I worked for the sugar daddy website used by Matt Gaetz's predator friend... what I saw disgusted me

Luxury dating app Seeking Arrangement was known for being the go-to spot to snag a 'sugar daddy' - oregon a seedy online playground linked to enactment trafficking and Matt Gaetz, depending connected who you ask.

Longtime erstwhile employee-turned-whistleblower Brook Urick, who started retired arsenic a sweetener babe and yet became a poster miss for the website, claims it's the latter. 

She precocious released a publication astir her experience, called 'Wink Wink Nudge Nudge: Sexual Exploits and Secrets from Inside a Sugar Daddy Website'. 

It makes allegations astir the site, which has much than 46 cardinal users and was founded by Brandon Wade - a thrice-married Singaporean-American businessman who erstwhile said that 'love was a conception for mediocre people'.

The tract made headlines successful 2021 for seemingly being tied to alleged enactment trafficking by respective men including Donald Trump's erstwhile prime for lawyer general, Gaetz, and his associate, taxation collector Joel Greenberg.

While Gaetz and the institution denied that he'd ever been a user, Greenberg pleaded blameworthy to underage enactment trafficking, ligament fraud, stalking, individuality theft, producing a fake ID paper and conspiring to defraud the US government.

Prosecutors argued that Greenberg, who was aboriginal sentenced to 11 years, had met the insignificant unfortunate successful the enactment crimes done Seeking Arrangement.

'In 2021 erstwhile determination was that lawsuit astir a definite Republican Congressman from Florida and his taxation collector buddy who... the taxation collector is presently serving an 11-year condemnation for taxation evasion and underage enactment trafficking,' Urick told the DailyMail.com.

Following a study that his 17-year-old accuser had testified that she had 2 intersexual encounters with him, Gaetz announced that helium would retreat from consideration for lawyer general.

Urick added: ‘It begs the question, if it’s truthful retired successful the unfastened that radical are paying underage girls for enactment connected this website, past wherefore is it inactive around? That is the question I question to answer.’ 

'Seeking.com has nary cognition of Mr. Gaetz ever having an relationship connected the website,' the institution said successful effect to the allegations. 

'Seeking values the information and information of its members supra each else, prohibits immoderate and each amerciable activities, and strictly enforces those prohibitions,' they added successful part. 

'To enact specified measures, Seeking has 24-hour moderation, provides ongoing grooming to unit to destruct members who prosecute successful inappropriate behavior, and uses keyword detection technology, representation moderation and further measures to destruct those who effort to misuse the site.'

Gaetz has besides denied each wrongdoing and having relations with underage girls oregon paying women for sex, and the probe into his alleged activities ended erstwhile helium resigned from Congress connected November 13 to go portion of Trump's apical team.  

Now, there's a renewed involvement successful the House Ethics committee to release the study connected Gaetz's alleged tryst with a 17-year-old girl. It is unclear if the women Gaetz allegedly met done Seeking Arrangement were underage.

Founder Wade met his 3rd woman Dana Rosewall - who astatine 24 is 30 years his inferior - connected his ain website 3 years ago, and she is present the co-chair of the institution that has since been re-branded to conscionable 'Seeking'. 

Many regular 'sugar babies' person also shared their ain occurrence stories about gathering a affluent older antheral who opened doors to a beingness of luxury, similar taking them connected exotic vacations successful five-star hotels portion paying their assemblage tuition fees. 

But Urick, 32, told DailyMail.com this is seldom the lawsuit and claimed she received emails from young girls' moms begging for assistance tracking down their profiles. 

Speaking from her Las Vegas home, Urick made claims about the enactment wherever she worked for 7 years - until she 'stopped drinking the Kool-Aid' and realized she was 'contributing' to what she described arsenic a 'sex-trafficking machine'. 

Urick joined Seeking astatine the property of 21 successful the hopes of uncovering a sweetener daddy to wage her mode done college.

Though she didn't find the affluent older antheral she'd been hoping for, her illustration was scouted by institution bosses to go portion of their promotional team. 

Urick said the men often pb treble lives, with galore moving achromatic collar and authorities jobs. 

‘If men are smart, past they don’t uncover their identity, due to the fact that it is encouraged connected the website to beryllium anonymous,' she told DailyMail.com. 

'Even if determination were radical connected the website similar that I wouldn’t know. 

'But I tin archer you that during my clip there, I did spot policemen and radical with suffixes of authorities email addresses personally utilizing the website.

‘I learned a batch astir the world of what motivates radical and it’s darker and much sinister than you tin imagine.’  

One pistillate who signed up for SeekingArrangement.com antecedently told LeedsLive: 'I didn’t recognize the level that was expected. I thought, astatine the worst, I would person to nonstop immoderate photographs and bash immoderate webcam-ing.

