Tag Archives: Michael James Pratt

Michael Pratt, one of FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives Captured in Spain

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Michael James Pratt, one of the FBI’s ten most wanted fugitives was arrested last week by Spanish authorities, said the agency. Pratt has been a fugitive since 2019 and was named to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List earlier this year.

Pratt is charged in a 19-count indictment with sex trafficking, production of child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments in connection with the operation of the GirlsDoPorn adult website.

Pratt was arrested by Spanish National Police on December 21, 2022, in Madrid, Spain, pursuant to an Interpol Red Notice. A Red Notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action. Pratt is being held in Spain pending extradition.

“The capture of Michael Pratt is an example of how the FBI will pursue justice beyond U.S. borders—you can run but you can’t hide,” said Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Stacey Moy of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Thank you to our determined FBI San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force and to our federal and international partners for their commitment to making sure that Michael Pratt is brought to justice.”

SAC Moy would like to thank the Spanish National Police, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for their coordination in the arrest of Michael Pratt, and the public for their assistance in this investigation.

Pratt was the 529th person to be placed on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list, which was established in 1950. Additional information concerning Pratt and the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives can be found by visiting the FBI’s website at fbi.gov/topten.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

Any additional victims of the alleged crime are encouraged to call the FBI National Threat Operations Center at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Who’s Michael James Pratt? One of FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List

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The owner and operator of a pornography production company, who is charged with sex trafficking and production of child pornography, now becomes one of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list of FBI and there is a reward of $100,000.

Michael James Pratt and his co-conspirators allegedly used internet advertisements, along with fake websites and email addresses, to recruit young women for modeling jobs. Only after the victims responded to the advertisements would Pratt and others disclose that they were actually seeking women for pornographic video shoots, according to charging documents.

Investigators say the women were promised that the videos were for a private collector overseas and that they would remain anonymous. Pratt and his partners allegedly hired other young women to falsely reassure reluctant participants that their images would never appear online.

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of Michael James Pratt.

But the videos were indeed posted online, and Pratt’s pornography websites, GirlsDoPorn and GirlsDoToys, made millions of dollars in revenue from the videos between approximately 2012 and 2019.

“Pratt has victimized hundreds of young women through the course of this conspiracy,” said Supervisory Special Agent Renee Green with the FBI’s San Diego Field Office. Pratt has ties to or may visit New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Croatia, and France.One victim was under the age of 18 during her encounter with Pratt, according to court documents and investigators. Other victims reported being forced into sexual acts to which they did not consent, as well as being threatened and intimidated by Pratt and his partners when they learned their videos were posted to his websites and wanted them removed.

Michael James Pratt

 

Several of Pratt’s co-conspirators have faced justice for their roles in the scheme. The websites’ cameraman and its bookkeeper each pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in 2021. One of the websites’ lead recruiters and producers, Ruben Garcia, of San Diego, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the trafficking conspiracy. 

Pratt’s alleged co-owner, Matthew Isaac Wolfe, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion. Wolfe is scheduled to be sentenced in October 2022. Pratt is the only major player in the conspiracy who is still at large.

Pratt is 6 feet tall and weighs about 200 pounds. He has brown hair and hazel eyes, and speaks with the accent of his native New Zealand. In addition to his connection to New Zealand, Pratt has ties to Australia and the financial means to travel the world.

“We feel that there are people out there who have been helping Michael Pratt to hide,” Green said. “He has probably promised them the world—giving them money, buying them gifts in return for providing him a safe haven.” Green encouraged anyone who may be aiding Pratt to consider their own best interests—along with the interests of the many victims in this case—and come forward with information.

[To provide a tip or information about the whereabouts of Michael James Pratt, contact your local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate. You can also call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov.]