Chicagoland man convicted of sex trafficking and forced labor (DOJ)

Anthony Mayers Used Violence to Intimidate Victims

A federal jury in the Northern District of Indiana convicted Anthony Mayers, 36, of Gary, Indiana, of four counts of trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and other related charges. Mayers lured vulnerable women into his scheme with promises that they would make enormous sums of money or be provided safe housing or other needs, and then he turned violent, coercing them to engage in commercial sex and taking the money they earned. Victims testified that he beat and threatened them by brandishing a firearm and shooting at them inside the house.

"Anthony Mayers is an extremely violent sex trafficker who preyed upon vulnerable women for money," said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "The jury in this case heard testimony from the victims of how the defendant physically assaulted and intimidated them. He beat them, threatened them with death and bodily harm, and brandished firearms in their presence. The evidence included that he even administered a lethal injection to a heroin-addicted woman in front of one of the victims and forced that victim to help him move the body to an abandoned house. That is the pinnacle of fear and coercion. The jury's verdict sends a clear message and helps vindicate the perils that the victims endured."

"We are thankful for the jury's careful deliberation and attention to detail on each specific count after hearing very difficult evidence and arguments of counsel over a period of nine days," said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Mildred for the Northern District of Indiana. "Verdicts like this in extremely serious cases only happen after the superior investigative work of our law-enforcement partners, including the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals, and the Harvey (Illinois) Police Department that worked tirelessly to uncover the truth. That partnership allowed the legal team of Trial Attorney Matthew Thiman of the DOJ Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caitlin M. Padula and Nadia Wardrip for the Northern District of Indiana to prosecute the case. Most of all, we are thankful for the cooperation of the brave witnesses and survivors of crime who testified in this most difficult case."

"Traffickers rely on fear and violence to control their victims, but none of that will stop the FBI from bringing them to justice," said Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O'Malley of the FBI Indianapolis Field Office. "This criminal preyed on vulnerable women, abused them, and profited off their suffering. The FBI will relentlessly pursue violent offenders like him, break apart the coercive systems they build, and ensure they are held fully accountable for every act of harm they inflict."

According to court documents, witness testimony, and evidence presented at trial, Mayers compelled four victims to engage in commercial sex acts in his residence and for his financial benefit using fraud, physical violence, firearms, addictive narcotics, and threats of physical force and death to keep the victims working under his control. Mayers used similar physical abuse and threats to compel another woman to work in his house daily, cleaning the "sex room" where he compelled the other victims to engage in commercial sex. One victim testified that she witnessed Mayers purposefully administer a "hot shot" - a lethal dose of narcotics - to another commercial sex worker causing the woman to fatally overdose. He then told the victim that she would suffer the same fate if she did not follow his rules. A second victim tried to leave Mayers' residence in a car driven by another individual, only to have Mayers chase the car down the street, pull the victim from the car by her hair, and slam her head into a nearby fence, continuing to beat her until she agreed to return. When a third victim tried to escape, Mayers prevented her from leaving with her friend and fired his gun at the friend's car as she drove away.

When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Mayers' residence, they recovered a "ghost gun" with an extended magazine, two rifles, ammunition, and cartridge casings. Law enforcement also observed numerous bullet defects in the walls of the residence.

The jury convicted Mayers of four counts of sex trafficking, one count of forced labor, and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.

The FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Matthew Thiman of the Criminal Division's Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caitlin M. Padula and Nadia Wardrip for the Northern District of Indiana are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department's efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Updated September 22, 2026