Crime Fix with Angenette Levy - Prosecutor, Pimp Ran Sex Ring For Years: Cops

Episode Date: August 19, 2026

A now former prosecutor faces 26 felony charges after state agents in Minnesota said she ran a sex trafficking ring involving 13 victims for years. Andrea Leigh Sampson, 35, worked in the civil division of the Anoka County Attorney's Office until March 2026. Prior to that date, state agents say Sampson was using her legal expertise to set up shell companies and locations for sexual trysts. Three others face charges including Frank Reeves, who the victims said was the pimp. Law&Crime's Angenette Levy goes through the allegations in this episode of Crime Fix — a daily show covering the biggest stories in crime.Host:Angenette Levy  https://twitter.com/Angenette5Guest:Joe Tamburino https://x.com/tamburino_joeCRIME FIX PRODUCTION:Head of Social Media, YouTube - Bobby SzokeSocial Media Management - Vanessa BeinVideo Editing - Van DinhGuest Booking - Alyssa Fisher & Diane KayeSTAY UP-TO-DATE WITH THE LAW&CRIME NETWORK:Watch Law&Crime Network on YouTubeTV: https://bit.ly/3td2e3yWhere To Watch Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3akxLK5Sign Up For Law&Crime's Daily Newsletter: https://bit.ly/LawandCrimeNewsletterRead Fascinating Articles From Law&Crime Network: https://bit.ly/3td2IqoLAW&CRIME NETWORK SOCIAL MEDIA:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawandcrime/Twitter: https://twitter.com/LawCrimeNetworkFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/lawandcrimeTwitch: https://www.twitch.tv/lawandcrimenetworkTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lawandcrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Each of these four individuals played a significant role in the operation of this sex trafficking scheme and caused significant harm to the 13 victims identified in this complaint, as well as others who were not named. A former prosecutor and an alleged pimp accused of making millions off selling sex, running a sex trafficking ring with the help of others. I go through the claims and why the case is far from over. I'm Annette Levy, and this is Crime Fix. Prosecutors take an oath to uphold the Constitution to administer justice. And part of what's implied in that oath, a prosecutor will follow the law and not break it.

But a prosecutor in the greater Minneapolis area is accused of using her position as a cloak of sorts, a day job which may have hidden for years in illicit business she's now accused of running. That business, a sex trafficking ring that the prosecutor in Hennepin County, Minnesota, says victimized at least 13 people, maybe more. The prosecutor accused of breaking the law is this woman, Andrea Lee Sampson. She's 35 years old. Until March of 26, Andrea's LinkedIn said she worked as a prosecutor at the Anoka County Attorney's Office. Andrea Sampson worked in the family law and civil division of that office until she was placed on leave on February. 25th, and then on March 9th, she was fired. Why, you might ask? She'd worked there since 2017. It turns out Andrea Simpson was being investigated for breaking the law. On August 13th,

she and three other people were taken into custody and charged with 26 felonies related to sex work. Here's Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty. On Thursday, August 13th, Hennepin County prosecutors filed charges under seal against four individuals for operating a sprawling sex trafficking scheme in Hennepin County. All four individuals were taken into custody without incident on Friday. I want to thank the BCA for their excellent work, their persistence, and constant, consistent collaboration in developing these investigations alongside our prosecutors. Tara Ferguson Lopez has been the lead prosecutor on this case.

The four individuals who've been charged are Frank Reeves, Victoria Cominash, Catherine Thomes, and Andrea Sampson. Mr. Reeves, Ms. Cominash, Ms. Tombs, and Ms. Sampson each face 13 counts of promoting prostitution of an individual, and 13 counts of receiving profits from prostitution. 26 counts each. 104 counts total. Now if you're wondering what each person is accused of doing, the criminal complaint says each person had a distinct role in this organization. State agents say Frank Reeves, he was the pimp, and Victoria Komenash assisted him.

