New lawsuit accuses GOP operative Anton Lazzaro of offering hush-money to a minor after luring her to have sex with him

• A new civil lawsuit accuses GOP operative Anton Lazzaro of offering hush money to a minor.
• The suit alleges that he offered the minor, who was 16 at the time, $1,000 after luring her to have sex with him.
• Lazzaro's lawyer denied the claims and said the plaintiffs' "true motivation is greed."

A new civil lawsuit accuses a Minnesota GOP operative of engaging in a "predatory enterprise of perversion wherein he used whatever means he could to gain their trust so that he could prey on them."

The operative, Anton Lazzaro, was arrested and charged last month with ten felony counts of underage sex trafficking, conspiracy, and obstruction of justice. Tuesday's lawsuit was filed by the family of a minor who accused Lazzaro and his associate, Gisela Castro Medina, of luring the minor to have sex with Lazzaro. It also alleged that Lazzaro and Medina offered hush-money and a nondisclosure agreement in exchange for the minor's silence.

The lawsuit accused Lazzaro of underage sex trafficking, conspiracy, and obstruction, and demanded that he pay damages to cover medical costs, attorneys' fees, and more.

Lazzaro's lawyer denied the claims, saying in a statement, "The individuals who filed this lawsuit today showed the public that their true motivation is greed."

The civil suit alleges that Lazzaro and Medina met through the "sugar daddy" website Seeking Arrangement, and that sometime last year, "Lazzaro engaged Medina in an enterprise wherein Lazzaro would become a sexual ringmaster and Medina would find him young women and children under the age of 18 for sex in exchange for money and gifts."

"Upon information and belief, Medina targeted girls and women that she knew or that she discovered on social media and introduced them to Lazzaro in exchange for money and gifts," the filing said. "Minor Doe was one of the minor children that Medina and Lazzaro targeted for sex trafficking as part of their enterprise."

According to the lawsuit, Medina met the minor in 2018, when the minor was 14 years old. After they developed a friendship, Medina introduced the minor to Lazzaro in 2020, when she was 16, the filing said.

The plaintiffs accused Medina of "grooming" the minor in late May 2020 by "introducing her to Lazzaro and establishing him as a powerful, prominent and wealthy businessman and political figure."

Lazzaro is active in Minnesota GOP politics. His LinkedIn said he's the CEO of Gold River Group, a consulting firm in Minneapolis, and he founded Big Tent Republicans, a political action committee that describes itself as being "dedicated to broadening the base and appeal of the Republican Party to a new and diverse generation of Americans." He's also said to be friends with Jennifer Carnahan, the former chairwoman of the Minnesota GOP who resigned last month amid questions over her ties to Lazzaro.

Tuesday's civil suit said that "Medina introduced Lazzaro to Minor Doe in person, using Minor Doe's established trust with Medina to create trust with Lazzaro, who was seeking to sexually exploit the Minor Doe for himself." From May to July of 2020, Lazzaro "arranged for cars to bring Minor Doe to his home on several occasions," and during that time he "committed multiple commercial sex acts against Minor Doe," the filing continued.

The plaintiffs also accused Lazzaro and Medina of offering, through an attorney, $1,000 in hush money and a nondisclosure agreement in late July 2020 which demanded that the minor and her family "not disclose the nature of the prior interaction with Mr. Lazzaro to the public."

The filing said that the minor's father refused to sign the agreement and instead reported Lazzaro to law enforcement.

Lazzaro made headlines last month when the Justice Department announced a 10-count indictment against him. Prosecutors said Lazzaro "conspired with others to recruit and solicit six minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts" from May 2020 through December. The grand jury indictment said Lazzaro also "knowingly and intentionally" obstructed justice from July 2020 through March of this year in connection with his alleged sex trafficking of minors.

On Wednesday, a magistrate judge signed an order authorizing the US government to unseal an indictment against Medina.