Minnesota GOP donor offered underage girl hush money to not reveal sex trafficking scandal: lawsuit

A new lawsuit alleges that GOP donor Anton Lazzaro, who last month was arrested and charged with underage sex trafficking, allegedly tried to bribe an underage girl with hush money to keep quiet.

Local news station KSTP reports that the lawsuit accuses Lazzaro of authorizing his attorneys to offer an underage girl and her family $1,000 in order to keep quiet about Lazzaro's alleged sex trafficking operation.

In addition to the payments, the lawyers also asked the girl's parents to sign a nondisclosure agreement that stated the girl and Lazzaro had "a consensual interaction in the recent past" and that required the girl and her parents to "not disclose the nature of the prior interaction with Mr. Lazzaro to the public."

This tactic backfired, however, as the parents not only refused the offer but subsequently went to the police and informed law enforcement officials of Lazzaro's actions.

The lawsuit further alleges that Lazzaro used his "power, wealth, influence, connections, and resources to recruit children... so that he could prey on them."

A federal indictment unsealed last month against Lazzaro claims he recruited at least five underage victims for paid sex between May and December of 2020, and that he also attempted to recruit a sixth. The indictment also alleges that he "knowingly and intentionally interfered" with the FBI's investigation of his activities.