FOSTA, SESTA, Intellectual Property & Trafficking Tiny Humans: The Law Of Chattels

Now, I know why FBI Rod Rosenstein covers up trafficking of tiny humans:

It was financial and political: Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA)

Proud that passage of H.R.1865 is having an IMMEDIATE impact on websites advertising prostitution, several shutting down in the past few days. #fosta-#sesta

— Bob Goodlatte (@RepGoodlatte) March 23, 2018

Here is the campaign to Stop SESTA.

I have no position at this time except to say that this looks exactly like the Stop SOPA/PIPA campaign, which was about intellectual property, the law of chattels, which is nothing more than child welfare.

The best way of ending human trafficking is to stop making people poor.

Besides, how do you think children who age out of foster care, or run away, or just live on the streets because there is no assistance, eat?

I will be watching because Lil' Miss Nancy Pelosi should be watching this, too.

FOSTA and SESTA: The Anti-Trafficking Legislation that is a Giveaway to Traffickers

Two “anti-trafficking” bills are making their rounds in Congress right now with some powerful support: the Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA).  To date, FOSTA has passed the House alone and SESTA has only been introduced, but the passing of one or the other is so expected that changes are already happening with various sites shutting down and other sites dropping sections of their websites.

However, far from helping fight sex trafficking, which these two bill superficially attempt to do, these bills are a giveaway to human traffickers who will find it easier to find individuals to traffick even if it is harder to market them – it is still a net win for traffickers.

Rather, these bills targets sex workers, individuals who voluntarily engage in the sex trade for their subsistence.  It is not the sex traffickers who will suffer, but those who freelance in sex work and are already finding themselves more vulnerable to abuse, violence, and even being trafficked as slaves.

READ MORE: https://yttribune.com/2018/04/03/fosta-and-sesta-the-anti-trafficking-legislation-that-is-a-giveaway-to-traffickers/

DOJ Seizes Backpage.com Weeks After Congress Passes Sex Trafficking Law

The Justice Department today seized the website of BackPage.com and replaced it with a banner indicating that it has been seized by the government.

Backpage, for years, has been accused of accepting classified ads promoting prostitution which allegedly resulted in sex trafficking of both adults and minors.

READ MORE: https://www.forbes.com/sites/larrymagid/2018/04/06/doj-seizes-backpage-com-weeks-after-congress-passes-sex-trafficking-law/#2eb911a150ba

AT THE SECOND SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen

To amend the Communications Act of 1934 to clarify that section 230 of such Act does not prohibit the enforcement against providers and users of interactive computer services of Federal and State criminal and civil law relating to sexual exploitation of children or sex trafficking, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act of 2017”.

SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.

It is the sense of Congress that—

(1) section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230; commonly known as the “Communications Decency Act of 1996”) was never intended to provide legal protection to websites that unlawfully promote and facilitate prostitution and websites that facilitate traffickers in advertising the sale of unlawful sex acts with sex trafficking victims;

(2) websites that promote and facilitate prostitution have been reckless in allowing the sale of sex trafficking victims and have done nothing to prevent the trafficking of children and victims of force, fraud, and coercion; and

(3) clarification of such section is warranted to ensure that such section does not provide such protection to such websites.

SEC. 3. PROMOTION OF PROSTITUTION AND RECKLESS DISREGARD OF SEX TRAFFICKING.

(a) Promotion Of Prostitution.—Chapter 117 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 2421 the following:

“§ 2421A. Promotion or facilitation of prostitution and reckless disregard of sex trafficking

“(a) In General.—Whoever, using a facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, owns, manages, or operates an interactive computer service (as such term is defined in defined in section 230(f) the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f))), or conspires or attempts to do so, with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 10 years, or both.

“(b) Aggravated Violation.—Whoever, using a facility or means of interstate or foreign commerce or in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, owns, manages, or operates an interactive computer service (as such term is defined in defined in section 230(f) the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(f))), or conspires or attempts to do so, with the intent to promote or facilitate the prostitution of another person and—

“(1) promotes or facilitates the prostitution of 5 or more persons; or

“(2) acts in reckless disregard of the fact that such conduct contributed to sex trafficking, in violation of 1591(a),

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned for not more than 25 years, or both.

