GOP Donor Sued in Sex-Trafficking Scheme

A 30-year-old GOP donor is being sued by an alleged victim who says the donor lured her into having sex with him when she was 16, the Washington Post reports. A month ago, federal agents arrested Anton “Tony” Lazzaro on charges that he recruited minors for sex; also arrested was 19-year-old University of St. Thomas student Gisela Castro Medina, whom a grand jury indictment alleges trafficked the minors with Lazzaro. But Medina has since told a different story, claiming in a lawsuit that Lazzaro pressured her to have sex with him. Prosecutors, however, say Lazzaro conspired with Medina to recruit and solicit sex from six minors, with the abuse allegedly occurring in 2020.

According to Medina’s lawsuit, Lazzaro met Medina on a “sugar dating” website where wealthy people offer younger people money and gifts in exchange for a relationship. After Lazzaro provided Medina with financial support, she began helping him find underage women for sex. According to the lawsuit, Medina began grooming the 16-year-old plaintiff and introduced her to Lazzaro, whom Medina depicted as a “powerful, prominent, and wealthy businessman and political figure.” In July, a lawyer representing Lazzaro contacted the alleged victim’s father, telling him that his daughter was attempting to “defame” Lazzaro on social media and offered the family $1,000 to stay quiet.