Former Assistant Anoka County Attorney charged for alleged role in sex trafficking operation

A former Assistant Anoka County Attorney is facing 26 charges related to her alleged role in a sex trafficking operation in the Twin Cities area.

Andrea Leigh Sampson, 35, has been charged with 13 counts of promoting prostitution of an individual and 13 counts of receiving profits from prostitution.

Sampson’s arrest comes from an investigation that has been ongoing since 2021 by various law enforcement agencies, including the Minnesota BCA and the Human Trafficking Task Force.

According to court documents, Sampson, along with three others, Frank Reeves, Viktoriya Komonash and Katherine Thomes, are accused of operating or playing a role in a sex trafficking organization in Hennepin County and surrounding areas.

According to court documents, the organization would operate a website called “Minnesota Erotica Personals,” where various women would be “posted” for users to request sexual transactions.

Sampson’s alleged role in the operation was to secure and provide locations where these “transactions” could occur, as well as creating and maintaining multiple LLCs, which court documents claim appeared to have been shell companies to help hide profits coming in from the sex trafficking.

Properties owned by Sampson have allegedly been found to be where some of the women advertised on the website had their photos taken and where some “transactions” occurred.

Court documents stated law enforcement spoke with various women throughout the investigation regarding their experiences with the group and the “Minnesota Erotica Personals” website.

13 of those women were later identified as victims in court documents.

In a statement, Anoka County Attorney Brad Johnson confirmed Sampson was once an assistant attorney with the county, assigned to the office’s Family Law and Civil Division.

According to Johnson, the BCA spoke with top members of the Anoka County Attorney’s Office on Feb. 25, 2026, and informed them it was investigating Johnson.

The Anoka County Attorney’s Office placed Sampson on administrative leave, and her last day of employment was March 9.

Sampson is currently in custody in Hennepin County; her first court date is scheduled for Aug. 17.

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