“(c) Civil Recovery.—Any person injured by reason of a violation of section 2421A(b) may recover damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees in an action before any appropriate United States district court.

“(d) Mandatory Restitution.—Notwithstanding sections 3663 or 3663A and in addition to any other civil or criminal penalties authorized by law, the court shall order restitution for any violation of subsection (b)(2). The scope and nature of such restitution shall be consistent with section 2327(b).

“(e) Affirmative Defense.—It shall be an affirmative defense to a charge of violating subsection (a), or subsection (b)(1) where the defendant proves, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the promotion or facilitation of prostitution is legal in the jurisdiction where the promotion or facilitation was targeted.”.

(b) Table Of Contents.—The table of contents for such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 2421 the following:

“2421A. Promotion or facilitation of prostitution and reckless disregard of sex trafficking.”.

SEC. 4. ENSURING ABILITY TO ENFORCE FEDERAL AND STATE CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAW RELATING TO SEX TRAFFICKING.

(a) In General.—Section 230(e) of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230(e)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(5) NO EFFECT ON SEX TRAFFICKING LAW.—Nothing in this section (other than subsection (c)(2)(A)) shall be construed to impair or limit—

“(A) any claim in a civil action brought under section 1595 of title 18, United States Code, if the conduct underlying the claim constitutes a violation of section 1591 of that title;

“(B) any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a violation of section 1591 of title 18, United States Code; or

“(C) any charge in a criminal prosecution brought under State law if the conduct underlying the charge would constitute a violation of section 2421A of title 18, United States Code, and promotion or facilitation of prostitution is illegal in the jurisdiction where the defendant’s promotion or facilitation of prostitution was targeted.”.

(b) Effective Date.—The amendments made by this section shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, and the amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply regardless of whether the conduct alleged occurred, or is alleged to have occurred, before, on, or after such date of enactment.

SEC. 5. ENSURING FEDERAL LIABILITY FOR PUBLISHING INFORMATION DESIGNED TO FACILITATE SEX TRAFFICKING OR OTHERWISE FACILITATING SEX TRAFFICKING.

Section 1591(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) by redesignating paragraphs (4) and (5) as paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and

(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following:

“(4) The term ‘participation in a venture’ means knowingly assisting, supporting, or facilitating a violation of subsection (a)(1).”.

SEC. 6. ACTIONS BY STATE ATTORNEYS GENERAL.

(a) In General.—Section 1595 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:

“(d) In any case in which the attorney general of a State has reason to believe that an interest of the residents of that State has been or is threatened or adversely affected by any person who violates section 1591, the attorney general of the State, as parens patriae, may bring a civil action against such person on behalf of the residents of the State in an appropriate district court of the United States to obtain appropriate relief.”.

(b) Technical And Conforming Amendments.—Section 1595 of title 18, United States Code, is amended—

(1) in subsection (b)(1), by striking “this section” and inserting “subsection (a)”; and

(2) in subsection (c), in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “this section” and inserting “subsection (a)”.

SEC. 7. SAVINGS CLAUSE.

Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be construed to limit or preempt any civil action or criminal prosecution under Federal law or State law (including State statutory law and State common law) filed before or after the day before the date of enactment of this Act that was not limited or preempted by section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 230), as such section was in effect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act.

SEC. 8. GAO STUDY.

On the date that is 3 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall conduct a study and submit to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives and of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, a report which includes the following:

(1) Information on each civil action brought pursuant to section 2421A(c) of title 18, United States Code, that resulted in an award of damages, including the amount claimed, the nature or description of the losses claimed to support the amount claimed, the losses proven, and the nature or description of the losses proven to support the amount awarded.

(2) Information on each civil action brought pursuant to section 2421A(c) of title 18, United States Code, that did not result in an award of damages, including—

(A) the amount claimed and the nature or description of the losses claimed to support the amount claimed; and

(B) whether the case was dismissed, and if the case was dismissed, information describing the reason for the dismissal.

