CEO of Rentboy.com arrested on prostitution charges

The CEO of online male escort service Rentboy.com has been arrested on prostitution and money laundering charges, along with six of the company’s current and and former employees.

Jeffrey Hurant, New York-based CEO of the the self-described “world’s largest male escort site”, was taken into custody along with the six other defendants yesterday morning (August 25) following a police raid on the company’s Manhattan offices, the Daily Mail reports.

Hurant is accused of promoting illegal prostitution through Rentboy.com, where users pay a minimum of $59.95 a month to “to meet the perfect male escort or masseur”. The site was set up in 1996 and has a database of more than 10,500 men in 2,100 cities worldwide.

While users must agree to a disclaimer before using the site that reads: “This site may not be used for the advertising of sexual services or to engage in activities requiring the payment of money for sex or other illegal activities”, prosecutors say that this was merely a ruse, and that illegal prostitution was being openly advertised and promoted on the site.

“As alleged, RentBoy.com attempted to present a veneer of legality, when in fact this internet brothel made millions of dollars from the promotion of illegal prostitution,” Acting Brooklyn US Attorney Kelly Currie said in a statement.

Hurant denied the accustations outside a Manhattan court yesterday following his arrest, telling reporters: “I don’t think that we do anything to promote prostitution.

“‘I think we do good things for good people, and we bring good people together.”

If found guilty, Hurant could be sentenced up to five years in prison and fined up to $250,000.

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