FARGO (KFGO) - Prosecutors in the Twin Cities have charged four Chinese nationals in connection with a prostitution ring that stretched into 29 states, including the Fargo-Moorhead area.
Washington County Attorney Pete Orput tells KFGO News that the operation forced women from China and Korea to have sex with men across the country. Orput says it's one of the most sophisticated trafficking rings he's ever seen.
“They’ve got ads running in several different areas, but primarily Minnesota, along with Fargo and the Oil Patch” Orput said. “It looked like the Uber of sex trafficking” according to Orput. “I’m not saying that to be funny. All you have to do is just pull out your phone, access the ‘Backpage adult finder’ and start texting one of the ads.”
Orput says the women who were used as prostitutes do not speak English. He says they were repeatedly robbed, beaten, raped, kept isolated and forced to work up to 14 hours a day.
Charges against the four defendants include sex trafficking, promoting prostitution and concealing criminal proceeds.
Orput says the investigation has been ongoing for about three months.