(3) Information on each order of restitution entered pursuant to section 2421A(d) of title 18, United States Code, including—

(A) whether the defendant was a corporation or an individual;

(B) the amount requested by the Government and the justification for, and calculation of, the amount requested, if restitution was requested; and

(C) the amount ordered by the court and the justification for, and calculation of, the amount ordered.

(4) For each defendant convicted of violating section 2421A(b) of title 18, United States Code, that was not ordered to pay restitution—

(A) whether the defendant was a corporation or an individual;

(B) the amount requested by the Government, if restitution was requested; and

(C) information describing the reason that the court did not order restitution.

Attest:

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Attest:

Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate.

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DOJ: SESTA FOSTA Tool Used To Stop The Trafficking Of Tiny Humans

This is what SESTA-FOSTA.

They are going after the money behind the culture of the residuals of the peculiar institution, which is why I call it the trafficking of tiny humans.

Children are our most precious treasures and we must invest in the best interests for a profitable, future return, as a productive individual.

This is why the powers are with the U.S. Treasury.

They are doing the conjugal collaborative in building state and local partnerships for intelligence sharing.

We have the databases.

Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan Delivers Remarks at the 2018 National Law Enforcement Training on Child Exploitation

Atlanta, GA

 ~

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

Remarks as prepared for delivery

Good morning, everyone.   Thank you, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Alan Hanson, for that kind introduction – and more importantly, thanks to you and your team for putting together such a comprehensive and cutting-edge agenda for the next few days.  Alan’s Office of Justice Programs – under the leadership of Acting Associate Attorney General Jesse Panuccio – provides invaluable support to our mission to end child exploitation, whether by organizing a conference like this one or supporting the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force Program.  The ICAC Task Force Program, much like the Department’s Project Safe Childhood, marshal federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

It is remarkable to have so many dedicated prosecutors, law enforcement officers, and advocates gathered together in one place and in pursuit of the same shared mission.  As the Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, I have the privilege of overseeing approximately 700 attorneys who prosecute some of the most serious criminal threats facing our country.  Even among the many significant, groundbreaking matters handled in the Criminal Division, the incredible work of the dedicated prosecutors in our Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section – or “CEOS” – stands out.

"CEOS".  Very clever. ̣Chief Executive Officers.

At CEOS, we are proud to help lead the Department’s fight against child exploitation.  We dismantle the constantly evolving platforms that predators use to victimize children online, and we aggressively prosecute those responsible for devising these truly reprehensible ways to facilitate abuse.  We help develop policy and legislative solutions that will enhance our capacity to bring those offenders to justice.  We conduct innovative trainings across the country – at events like this week’s conference. 

And we spearhead and coordinate massive nationwide and international operations to disrupt and destroy child exploitation networks.  Given the diffusion, reach, and sophistication of the predators we target, these law enforcement operations are most successful only when we can rely on our close partnerships with the many federal, state, local, tribal, and non-governmental partners here today.

Operation Pacifier was a prime example.  In that case, we worked together to target the administrators and users of a highly sophisticated, global enterprise on the dark web called “Playpen,” where users exchanged tens of thousands of postings relating to the sexual abuse of children – even, revoltingly, children as young as infants and toddlers.  Operation Pacifier was a model of law enforcement ingenuity.  Agents identified and seized the “Playpen” server, which gave the FBI a very short window of time to deploy court-authorized techniques to identify site users.  Many of the investigations that were generated by the FBI were then pursued by state and local authorities.

The results of Operation Pacifier have been staggering – both in the United States and abroad.  Multiple administrators who ran this horrible enterprise have been convicted and have received lengthy prison sentences.  To date, Operation Pacifier has led to the arrests of at least 348 U.S.-based individuals and 548 individuals abroad, the prosecution of 25 U.S.-based child pornography producers and 51 U.S.-based hands-on abusers, and, most important of all, the rescue or identification of 55 children in the United States and 296 children abroad. 

