Straight Escort Website Seized by FBI

[Frankly Rich]

http://ww1.hdnux.com/photos/30/73/40/6535228/3/628x471.jpg

 

The seizure of a website devoted to straight escorts has become the subject of talk among the legal community. According to SFGate.com, "Federal authorities said the alleged proprietors of MyRedbook.com - Eric Omuro, 53, of Mountain View, and 40-year-old Annmarie Lanoce of Rocklin (Placer County) - were part of a racketeering enterprise, profiting from their creation of a site that had explicit photos of prostitutes, "menus of sexual services" and customer reviews.

 

Prosecutors said the defendants went beyond hosting classified ads. They listed acronyms for sex acts in a "Terms and Acronyms" section of the website, and sold VIP memberships that allowed customers "access to 'private forums' and heightened capabilities to search reviews of the prostitution services.

 

Though the website was known as a connection point for prostitutes and johns, it ostensibly offered "escorts," exotic dancers and massages."

 

Read more:

http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Shutdown-of-MyRedbook-com-sparks-legal-debate-5588516.php

[maninsoma]

Perhaps more information will come out over time, though who knows whether we'll be able to trust that information regardless of which side releases it.

 

Missing from the linked article is something I read in connection with MyRedbook when this story first broke a few days ago: allegations of escort ads involving minors. I'm sure that if that was true -- even if it represented fewer than 1% of the ads -- that would draw the attention of law enforcement.

[Frankly Rich]

I obviously missed the earlier announcements. sfgate reported: Some law enforcement officials hailed the move as a victory against sex trafficking. But many sex workers who used the site said it was critical for their income and safety, and that authorities should not be focusing on acts between consenting adults.

 

Organizers with the Bay Area chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project warned sex workers on their website about the seizure, and were planning a community meeting.

 

"Today we lost extensive online forums for a community of sex workers to keep each other safe, screen clients, and blacklist predators," said Patricia West, a representative of the group. "While we are certainly concerned with the issue of sex trafficking, this misguided effort only pushes the most marginalized of us further into the underground."

 

sfweekly has a copy of the indictment: http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2014/06/bay_area_escorting_website_myr.php

[instudiocity]

Perhaps more information will come out over time, though who knows whether we'll be able to trust that information regardless of which side releases it.

 

Missing from the linked article is something I read in connection with MyRedbook when this story first broke a few days ago: allegations of escort ads involving minors. I'm sure that if that was true -- even if it represented fewer than 1% of the ads -- that would draw the attention of law enforcement.

If it was even ONE minor, it's one too many.

 

But from what I'm reading, there's enough evidence for making a Federal case out of this. Whether that case can be proven is the next question, but a grand jury returned an indictment. That's the first step.

 

Read the indictment - the feds are alleging money laundering to the tune of $5 million over 4 years.

[rossthebosssf]

There's two reasons why the site was shutdown:

 

1) Underage listings - they weren't doing any sort of verification

2) Money Laundering - They were wiring money to various accounts to make it look like business expenses to avoid paying taxes

 

I sincerely doubt that DaddysReviews has anything to worry about as long as he's paying his taxes.