoint complex in 2021 after a 32-year military career, said she tried for months to get Vivos workers to groom the top of her bunker as paid for. She said she also paid up-front for concrete work to be done in 2021 and that it was done improperly by Vivos contractors, forcing her to fix it herself with a grinder.
“I said, ‘I think I’m due a refund because your contractor poured hot concrete and it looks crappy and I need a level floor,’” Horn said. “And never once did I get any response.”
Horn said that Vivos raised questions about how she was paying monthly and annual fees, noting that Vivos prefers payment in a lump sum, and was threatened with eviction before reaching an agreement with management.
Later, she was questioned about a fence she installed, and afterward, she began to see Vivos subcontractors drive slowly by her bunker, taking pictures of the site.
This photo, taken on Oct.. 4, 2024 at the Vivos xPoint bunker complex near Igloo, S.D., shows the outside of an uninhabited bunker.
Former bunker resident Susan Bass, who now lives in North Carolina, told News Watch that Vicino and his team use false advertising to attract people who are seeking a unique and specific lifestyle. Among other construction concerns, Bass said the floor of her bunker was not installed properly and was never fixed despite her complaints.
“Stuff just doesn’t get done. And when you complain to Robert about it, he isn’t going to help you, you’re on your own,” said Bass, 70. “So people feel betrayed.”
Bass said she and her husband leased a bunker in 2020 and lived in a motel in Edgemont while it was being prepared. She said they wanted to be free from government intrusion in their lives and find a place where they could live safely if anything disastrous happened in the U.S.
Shortly after moving into the bunker, Bass' husband died of COVID and she later sold the bunker.
“We thought we would be safer there, which now seems ridiculous,” she said. “These people, including myself, they’re very vulnerable, and he (Robert) is preying on their fears.”
In an email, Vicino said Bass violated the lease agreement in how she built a structure next to her bunker but that she was allowed to sell the lease to her bunker to a new resident.
Lawsuits make claims of possible fraud
In late November, Michelle Collins, a resident of Virginia, filed a civil lawsuit against Vivos xPoint Investment Group alleging that the company has broken numerous contractual agreements made with her.
The lawsuit states that in September 2020, Collins signed both a contract to lease a Vivos bunker and to have improvements done in advance of occupancy. The lawsuit states that Collins paid Vivos $35,000 to lease the bunker, another $3,000 for a water hookup and about $94,000 for the construction work. Collins was also paying the annual land lease fee of $1,000 and about $100 a month for Vivos to provide for “common area” amenities, maintenance and security.
But more than four years later, the lawsuit states, the construction work not been completed, water service is not being provided and much of the work that was done has been rendered useless. Further, the lawsuit states, Vivos locked Collins out of the bunker, used her bunker for storage and has not provided security services, road maintenance or trash removal services as contractually obligated.
Vivos originally agreed not to charge Collins the monthly common area fees but later reneged on that agreement, the lawsuit claims. After Collins hired an attorney to represent her, Vivos emailed her saying: “Had you not decided to have an attorney contact us out of the blue, this may have gone very differently,” according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed on Collins' behalf by James, the Custer attorney, seeks a refund of the initial lease payment, the costs of unfinished construction work and attorney fees as well as any punitive damages for “Vivos' willful and malicious conduct.”
When asked about the Collins complaint, Vicino stated: “We’ve given full refund to those who ask for it. Michelle Collins is not paying any rent because she wanted a deferral until her bunker is done, and then she will pay up the amount of deferral.”
In a 2014 federal civil lawsuit filed by an Illinois family against Vicino, his wife, Barbara, and business partner Steven Wallner, the family alleged that they were defrauded of $140,000 paid to secure spots first in a bunker in Kansas and later in a “secret fortified bunker” called Vivos Indiana.
In the lawsuit, plaintiffs Taiya Shevelev, Yakov Ryabov and their two children said the defendants operated a company called Fractional Villas, which the complaint said also did business as The Vivos Group. The lawsuit alleged that “defendants engaged in an elaborate fraudulent scheme to sell plaintiffs membership interests in the secret bunker while at the same time misrepresenting various facts and circumstances surrounding plaintiffs' purchase, use and the operational status of the bunker.”
According to court documents, the lawsuit was settled and dismissed in 2015 after “the disputes between the parties having been resolved by agreement,” details of which were not reported.
Vicino said in an email to News Watch that the lawsuit was thrown out. “She was in the Indiana shelter, she attempted to do a mutiny,” Vicino wrote.
North Dakotans ‘frustrated’ at pace of work
Mike Pugh, a resident of Bismarck, North Dakota, said he and his wife have grown frustrated with the slow pace of construction on a bunker they leased at Vivos xPoint three years ago.
The Pughs paid about $140,000 in advance to Vivos to lease a bunker and have it built out by Vivos contractors, Pugh told News Watch. Pugh said the couple sees the bunker as an inexpensive home in which to retire.
“We were required to pay in advance because at the time I didn’t have the time or expertise to do the construction part of it,” he said. “After three years of waiting, we’re still not down there.”
Pugh said he has visited the Vivos bunker and has seen some progress in construction. He also traveled to South Dakota to do his own installation of a solar system at a cost of $20,000.
Pugh said he has inquired about the delays and is aware that the contract for construction states that completion time is dependent on market factors. “Robert (Vicino) is real savvy that way,” Pugh said. “But after three years, we’re not talking about building a palace, it’s a basic build-out, so it seems to me it should have been done by now.”
In the meantime, Pugh said he received an email from Vivos earlier this year informing him that the monthly amenity fee and annual land use fees had increased at the bunker complex.