In fact, over the past five years alone, our operations like Pacifier have collectively resulted in investigations into approximately 3,500 individuals and have generated more than 10,000 leads targeting foreign suspects.  As a result of our joint efforts, hundreds of child victims have been identified – children who no longer face the unspeakable abuse they once endured. 

But amid these tremendous achievements, formidable challenges remain.  Criminal actors are becoming more sophisticated each day.  New and emerging technologies have enabled an illicit, dark corner of cyberspace to flourish.  Readily available encryption and anonymizing networks provide a cheap and hidden mechanism to commit horrific crimes against children.  These technological advancements have ushered in a historic rise in the production of child pornography, in the number of images being shared online, and in the degree of violence we’ve seen from the child predators.  Sadly, the only statistic for which we’ve seen a decline has been in the age of the victims – with more and more offenders targeting infants and toddlers, probably in no small part because of their inability to disclose their abuse.

The internet has also provided criminals with convenient and profitable platforms to advertise children for sex.  But, as we recently demonstrated, they do so at their own risk.

In April, Backpage.com – the internet’s leading forum to advertise child prostitution – was seized and shut down, thanks to the collective action by CEOS and our federal and state partners.  The Backpage website was a criminal haven where sex traffickers marketed their young victims.  The Backpage takedown – and the contemporaneous arrests of individuals allegedly responsible for administering the site – struck a monumental blow against child sex traffickers. 

But other sites inevitably will seek to fill the void left by Backpage, and we must be vigilant in bringing those criminals to justice as well.  With the recent passage of the SESTA-FOSTA legislation, state and local prosecutors are now positioned to more effectively prosecute criminals that host online sex trafficking markets that victimize our children.

And it is not just children in America that we must protect.  Child sex tourism continues to thrive, with offenders in the United States able to communicate with their young victims across the globe in cybersex dens, without ever leaving their own homes.  We recently prosecuted a Virginia man named Carl Sara.  Sara paid tens of thousands of dollars to direct the sexual abuse of minors in the Philippines via webcams.  But Sara was not content with just abusing his young victims online.  He also traveled to the Philippines intending to have sex with an eight-year-old he had met online, and while in the Philippines, Sara in fact paid for sex with a minor. 

Less than a month ago, Daniel Stephen Johnson was convicted after trial in Oregon.  Johnson started an orphanage in Cambodia and held himself out as a selfless Christian missionary.  But he was far from one.  Over several years, Johnson repeatedly abused young children at that Cambodian orphanage.  His victims ranged in age from eight to 17.  At Johnson’s trial, we presented testimony from multiple victims who traveled to the United States to confront their abuser.  Johnson’s conviction was a true testament to the courage of those victims, as well as to our steadfast commitment to hold accountable child predators for their appalling crimes.

Abhorrent, unconscionable crimes like these serve as a stark reminder of the extraordinary importance of the work that you all do.  And they also serve as a reminder that protecting our children from sex predators demands a coordinated, strategic response.  We must work together, we must remain focused and engaged, and we must maintain the momentum we have built.  That is why this week’s conference – and the state-of-the-art training that will be conducted by CEOS, other federal and state prosecutors, investigators, and our non-government and industry partners – is so critical to our success. 

I’m told there are more than 1,400 of us who have come together this week.  One-thousand four-hundred dedicated women and men, committed to taking our efforts to prevent child exploitation to a new level.  What an incredibly impressive assembly of experienced, talented, and dedicated leaders in our fight.  Take advantage of that.  Over the next three days, you have the opportunity to learn not only from the presenters and panels, but also from one another.  Share ideas and best practices, identify and discuss trends, forge relationships.  Working together, we will only strengthen our collective efforts to eradicate child exploitation.

I end by saying, “thank you.”  Thank you for your commitment to the fight.  Thank you for all you do to save our children from unspeakable abuse.  Keep up the amazing work, and never forget the importance of what you are doing each and every day standing up for some of the most vulnerable members of our society.

Enjoy the conference. 

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TRUMP Celebrates The End Of Trafficking Tiny Humans Month With A Summit - Meet The Human Traffickers

For those of you who are just now starting to figure out what is going on, trafficking tiny humans is just another fancy way of saying slavery, because it is christian chattel law.

