Bogus pornographer: Mario Ambrose Antoine, 34, of Missouri, was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to wire fraud for duping more than 24 women into having sex with him under the guise of auditions for porn films
A Missouri man impersonating a pornography producer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for conning two dozen women into having sex with him by saying they were rehearsing for roles in adult films.
Mario Ambrose Antoine, 34, a disgraced wedding photographer with a history of deceptive business activities, was sentenced Wednesday for wire fraud.
Prosecutors said most of Antoine’s victims were in financially vulnerable and he promised to pay them tens of thousands of dollars to appear in porn films that would be available only on private websites overseas.
The Kansas City Star reported that Antoine told the victims they had to ‘audition’ first. None of the women was ever paid.
If the woman complained, Antoine threatened to send compromising images of them to their family and friends. In some cases, he did send the images to friends, boyfriends or employers through fake social media accounts.
According to prosecutors, all of the incidents involving phony C-rate film auditions and photo sessions took place between August and October 2016 at Antoine’s home in Raymore, Missouri.
Prosecutors said Antoine posed as a talent manager, photographer and videographer, and claimed to work for fictitious companies in the pornography industry bearing names like Playboy Worldwide and Playboy Asia to lure cash-strapped women.
Sextortionist: If the woman complained about their fee, Antoine threatened to send compromising images of them to their family and friends
He promised more than two dozen victims between $550,000 to $1.5million after having them sign what they thought were legitimate contracts for jobs with his companies, according to Kansas City Star.
The women were first contacted on Facebook by Antoine posing as a woman named ‘Nikki,’ who would first compliment the women on their looks, then dangle in front of them the prospect of earning tens of thousands of dollars by doing ‘adult modeling’ for videos shown in private accounts in foreign countries.
Antoine would then lure the women to his house under the guise of meeting a photographer named ‘Mario or ‘Chris,’ and tell them having sex with them on camera was part of their ‘audition.’
To make the elaborate scheme seem legitimate, Antoine would show his victims bogus checks made out to other ‘models’ and tax documents, and have them sign contracts and modelling release forms before proceeding to have sex with them on camera.
‘He told me I had to audition… and do several different sex acts (with him), which I did,’ one victim told the station WDAF last October.
None of the women were ever paid a dime by Antoine. When they would press him about their compensation, he would at first offer them excuses, before resorting to blackmail in some instances.
Victim speaks: One woman (left) told the station WDAF that Antoine told her to perform different sex acts with him as part of a film rehearsal
He contacted the first victim in 2011 and produced several tapes with her over the course of a year, allegedly promising her $1,000 for each act.
She never received payment. In November 2015, Antoine allegedly told her she would either have to pay him $9,000 or sleep with him in exchange for him not distributing the footage they made together.
She is believed to have complied, going to his house for sex to prevent him from releasing their videos.
He then sent a second victim photographs of his first target, telling her she had made tens of thousands of dollars through a handful of roles. Antoine allegedly offered her $2,000 for a taped audition with him.
Antoine, pictured in court in 2013, used to operate a wedding photography business for which he was found guilty of stealing by deceit
A third woman fell for the same trap, having sex with the conman on camera. When she asked for payment, he sent photographs of their tryst to her employer.
In May, Antoine agreed to plead guilty to a single count of wire fraud, and on Wednesday, a judge imposed the 10-year sentence on him, calling the facts in the case ‘outrageous.’
The now-convicted conman used to operate a wedding photography business for which he was found guilty of stealing by deceit and unlawful merchandising practices and spent almost a year in prison.
He reportedly sold wedding packages to brides but then never showed up to take their photos.