Agents say Catherine Thames owned the website where the women advertised in a former prosecutor Andrea Simpson took care of the business end of things with her legal background. The agents wrote, Law enforcement learned, through their investigation, that defendant Reeves and defendant Kalmanash are actively involved in recruiting and posting commercial sex advertisements for numerous women, have set the rates for appointments for the commercial sex transactions involving numerous women, have procured apartments and other locations in which the commercial sex transactions occur, have collected and received profits from such commercial sex transactions

of various women and have taken other steps in communicating and operating the sex trafficking organization itself. Defendant Tombs owns and operates the online commercial sex website Minnesota Erotica Personals on which the various women have been posted for commercial sex transactions. Tomes in conjunction with Reeves and Comanash collect money from the victims posted on this website at the time of the initial commercial sex ad posting and for every posting bump that occurs. Defendant Sampson, formerly working as an attorney, was found to have secured and provided locations for the commercial sex transactions to occur, as well as assisted in creating and maintaining LLCs, appearing to be various shell companies to assist the operation

in hiding slash funneling the profits from the sex trafficking organization. Wow. According to the complaint, the sex trafficking ring had been operating since 2020. The level of sophistication and victimization for profit is disturbing. And these charges represent the beginning of a process to hold these four individuals accountable. I want to say when we're talking about commercial sex trafficking, that kind of thing, it really kind of, I think, minimizes what happened in the harm that was done here. No one wants to be involved in a sex trafficking ring. It is something that happens to you.

The 13 victims and others are victims and suffered great harm from being forced to be in the sex trafficking ring. And so I want to recognize the courage of the victims to work with the BCA and our office to help prosecute these cases. We recognize the trust you have placed in us to hold these defendants accountable. The criminal complaint outlines what the 13 victims told agents about their experience, with the ring. The complaint states, Victim One, who advised officers that she worked providing commercial sex for the organization for the past several years, both at an apartment on Main Street in Minneapolis, Hennepin County, and previously at an address on Walker Street in St. Louis Park, Hennepin County.

Victim One advised that defendant Comanash helped create and post her commercial sex ads on Minnesotaerotica.com, for which she has to pay $6 per posting, coordinates her commercial sex dates and collects money from her, which is a minimum of $100 per customer. Victim One was present at an address known to be used for commercial sex by this organization and where law enforcement executed a search warrant on 225 of 2026. In addition to evidence of commercial sex inside the apartment, officers located white envelopes labeled with dates and victim one's initials, which contained cash totaling $650 at the time of the one. warrant execution. Another victim echoed the story about leaving cash in a white envelope. An agent wrote,

Victim 3, who advised officers that she worked providing commercial sex for the organization from May to November 2025 at an apartment in Minneapolis. Victim 3 advised that she had to pay $100 per customer and would leave it in a white envelope with her initials and the date at the apartment. victim three stated that she had been recruited by and communicated with defendant Komenash who she believed was in charge. There are also dark, terrifying, terrifying allegations that Frank Reeves, the accused pimp, sexually assaulted at least one alleged victim. The complaint states, victim four, who advised officers that she worked providing commercial

sex for the organization from 2020 through November 2025. She stated that defendant Cominash had taken the initial photos of her and posted her to Minnesota Erotica, for which she had to pay a fee per posting. Victim 4 stated that she had to put a minimum of $100 per customer into a white envelope with her initials and date on it, which would be later collected by defendant Comanash and that Comanash did most of the scheduling. Victim 4 stated that Defendant Reeves told the girls he was, was there to quote, look out for them, but that he often had sex with the girls and sexually assaulted one of them at an apartment in Bloomington. Defendant Cominash was there at the time

and blocked other girls from going into the room where the assault was occurring. So victim four is quoted as saying that Frank Reeves claimed he was there to look out for the girls, but instead he often had sex with them and sexually assaulted one of them and that Comanash stopped a woman from trying to stop a sexual assault. The complaint continues. Victim Seven, who advised officers that she worked providing commercial sex for the organization from approximately 2019 through October 2025, Victim Seven stated that defendant Comanash handled taking her photos and training her on how to do the job.