The summit is attended by all the biggest Public Private Partnershippers who traffic in tiny humans.

IT IS CALLED FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION.

Meet Maura Corrigan.

"Have You Seen Me": Michigan CPS Corrective Action Plan Is Really A Cover Up Of Trafficking Tiny Humans

This is the legacy of the man of whom no one wants to #sayhisname, but something tells me Trump may be the one who will finally say it.

Will Bill Boo Boo Barr stop promulgating the trafficking of tiny humans?

Wisconsin is not the greatest when it comes to providing services to "The Poors" (always said with clinched teeth) because poverty is considered abuse and neglect, where the mental health services absolutely sucks.

Meet Sam Bronwback.

Callista Gingrich is pushing Faith Based organizations, where she is talking about the Holy See, the administrators of international trafficking tiny humans.

Catholic Charities is your biggest trafficker of tiny humans.

Here is one example of a terrorist organization that profits from trafficking tiny humans and they launder money through Catholic Charities.

https://www.beaubidenfoundation.org/stewardsofchildren/

Federal prosecutors are talking about FOSTA and Facebook going to end-to-end encryption but law enforcement is going in through legislation to intervene in the largest repository of child porn.

There was discussion of tiny human trafficking from the Ukraine, and other Eastern European nations like Russia, which is what Magnitsky is all about.

Trump to create post to focus on solely human trafficking

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump plans to expand the White House domestic policy office by appointing an individual to focus exclusively on combating human trafficking, The Associated Press has learned.

Trump is expected to create the position by executive order Friday after he addresses a human trafficking summit at the White House.

A candidate has yet to be identified for the new post on the Domestic Policy Council, according to a White House official, who added that Trump wants to fill the slot quickly with someone detailed from another government agency. The White House official was not authorized to discuss the president’s plans before his Friday announcement and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Trump has sought to elevate human trafficking since taking office by speaking publicly about the issue and inviting reporters into his White House meetings with victims and anti-trafficking advocates.

A partner in the effort is Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter and senior adviser. During a visit to Atlanta this month, she compared trafficking to “modern-day slavery” and said the White House is committed to ending it.

Ivanka Trump is also scheduled to speak at Friday’s summit. She said Thursday in a statement to the AP that the coming executive order will provide additional resources to combat human trafficking.

“From funding for prevention education programs, to enhanced intelligence-level coordination, to fighting child pornography, to a new full-time position within his White House’s Domestic Policy Council, the president is using all tools at his disposal to ensure that the end of modern-day slavery becomes a reality.”

Under the executive order, according to the White House official, the State Department will be tasked with creating a website to serve as a clearinghouse where law enforcement officials, victims, advocates and others can get information on government-wide efforts to combat human trafficking.

Federal departments and agencies will also be asked to propose legislative and executive actions to help law enforcement officials track the sharing - in real time - of child sexual abuse material on the internet.

The Justice and Homeland Security departments will also be directed to work with the Education Department to fund prevention education programs for the nation’s schools.

Some groups criticized the summit. Other groups that have been invited said they will not attend.

Eric Schwartz, president of Refugees International, said in a statement that the Trump administration has pursued policies that endanger trafficking victims by chipping away at their legal protections. Schwartz cited an increase in the denial rate for special visas that allow trafficking victims to legalize their status, access services and seek punishment for their abusers.

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DOJ: U.S. Attorney’s Office Shuts Down Website Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking, Indicts Owner

When this new site made the statement that it was going to "pick up where Backpage left off" would that include money laundering into political campaigns, also?

Just asking.

The website CityXGuide.com — a leading source of online advertisements for prostitution and sex trafficking that users described as “taking over from where Backpage left off” — has been seized and its owner charged in a 28-count federal indictment, announced United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.

Wilhan Martono, 46, was indicted on June 2 on one count of promotion of prostitution and reckless disregard of sex trafficking, one count of interstate racketeering conspiracy (facilitating prostitution), nine counts of interstate transportation in aid of racketeering (facilitating prostitution), and 17 counts of money laundering.  He was arrested on June 17 in Fremont, California by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Secret Service.

