Lawsuit: GOP donor offered money to hush girl he trafficked
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A prominent Minnesota GOP donor who is charged with multiple counts of sex trafficking is now being sued by an underage girl who was one of his alleged victims.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court alleges that Anton Lazzaro's attorneys offered $1,000 in hush money to the girl and her parents to keep them quiet and asked them to sign a non-disclosure agreement. The girl’s father refused and instead went to law enforcement.
The lawsuit, which also lists the girl’s parents as plaintiffs, alleges Lazzaro used his “power, wealth, influence, connections, and resources to recruit children ... so that he could prey on them. When it became clear that Lazzaro had committed serious crimes, he attempted to coerce his victims and their families into keeping silent.”
The girl and her parents are not named in the lawsuit.
Lazzaro was charged in August with five counts of sex trafficking of minors, one count of attempted sex trafficking of a minor, one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors and three counts of obstruction. His attorney has said he is being falsely accused and did not commit the crimes.
St. Thomas University student Gisela Castro Medina, 19, the former chairwoman of the school's Republican party chapter, also faces criminal charges for allegedly recruiting girls for Lazzaro.
According to the lawsuit, Lazzaro and Medina targeted young women or girls on social media and introduced them to Lazzaro to be used for sex in exchange for money and gifts.
The lawsuit says that in 2018, when the girl was about 14, she and Medina became friends. In May of 2020, when the girl was 16, Medina recruited her to meet Lazzaro and began grooming her, explaining that he was a powerful, prominent and wealthy businessman and political...