She stated that she was able to keep half the money she earned and the rest went to the organization in a white envelope with her initials. She stated that she would be posted on Minnesota Erotica, subject to fees she had to pay, and she primarily worked out of an apartment in St. Louis Park and another apartment off of Highway 100. Victim 7 advised that if a girl got in trouble for something, defendant Reeves would show up and take the girl into a room, but she was not aware what would happen therein. She also stated that if a buyer reached out to the ad, a scheduler would put it on the girl's calendar. Now, Victim 8 made it sound like there was an effort to make it appear that this organization was a legitimate business. The complaint states, victim 8, who advised

officers that she worked providing commercial sex for the organization from April 22 through late 23. She advised that Defendant Reeves and Cominash ran the organization and the website and that Cominash took her pictures and showed her what to do. Victim 8 confirmed that she was posted on Minnesota Erotica, that a scheduler added the dates to her calendar, and that approximately 50 to 60 percent of the money she made went back to the organization. She stated that she had to put the money into an envelope with her name, date, and amount, and that Cominash usually collected it. Victim 8 stated that the girls worked out of at least six different locations and they moved often. Victim 8 stated that Reeves recruited girls and bought alcohol and cocaine for the girls.

She was also provided fake pay stubs from the organization. In all, Reeves, Comanash, Tones, and Samson faced 13 counts of promoting prostitution, and 13 counts of receiving profits from prostitution. And the investigation, it's far from over. There may also be a tie to an alleged Medicaid fraud scheme in Minnesota. But this represents a culmination of a multi-year investigation into these defendants that is continuing to be active and ongoing to continue to uncover additional criminal activity potentially of the work that they've done.

I want to thank the victims in this case for their courage and bring. in the case coming forward. Coming forward on this with individuals that exploited them on an ongoing basis, threaten them at different times, takes true bravery and courage, and we're thankful that we can hold these individuals accountable so that that cannot continue

to cause this harm in our communities each and every day. As you've seen here, this was a complicated scheme. This was a scheme that was designed not only to exploit the victims in these cases, take advantage of them, but also structured to hide the money in the proceeds that was done with the scheme multiple individuals, including building out shell companies, as is alleged in the complaint. And so we will continue investigating this case and working together with the county attorney's

office to ensure that justice is done. And we're happy to take any questions that you might have. I want to bring in Joe Tamborino. He is a criminal defense attorney who practices in Minnesota also practices in Wisconsin sometimes. But Joe, I know you live in the greater Minneapolis area. and this has been in the news a lot. Yes, it has been. And thanks for having me on, Ingenet. It's been all over the news because what's so striking about it

is you have these kinds of very serious charges, 26 counts involving someone who was a prosecutor. M was a prosecutor, allegedly, at the time that this was going on for the most part. So it's very striking case. And this has been going on for quite some time. I mean, this has been going on for many, many years. So according to the complaint, they were able to fly under the radar for several years as they were allegedly conducting this sex trafficking operation.

That's correct. You know, in many of these types of conspiracies, whether you have a sex trafficking operation, drug operation, smuggling of migrants, all types of things like that, which require a number of people to try to pull off the crime. you know, many times it's only a matter of time before the whole organization is found out. Because sooner or later, when you deal with so many people, somebody is going to start talking. Some type of crack will happen. And that's basically what happened in this case. Well, and these victims, according to the complaint, the victims were mistreated. You know, very, very seldom do you see an operation like this where the victims,

the victims are treated well. The sex workers are treated well. I mean, there's one victim in here who, you know, talks about another victim being sexually assaulted and other women are trying to come to her rescue and they can't. That's right. And all of that, if it's proven in court, we'll have a factor in sentencing. You see, in most of these charges, even though you read them and it says up to 20 years in prison. And that's correct. That's the maximum that you could get. But you have to understand that there's also what's called the Minnesota sentencing guidelines. And in most of these charges, the sentencing guidelines call for a minimum of four years in prison. So when you start adding up these counts, if they're convicted of multiple counts over multiple dates, you could easily get up to 20

years. Let's talk about each person's alleged role in this. First of all, we have Frank Reeves. there's no other way to put it he was the pimp he he's the pimp he's getting the girls according to the complaint drunk he is recruiting them he is the person who in this one instance sexually assaulted one of the sex workers so he's really i guess at the top of the scheme as far as the prosecutor is concerned that's the way that the prosecution has charged it and you know again, if this is all proven in court, if that's what happens, that's what he would be considered. In many of these types of conspiracy cases, again, whether it's sex trafficking or drugs, anything along those lines, there usually are different roles for the co-conspirators to play.

