In fact, one of COAST's co-founders, Michael Ocello, got involved in anti-trafficking efforts after the Illinois club he owned was raided by federal agents. Other ACE board members who have been subject to lawsuits from their employees include Rick's Cabaret, VCG Holding, The Men's Club, Sapphire's Las Vegas, and Delilah's Gentlemen's Club. Another huge payout of $11.3 million came from a Michigan lawsuit alleging wage theft at 72 clubs around the country that were affiliated with Deja Vu, including Deja Vu clubs, Gold Club, Little Darlings, and Larry Flynt's Hustler Clubs. ACE board member Spearmint Rhino had to pay out an almost $13 million settlement in 2012. And all but one of the lawsuits I found was settled in the years since COAST was founded in 2009. The majority of the board members of COAST's backing group, the Association of Club Entrepreneurs (ACE), have been sued by their own employees for violations of labor law including wage theft, intimidation, charging debt-inducing illegal fees, and even sexual harassment. Not everyone is happy with the NY courts treating sex workers as trafficking victims. Read more here. And many a stripper has complained that house fees are debt-inducing scams that force girls to prostitute in back rooms just to cover the cost of working. Many of the clubs were subject to dancer lawsuits alleging that management made them hand over hundreds of dollars in "fees" and took a portion of their tips. Most of the strip club owners behind COAST have run into legal trouble of their own. Another part of the law refers to debt bondage, when a trafficker induces debt onto a person and then makes them do sex work until it is paid off. Anyone under the age of 18 is automatically considered a trafficking victim if they are working as a prostitute. What COAST does is educate and provide the industry with a direct link to government investigators who are regularly on the lookout for traffickers.Īccording to US law, sex trafficking is defined partly by abuse and coercion related to forcing someone into the commercial sex trade. "They don't give us that information," Spencer said of the Homeland Security agents that COAST urges strip club employees to contact. The idea is that strip club owners and employees would then report the suspected trafficked dancers to the feds. COAST co-founder Angelina Spencer told VICE News she did not know how many trafficking victims have been reported as a result of the trainings. Those clues might include an individual or group being dropped off and picked up by the same man every day, "unusual looking tattoos," or signs of physical abuse.ĬOAST brochures warn of other signs, such as if a dancer's ID is held or pay picked up by someone else, or if she seems fearful and lacks a social life. Williger leads training sessions on how to detect signs that a dancer might be trafficked. VICE News reached out to DHS and ICE for this article, but they weren't able to provide comment or explain how many trafficking busts had come from the collaboration with COAST. Special Agent Bill Williger said in June however: "The relationship between HSI and COAST has opened a door that was previously closed in combating human trafficking." The feds have been working with the project for the last four years, ostensibly as a way to keep an eye on the legal businesses that some see as potential feeders for trafficking. One of the most unusual things about COAST is its odd alliance with two agencies of the US government: ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
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