Pugh said he and his wife have considered taking legal action over the delays but that he doesn’t see that as a good option. However, he added, “I’m starting to get concerned that it’s never going to get done, and that I may not get my full value out of it.”
Bunker idea came in 1982 from a voice
Vicino said that in the late 1970s he invented and patented the large inflatables that are now ubiquitous in advertising, creating a company that allowed him to buy a Rolls-Royce and a beachfront home in California in his mid-20s.
Vicino said he first became interested in developing or selling survival bunkers in 1982. Vicino said he heard a female voice in his head clearly tell him that, “Robert, you need to build underground bunkers or shelters for thousands of people to survive what is coming,” he said. “I attributed it to the Holy Spirit.”
Vicino said after he learned of the South Dakota former munitions site, he soon signed an agreement with a local rancher who owned the land to lease the bunkers, enabling him to launch Vivos xPoint in the spring of 2017. Later, he said the rancher approached him about buying the land and the bunkers, and Vicino did so.
Fall River county property records show that Vivos xPoint Investment Group bought three parcels of land at the site for $2.5 million in May 2020.
Vicino said he paid cash during that transaction. “We’ve never borrowed any money, and we’ve done pretty well for ourselves, you know, millions in the bank,” he said.
An open gate welcomes visitors to the Vivos XPoint bunker complex, shown on Oct. 4, 2024 near Igloo, S.D
Vivos xPoint is promoted on the company website as “the largest survival community on earth.” A video indicates that amenity bunkers will eventually include a restaurant, general store, community center, medical clinic, security station, workout facility, pool house, workshop, hydroponic and aquaponics bunker and a horse stable. Language under the video indicates that “each of these amenity bunkers will be developed as the community develops and time permits.”
Vicino said his hope is that Vivos xPoint will grow into a place where up to 5,000 people can work together to survive the worst possible catastrophes, such as a nuclear war, a global flood or an asteroid strike. “We want people to harmonize with respect and tolerance for one another,” he said.
Current lease holders at Vivos xPoint, Vicino said, include three Los Angeles Police Department officers, a high-powered attorney and retired sheriffs and military personnel.
According to the Vivos website, the company also owns a large survival bunker called Vivos Indiana and another known as Vivos Europa One in an undisclosed location. Vicino said he is developing a new survival project in Switzerland. He said Vivos operates other survival sites in locations he cannot disclose.
The website also promotes the opportunity to buy into the underground Vivos Trine complex, whose location is also not revealed. That large bunker complex, the website says, can house people, a staff, munitions, supplies for a year and vaults that can “store the DNA and gamete cells for millions of people for potential restoration.”
Bunker leases at Vivos xPoint in South Dakota are in high demand, he said, and as a result, initial bunker lease prices have risen from $25,000 to about $55,000. Vicino said he runs background checks on prospective tenants and turns away about 20% to 25% of lease applicants.
Vicino said plans are underway by a major network to film an unscripted reality TV show in 2025 centered around the Vivos xPoint community in South Dakota, but he declined to share details.
An unusual, surreal setting
The Vivos website says the South Dakota bunker site will be safe from “the marauders during the aftermath of a large-scale cataclysm or catastrophic event.” The site has a U.S. map showing that southwestern South Dakota is outside the range of submersion areas along the coasts, known nuclear targets, the Yellowstone blast zone and “high-crime anarchy zones.”
The website promotes Vivos xPoint as an 18 square-mile site with 575 steel and concrete bunkers that in total could accommodate 5,000 people. Each bunker has nearly 2,200 square-feet of internal space, a 12-foot ceiling at the apex, with a berm of protective soil on top and 400 feet of separation between each bunker.
Once leased, bunkers are cleared of cattle droppings, given a specialized coat of paint inside, and according to residents, remain cool in summer and provide protection from the elements in winter. Residents are provided fresh water and often install solar systems or use diesel generators for power, Vicino said.
Driving on the one gravel road in and out of Vivos xPoint is a surreal, somewhat haunting experience, as visitors pass by the remnants of the former Army base before entering the bunker areas. A few abandoned, dilapidated structures still stand among numerous tall chimneys that used to be attached to buildings.
Once on site, the rolling, wind-swept prairie lands are part of a treeless landscape where only the bunkers, resident campers and outbuildings and scores of cattle break the skyline.
Cases ‘about the little guy’
James, the Custer attorney, said he understands the frustration and anger some of his clients feel about how they have been treated by the management at Vivos xPoint.
“In essence, these cases are all about, you know, the rights of the little guy and a company or corporation that is trying to stifle any dissent,” James said.
Attorney J. Scott James, shown on Nov. 25, 2024 in his office in Custer, S.D., is representing a handful of clients who are involved in lawsuits related to the Vivos xPoint bunker complex.
James said his clients are disappointed that they have ended up in court when all they wanted was to live a peaceful life in a setting where they could find serenity and stability.
“I do think these people are making a fundamental commitment to this way of life. They are uprooting themselves from wherever they were, and they’re putting all their eggs in this basket. And what’s being sold to them is essentially that they have this great, sustainable community of like-minded people that they’ll be able to thrive in. And I think that’s what a lot of people came here for,” James said. “And I think some of them still hope it can be that. But I think that they all, over time, have lost confidence in that vision of what this was supposed to be.”
James said is hopeful that the state attorney general’s office or some other enforcement agency will take interest in what is happening at Vivos xPoint.
“I believe that this is an operation that needs to see a bright light shined upon it,” James told News Watch. “If a light is shone upon it, I think there will be a lot more to be seen.”
