Prosecutors drop charges against ‘Rentboy’ staff as CEO bids for plea deal
Staff who ran a gay escort site will not face charges for ‘promoting prostitution’ after a raid last year.
Six people working for Rentboy.com were arrested during a police raid last year, alongside CEO Jeffrey Hurant.
The company boasted over ten thousand members in 2,100 cities across the world – until its servers were seized, and bank accounts containing millions of dollars were frozen.
US federal prosecutors this week dismissed the charges against the six employees, who had been faced charges for ‘promoting prostitution’,
Hurant, still facing charges, has already pleaded not guilty to charges of promoting prostitution and money laundering.
According to New York Daily News, he is thought to be in plea negotiations.
Hurant previously opened up about the “devastating” raid in a bid to raise legal defence funds.
He wrote: “I realize that I have been very quiet on Facebook since my arrest on August 25th. I have been advised by legal counsel not to make any public statements about the case. As any of you who know me can guess, this hasn’t been easy for me.
“This ordeal has been devastating for me, my family, my ex-employees and all the people my company has helped through the years. I am very grateful for all the support I have gotten from friends far and wide throughout the crisis. I count my blessings every day.
“Even though I have not been proven guilty of committing any crime, the government has seized all the assets that I can use to defend myself, so I am here asking for your financial help to insure that this case has the best legal minds working on it.”
