Authorities carried out a major prostitution sting targeting a website in Manhattan Tuesday morning, raiding the company headquarters and arresting seven people accused of selling sex and laundering money.
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CEO Jeffrey Hurant and his employees could face up to five years in prison and fines of a quarter of a million dollars each if convicted. His profile says he got a bachelor’s degree from New York University. The affidavit also claims that RentBoy accrued $10 million in revenue between 2010 and 2015.
Along with Hurant, authorities arrested six employees of Rentboy.com or its parent company, Easy Rent Systems Inc, for conspiring to violate the U.S. Travel Act, which is applicable to crimes committed through interstate transit.
Rentboy.com, whose slogan is “the world’s destination to meet the ideal male escort or masseur”, has been operating since 1997 and boasts a clientele of 10,500 men in 2,100 cities around the world.
Among those arrested was Jeffrey Hurant, a 50-year-old local entrepreneur whose LinkedIn page says he started Easyrent in 1996.
The defendants, all New York residents, were arrested early Tuesday and were expected to appear in court later in the day.
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The site, which was taken offline sometime Tuesday afternoon, hosts thousands of paid ads offering “companionship”, but prosecutors allege the site is actually pushing prostitution. “As alleged, Rentboy.com attempted to present a veneer of legality, when in fact this internet brothel made millions of dollars from the promotion of illegal prostitution”, said acting U.S. Attorney Kelly Currie. The Justice Department said subscribers were charged a minimum $59.95 per month to advertise on the site, which include prices and other descriptions of services.
