Woman Sentenced to Nine Years for Sex Trafficking Conspiracy

WASHINGTON - A Texas woman was sentenced on June 25, 2024 for conspiring to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

According to court documents, in 2021 and 2022, Patricia Hart, 25, and her boyfriend and co-defendant, Gregory Massey, 30, forced two adult victims to engage in commercial sex. Massey and Hartadvertised the victims for commercial sex on websites, kept the money the victims made from commercial sex transactions, required the victims to meet a minimum dollar threshold from commercial sex every day, and restricted the victims' access to food. Massey also tracked the geolocation data on the victims' phones so that they could not leave his control and used violence to accomplish the scheme. After Massey was arrested in state court, Hart continued the conspiracy by carrying out Massey's demands via jail calls. Specifically, Massey told Hart to fire off a few rounds of a firearm to scare a victim into compliance.

Hart was sentenced on June 25, 2024 in federal court. Judge Wendy Vitter sentenced Hart to nine years imprisonment, followed by fifteen years of supervised release. She also agreed to pay $21,600 in restitution. As a result of her plea, Hart must also participate in the sex offender registration and notification program.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department's Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans for the Eastern District of Louisiana made the announcement.

Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Louisiana State Police investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Melissa E. Bücher of the Criminal Division's Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria M. Carboni for the Eastern District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.