The feds have ramped up their search for Michael Pratt, a co-owner of adult entertainment company GirlsDoPorn.
According to the FBI, the 39-year-old New Zealand national has been added to the agency’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. A federal arrest warrant was issued for Pratt in 2019, after he and his associates were accused of conspiring “to recruit young adult women and minor girls to engage in commercial sex acts by force, fraud, and coercion.” He allegedly racked in $17 million for the scheme, which took place between 2012 to October 2019.
Pratt’s co-defendants were reportedly arrested three years ago. They include GirlsDoPorn cameraman Theodore Wilfred Gyi and bookkeeper Valorie Moser; they each pleaded guilty to sex crime charges in 2021, and are expected to be sentenced early next month. The website’s co-founder Matthew Isaac Wolfe also pleaded guilty sex trafficking charges back in July, admitting to coercing about 100 women—ages 18 to 23—into appearing in pornographic videos. His sentencing hearing is set for Oct. 31.
In June 2021, GirlsDoPorn producer Ruben Garcia received 20 years behind bars for his involvement in the alleged sex trafficking scheme. The sentencing was announced nearly six months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion.
“This was a despicable crime that has devastated its victims,” U.S. Attorney Randy Grossman said in a statement. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to combating all forms of sex trafficking. Today’s announcement is yet another important step in our commitment to bring Michael Pratt back to San Diego to face these charges and to seek justice for the victims of these crimes.”
The FBI is now offering $100,000 for any information leading to Pratt’s arrest; the agency previously offered a $10,000 reward.
“Locating Pratt is a high priority for the FBI in order to stop him from victimizing anyone else,” said Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy of the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. “Michael James Pratt preyed on young women and girls and allegedly coerced or forced them through threats and fraud to participate in pornographic videos. He engages in dangerous and deceptive practices wherever he goes, and we will not waiver until justice is served.”
