PHILADEPHIA—Law enforcement remains tight-lipped about the raid this morning at the Philadelphia offices of HotMovies.com, a leading adult industry VOD provider, but local media is reporting that it was conducted in connection to an investigation into a prostitution ring. That report has not been independently confirmed, however.
AVN called the Philadelphia bureau of the FBI, but the agent in charge, Special Agent J.J. Klaver, would not reveal the reason for the raid, but reiterated previous reports that no one was charged or arrested in connection with the raid. He also said that no news would be forthcoming from the FBI about the raid.
“Any information about the raid will only come from the U.S. Attorney’s office, not our office,” said Klaver. “And it will probably not be today, or for quite a while.”
AVN called the U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia, and spoke with Public Relations officer Patricia Hartman, who said even less than Klaver.
“Our office does not confirm or deny the existence or non-existence of investigations,” she said.
Local CBS affiliate CBS Philly is reporting, however, that the raid was related to a prostitution ring investigation, but had no other information.
Hotmovies.com is the owner of escorts.com, the WHOIS for which lists an address on 7th Street in Philadelphia that is the same as for National A-1, HotMovies' parent company.
“Law enforcement officials executed search warrants at a location in Center City Wednesday morning in connection to a prostitution ring investigation,” read the website version of the CBS report. “A building at 7th and Chestnut Street was raided at about 8 a.m. and evidence was removed from the scene. Authorities are not disclosing any details about the raid, but say the investigation is ongoing.”
A short video accompanies the report on the CBS website.
UPDATE
As of approximately 3:30 pm PDT, hotmovies.com was back online, as were the other sites operated by HotMovies that were taken offline as a result of today's raid by federal, state and local law enforcement.