Shortly after the defendant’s arrest, CityXGuide was replaced with a splash page notifying users that the website had been seized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security pursuant to a warrant.

According to the indictment, Mr. Martono allegedly netted more than $21 million off a suite of illicit websites promoting prostitution and sex trafficking.  He allegedly registered the domain names for several of the sites just one day after the FBI shut down Backpage.com, then the internet’s leading source of prostitution and sex trafficking advertisements.

Despite Terms of Use purportedly forbidding the advertisement of illegal sexual services, CityXGuide and its affiliated websites (Backpage.co, CAPleasures.com, and BodyRubShop.com, among others) allegedly allowed brothels, pimps, and prostitutes to post hundreds of thousands of advertisements for sexual services, which users could then filter by geography and preference. 

In correspondence with Mr. Martono, one of his CityXGuide advertisers noted that the website was “taking over from where Backpage left off.”

CityXGuide and its companion websites allegedly allowed advertisers to select from a pre-populated list of “intimate activities,” then add nude photographs, descriptions, work hours, methods of payment, and contact information for the women being advertised.  In order to secure premium placement, the websites offered paid “upgrades,” which could be purchased in Bitcoin or in exchange for gift cards from Walmart, Best Buy, Lowe’s, Amazon, and other retailers.  Mr. Martono allegedly used CardCash, a third party gift card reseller, to exchange these gift cards for U.S. currency.

Mr. Martono allegedly took steps to conceal his online activity by routing website traffic through an IP address in Europe, using a VPN to mask his IP address while conducting CardCash transactions, and funneling his proceeds through a network of business and personal bank accounts.  (At the time of Mr. Martono’s arrest, the Department of Homeland Security seized millions of dollars from accounts controlled by Mr. Martono.)

CityXGuide, which served clients across the globe, included a list of 14 “Favorite Cities,” including Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and Boston. 

Law enforcement has identified numerous minor victims in CityXGuide advertisements, including a 13-year-old Jane Doe recovered in North Texas in November 2019.

“As soon as DOJ shut down one despicable site, another popped up to take its place,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Nealy Cox. “Like the owners of Backpage, this defendant made millions facilitating the online exploitation of women and children. The Justice Department will not rest until these sites are eliminated and their owners held accountable for their crimes.”

“This case is a harsh reminder of the ruthlessness of human traffickers and lengths to which they go, including victimizing women and children, to make a profit,” said Ryan L. Spradlin, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office. “HSI maintains its unwavering commitment to investigate these heinous crimes, rescue victims, and prosecute the offenders to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The Secret Service remains committed to investigating and pursuing those responsible for cyber-enabled financial crimes.  Although the explosive expansion of the cyber domain has forced us to develop innovative ways of conducting these types of investigations, our proven model remains the same,” said Secret Service Special Agent in Charge of the Dallas Field Office William Smarr, adding, “This investigation is an excellent example of a partnership between local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies working together to successfully prosecute numerous violations of federal statutes.  There are real innocent victims due to these crimes.  The Secret Service also thanks the Northern District of Texas United States Attorney’s Office for their aggressive support.”  

“I’m proud of our team who, with our federal partners, relentlessly pursued this investigation for more than a year. Today, we have made a significant impact on one of the world’s largest digital marketplaces for prostitution and sex trafficking. We know many lives will be saved through this joint effort,” said Michael C. Miller, Chief of Police for the Colleyville Police Department.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence.  Like all defendants, Mr. Martono is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 25 years in federal prison. 

Mr. Martono was charged in part under FOSTA, a law passed in the wake of the Backpage scandal in April 2018 that allows the federal government to prosecute websites that facilitate sex trafficking.

The North Texas Trafficking Task Force conducted the investigation, led by Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office, the United States Secret Service, and the Colleyville Police Department, with assistance from HSI’s El Paso and San Jose Field Offices as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety.  Assistant United States Attorneys Sid Mody, Rebekah Ricketts, and John de la Garza are prosecuting the case.

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