You know, like in a drug case, you might have the so-called kingpin, the one who's really behind this and organizing it. Then you might have someone who's called the mule, who's traveling with the drugs. you might have the seller who's selling the drugs. So everyone plays a role. It's part of the machine. And then we have Cominash. She was assisting, it looks like,

according to the prosecution and the BCA agents in recruiting the women and then posting their services on the Minnesota Erotica website. So we have a woman also involved in this. Is it common? and your experience to have, you know, a male pimp, the kingpin, so to speak. But then you have a woman to kind of offer like a softer, a softer side. Like, oh, this will be great.

You know, I mean, is that common? Is that why we would have maybe a woman involved in the recruitment as well? You do see it in prostitution cases, specifically prostitution rings. I've worked on prosecution cases, drug conspiracies. And, you know, the bottom line for many of these types of situations is making money. So whether you are a man or a woman, if you're part of the conspiracy, you want to make money. And so in this case, what's alleged is what you're saying, which is this is a person who is giving supposedly a softer touch to try to recruit women. And then we have Andrea Sampson, the prosecutor, the legitimate, you know, face of whatever.

I'm sure she's not the face of the organization, of course. But she brings some legitimacy to this organization because she has a law degree. She's working at a prosecutor's office. Granted, she's working in the civil division, but she's able to set up, according to what's in the complaint, LLCs. She secures these locations for, you know, the dates and things like that. So she's kind of like doing the paperwork. Well, that's what's striking about this. If this is what's proven in court, it's something that, you know, I've never seen, which is someone who's actually working in the prosecutor's office. And it doesn't matter if you're doing civil or criminal or juvenile or civil commitments. You're still working for the county attorney's office. Now, in Minnesota, we call them county attorneys through much of the country. They're called district attorneys. But they're the same. They are.

the attorney's office for the entire county. And Anoka County is a pretty big county. It has over 400,000 people. It borders Hennepin County, which has approximately 1.2 million people. So it's a substantial county. It's a substantial office. There are a number of people working in that office. So, you know, you just rarely, if ever, see something like this where you have the allegation of some extremely serious crimes right alongside with someone who supposedly, at the time was working in the prosecutor's office. If you are the elected prosecutor in Onoka County and you get a call from BCA and they say, hey, guess what?

We're investigating a sex trafficking operation and one of your prosecutors, one of your assistance is involved. I just can't, they put her on leave in February and then they fire her in March. If you get that phone call, Joe. Are you just like, does your blood pressure just go through the roof? I mean, what is your reaction if you're in that position and you get that call? Well, I would imagine there's several reactions. First, you'd be flabbergasted. You would not believe it. I mean, how could something like that happen? These are attorneys. These are people who've gone to law school, know the rules of ethics, no procedure, know the law. And you've hired them, which means you

did a screening of them. So you would be completely shocked, I would think, number one. Number two, you would think, well, how did this get by my office? I mean, how did nobody notice anything? I mean, was she using computers in the office? Was she using office resources? Anything like that. So you would think, well, how did nobody notice? I mean, you'd want to check your own inner workings of how the office works. And then lastly, you would also consider all of the victims in the case, because you're the chief prosecutor. Your number one job is to seek justice for victims who are involved in cases in your county. You represent the people of your county.

So, yes, you would be also horrified about the victims. Horrified about the victims. And then you have somebody who went to law school, got a law degree, took an oath to uphold the Constitution, and is working in a position where they should be looking out for victims, and they're accused of doing anything but. Well, that's correct. I mean, you know, what these accusations are all about are victimizations. And, you know, not only when you graduate law school and you're sworn into the bar,

you do swear in and you have to uphold the ethical rules, but in Oka County, like pretty much all prosecutor offices, county attorney's offices, have their own codes. You're abiding by the rules of the office and their ethics. So this is a double-layer type of situation where not only do you have an obligation to the state because you're a licensed attorney, but an obligation to your office. Because a prosecutor's office, even under our ethical rules, are considered ministers of justice. They have specific ethical rules that other attorneys do not have.

