A former Minnesota prosecutor has been arrested for allegedly helping to run a sex trafficking operation. Andrea Sampson, who served as an assistant attorney in Anoka County, faces 26 felony charges related to promoting prostitution and receiving profits from prostitution.

At least 13 women have been identified by authorities as victims of the operation, which allegedly spanned Minneapolis, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, and St. Louis Park over a period of at least five years. According to court documents, Sampson facilitated the ring by providing locations for commercial sex transactions and creating shell companies to conceal or funnel funds.

Victims were recruited online, scheduled for appointments, and subjected to sexual assault, as well as being provided with alcohol and drugs and having cameras present at some locations. The criminal complaint details that Sampson operated in a romantic relationship with 57-year-old Frank Reeves, the alleged ringleader, along with two other women.

Law enforcement reports that Reeves and one of the women were actively recruiting victims and setting transaction rates while the third woman ran the website “Minnesota Erotica Personals” to post victims for commercial sex transactions. Sampson created shell companies to handle the operation’s finances, and at least two Minneapolis properties owned by her were used as sites where photographs of victims were taken and transactions occurred.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has been investigating the case since 2021, charging Sampson and three others in connection with the ring.