A former Anoka County prosecutor has been arrested on multiple felony counts related to an alleged sex trafficking operation that victimized at least 13 women, according to court documents.
Andrea Sampson, who served as an assistant attorney for Anoka County, is charged with 26 felonies including promoting prostitution and receiving profits from such activities. Investigators allege she facilitated the operation by providing locations for commercial sex transactions and creating shell companies to conceal or divert funds.
The criminal complaint details that the trafficking ring operated in Minneapolis, Bloomington, Eden Prairie, and St. Louis Park. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating the case in 2021, with the operation reportedly spanning at least five years.
The documents state that 13 women, all aged 18 or older, were victimized by Sampson and three other individuals. Law enforcement reports indicate that victims were recruited online, scheduled for commercial sex transactions, and some were sexually assaulted, provided alcohol and drugs, and had cameras used at certain locations.
Sampson is alleged to have been in a romantic relationship with 57-year-old Frank Reeves, described as the ringleader of the operation. The criminal complaint indicates that Reeves and a 30-year-old woman worked together to recruit victims online, post commercial sex advertisements, set transaction rates, and collect profits from the victims.
The 36-year-old woman operated the website “Minnesota Erotica Personals,” where women were listed for commercial sex transactions. She, along with the 30-year-old woman and Reeves, collected money from the victims posted on the site.
Sampson is further accused of creating and maintaining shell companies to hide and funnel the operation’s proceeds. At least two Minneapolis properties owned by Sampson were identified as sites where photographs of victims were taken for advertisements and where transactions occurred.
The investigation, which included analysis of phone records and journal entries, reveals that Sampson and the other two women believed they were in a romantic or sexual relationship with Reeves during their involvement in the trafficking operation.