Just really stunning. We have then Victoria Tombs. She is accused of basically owning and operating this website, Minnesota Erotica Personals. That was the website. And that is where the women, their postings would be posted, you know, their advertisements. You know, it makes me think of backpage. You know, the feds took that down years ago. But now you get all these copycats popping.

up all over the internet. So she is, you know, I guess the advertiser. Right. And you mentioned Backpage. We all know what happened with them years ago. But, you know, as the saying goes, many times in the law enforcement community, such as here with the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the BCA, especially with the internet, this becomes a game of, as people have said, Wackamo, which is, you know, as soon as one is shot down, another one pops up. Because in today's world, with the Internet, it's so easy to start a website, to communicate with people, and to try to get customers for whatever product, whether it's legal or illegal. So unless people in the organization start talking or victims start talking,

it's difficult many times to shut these things down. No doubt, no doubt. You know, it's just like it makes me think of either, you know, weeds, you're trying to take care of weeds in a yard, you know. You don't, there's only so much weed killer you can put down or even like cockroaches, you know, you turn on a light in a dark room and they all scatter. So it's kind of like the same thing to me. Another part of this, Joe, that I think is interesting and not surprising is that all of these women involved in the sex trafficking operation, the women who are charged, all believed they were in a romantic relationship with Frank Reeves. Explain that to me.

I don't get it. I look at this guy and I'm like, really? Like this? You're in it. What is going on? What is the appeal? What is the attraction? Because I look at this guy and I'm thinking to myself,

you all think you're in a romantic relationship with him and you think that this is like a catch? Is it because of the money? Was that the allure? Well, I can't exactly speak to this case because we don't have all the information. All we have is the criminal complaint. We don't have the discovery. We don't have statements. We don't have many things. However, in general, in these types of organizations that victimize women, that victimize people who are vulnerable, many times you will see a different type of psychology. One where you actually try to get the victim to think that they're part of a team, to think that they're a emotionally invested to think that the person who is actually abusing them cares for them loves them. They're all part of the same organization. They're working together.

The organization is looking out for them. So I can't speak to exactly what happened in this case was we don't have the information, but in general, sometimes you see that. But these co-defendants believe that they are in a romantic relationship with him, and that's what I don't get. That's correct. I mean, if what it is true, yes, you will see. that. Wow, that's crazy. Do you see more charges coming from this? Because right now, this is a complaint. This

hasn't gone to a grand jury. We have allegations of Frank Reeves sexually assaulting these sex workers. Does and licking them up, you know, supplying them with booze, things of that nature. Do you see more charges coming at grand jury? Well, that's always a possibility. But I don't think there'd be a grand jury in this case because in Minnesota, the rules are quite different. The only time grand juries are used is when a person or a prosecutor is seeking a life sentence case. So that's basically a murder case. This is not a murder case. So a grand jury wouldn't be used. However, a complaint can be amended. And it could be amended based on all of the co-conspirators or just one. So you might have a situation where there are separate charges for one or more of the alleged conspirators in

the case. You might see that. You also might see a completely separate complaint if one of the, if one of the defendants in this case were allegedly involved in some other crimes. So it's not surprising in any criminal case along these lines that you might see further charges happening. Well, we will certainly keep an eye on it. It's a really sad case. You know, hopefully these women, these alleged victims are getting some help and getting out of this line of work because it can be quite emotionally damaging and traumatic. And it's just not a safe place. It's not a safe business. It's just not good work to do. Joe Tamburino, thank you so much. I appreciate your time. Thank you. All of the defendants are being held on a $1 million bond as the investigation continues.

Now, if you are a victim of human trafficking or you know someone who is, there is help available. Call 1-888-373-7-8-88. Again, that number is 1-8-88-38-38-38-or simply text 233-7-33. And we're going to keep an eye on this case and see where it goes and if more charges are filed. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back to next time.