Ran Prostitution Service Disguised as Escort Service
A Washington woman was sentenced today to two years in prison after pleading guilty to laundering the proceeds of crime derived from running an organized prostitution service disguised as an escort service at a tribal casino. Cheryl Larson pleaded guilty to prostitution, money laundering and possession of illegal drugs.
The services were advertised on the Internet under various names such as ‘Gents For Rent’, ‘A Extra Help’, ‘AA Always Available’, and ‘Cheryl’s Class.’
The business did not provide escort services, rather it provided prostitutes who met customers at hotels around Washington. The operation was run from a business office and a casino in the area.
Larson met the prostitutes at the casinos to give them instructions on their next “date” and to collect from them the cash after each encounter with a client.
The escorts, or prostitutes in this case, were given a cut of the proceeds of crime from Ms. Larson at the casinos. Ms. Larson is also believed to have marketed the prostitutes at the casino to gamblers and was caught on video surveillance apparently pimping them out with various photos that she passed around to entice potential clients.
In order to camouflage the proceeds of crime, Larson routinely and systematically gambled at local casinos. While there, she engaged in minimal play at slot machines and cashed out. She washed approximately US$3 million in cash from the prostitution activities at one casinos over a 4 year period.