'I didn’t cognize however explicit it was going to beryllium and conscionable however atrocious it is. It’s a load of men with truly obscure fantasies and fetishes. 

'A batch of it is astir inflicting sadistic worldly connected girls and students who are vulnerable. It’s each beauteous extreme.'

Urick said she wanted to constitute her publication to pass could-be sweetener babies that the seldom attained rewards aren't worthy the risks. 

‘The bulk of radical bash not person the spoils due to the fact that of proviso and demand, determination are not capable affluent men to spell around,' she said. 

'Most of the men connected the tract are not affluent astatine all. They are picking up wherever Seeking’s selling leaves off.

'They are allowed to bash that due to the fact that the tract encourages anonymity. One predator tin deed dozens, hundreds, possibly thousands of victims.'

In 2018, the New York Times reported that Seeking Arrangement that precocious schoolhouse and college-age girls were targeted by the tract by being encouraged to registry with a '.edu' email to gain a escaped upgrade. 

As a result, by 2020, the apical concern connected the tract was listed arsenic 'student', according to Villanova's Commercial Sexual Exploitation Institute.

In an interrogation with The Times, Wade denied that his website was a conveyance for prostitution. 

He said the presumption of work outline however transactions for enactment are prohibited - helium conscionable wanted to make a level which allows transparency successful talking astir money, 

'We privation to thrust radical to speech honestly connected the archetypal day astir who they are and what they expect to summation from a relationship, conscionable similar you sermon successful immoderate concern narration and immoderate concern arrangement,' helium told the Times. 

The National Center connected Sexual Exploitation further claimed that 'Seeking Arrangement targets assemblage students who are struggling with pupil indebtedness with advertisements and escaped premium accounts, successful bid to supply intersexual gratification to much socio-economically advantaged men.'

These in-debt students, the halfway claims, are much susceptible to beryllium coerced.

'Without a doubt, you are putting yourself successful an highly susceptible position. There is simply a crushed the men person chosen SeekingArrangement implicit eHarmony.com and that is to person enactment with younger girls,' 1 anonymous idiosyncratic told Epigram.

Urick said the site's fearfulness stories are often buried due to the fact that of the 'shame and secrecy' associated with the practice.  

Seeking describes itself arsenic the spot to 'experience hypergamy' - the signifier of dating idiosyncratic of a higher societal presumption oregon intersexual superior than yourself. 

The website encourages users to 'connect with blase individuals who lucifer your ambition and elevate your travel to the exciting, fulfilling beingness you deserve'. 

Urick said the website utilized to advertise itself much overtly arsenic a sweetener daddy-baby gathering place, arsenic verified by DailyMail.com utilizing the Wayback Machine. 

In November 2020, the website listed 'sugar babe perks' including 'indulging successful buying sprees, costly dinners, and exotic question vacations' portion promising older men utilizing the website 'four sweetener babies per sweetener daddy'. 

And contempt appearances, a 2021 study by the Government Accountability Office cited probe that 'sexual enactment whitethorn beryllium expected oregon implied' for Sugar Daddy websites successful general.

Seeking Arrangement did not instantly respond to DailyMail.com's petition for comment.

According to Urick, existent authorities does small to support the minors allegedly exploited by websites similar Seeking.  

The instrumentality made it amerciable to knowingly assistance successful enactment trafficking, it did not marque these websites per se illegal. 

'While I was moving there, portion that instrumentality was passed, I was like, ohio it’s the opening of the end, similar this instrumentality is going to unopen down this website. 

'So, ideate my astonishment truthful galore years aboriginal erstwhile the website is inactive around. 

'I privation to pass radical astir however your position changes from erstwhile you’re a young 18-year-old to erstwhile you’re older similar I was erstwhile I near the company, I was 27. 

'You truly bash person a mindset displacement during that time. 

'I began to recognize that it was not casual money, it was the astir horrifying wealth I ever made, and the lone mode to halt these websites successful my sentiment is to get the girls disconnected the website, due to the fact that the commodity of sweetener daddy websites is naïve young sweetener babies. 

'If we tin fto these girls cognize that it’s not what you deliberation it is, past possibly we tin help.’ 

In a 2022 property release, Seeking wrote of newer safeguards they had enactment successful place, 'As Seeking continues to grow, truthful bash the brand’s societal work efforts, and its unmatched committedness to keeping its assemblage harmless connected and offline.

'Seeking has partnered with UrSafe, FreedomLight and akin groups to marque dating safer and enactment to forestall enactment trafficking, portion besides offering inheritance cheque verifications for users, two-factor authentication to safeguard accusation and a dedicated 24-hour lawsuit work department.'