The FBI has conducted a criminal investigation into Montreal pornography giant MindGeek and now believes it has evidence of its participation in illegal financial transactions involving the proceeds of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, according to new court documents filed in a US court.
The Press was able to consult the Brooklyn federal court file and confirm the news first reported Thursday evening by a journalist from the specialized media The Logic. Never before had this criminal investigation been publicized.
According to documents filed in US court, negotiations are currently taking place between the Canadian porn giant (now renamed Aylo) and US federal prosecutors, in order to avoid a criminal trial.
The procedure adopted is that of the deferred prosecution agreement (APS), which allows a company to admit its wrongdoing, to present the facts and to pay a penalty, but to avoid a criminal conviction.
To initiate this procedure, the FBI must be satisfied that it has the necessary elements to bring charges. To be able to benefit from this type of arrangement, a company must also demonstrate the desire to change its ways of doing things.
“We are not going to comment on the status of this case at this time,” he told The Press Sarah Bain, vice-president responsible for public engagement at Ethical Capital Partners, the Canadian investment fund which acquired MindGeek last March.
A broken life
It was a civil lawsuit filed in the United States against Aylo/MindGeek, the owner of the Pornhub, YouPorn and Redtube sites, which revealed to the world the criminal investigation targeting the Canadian company.
The woman behind the lawsuit, Kristy Althaus, is a former beauty pageant contestant who once won an award in the Miss Teen Colorado pageant. She has now changed her name, in order to protect her privacy, but the legal proceedings were filed under her name at the time.
The plaintiff claims that in 2013, at the age of 18, she responded to a classified ad for a modeling contract. She claims she was then drugged and then raped on camera by the crew of a pornographic production company called GirlsDoPorn. The video was distributed online, attached to his real name, and allegedly went viral on MindGeek sites, according to his suit.
The woman claims to have lost her beauty queen title, lost jobs, been harassed by students at her college and been recognized by strangers on the street, to the point of having her life completely turned upside down. Even today, she claims that complete strangers, always men, chase her “at all hours of the day and night”, regarding this video.
This is why she is suing Mindgeek/Aylo and its owners for damages, whom she also considers responsible for her misfortunes.
Michael James Pratt, the founder of GirlsDoPorn, who allegedly initiated her assault and victimization through the distribution of the video, was arrested by police in Spain after a lengthy flight last year .
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE FBI
Michael James Pratt was captured in Spain after a long flight.
The United States requested his extradition to try him in connection with a series of crimes targeting women. Many victims have been identified and also appear in videos which have been distributed online and made a lot of money.
But the FBI’s criminal investigation didn’t stop there.
Involvement in transactions
New court documents filed by Kristy Althaus’ lawyers as part of her civil suit reveal that the Montreal porn giant was also in the crosshairs of American investigators.
An email filed as evidence shows that the United States Department of Justice contacted Mr.me Althaus as a victim, as part of a criminal investigation targeting MindGeek/Aylo. The investigation into the company’s “willful” and “knowingly” involvement in financial transactions involving the proceeds of human trafficking for sexual exploitation by the operators of GirlsDoPorn.
M’s lawyersme Althaus confirmed that they have been in contact with the FBI regarding this matter. The authorities confirmed to Mme Althaus that negotiations were underway with the company to settle the matter by entering into a deferred prosecution agreement. The woman was asked to contact an FBI victim support agent if she believes the resolution of the case could affect her.
Negotiations are still ongoing, according to court documents.