Man bonded women out of jail, then forced them into prostitution in FL, feds say
Chad Cornelius Seymore, 49, of Dothan, Alabama, worked with others during the alleged trafficking conspiracy that spanned four years, including Kimberly Robinson Gandy, 47, of Gulfport, Mississippi, according to prosecutors.
Seymore and Gandy are accused of forcing women into commercial sex acts along the Florida Panhandle in Destin and Panama City Beach, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Florida said in a June 20 news release.
In January 2024, Panama City Beach police officers interviewed one of the women at a Wyndham hotel after an employee called 911 about a 'suspected trafficking victim hiding in the lobby,' prosecutors wrote in court filings.
The woman said she was 'brought to Panama City' against 'her will after having been bonded out' of the Houston County Jail in Dothan, Alabama, according to a statement of facts.
Then she revealed Seymore, known as 'Circle City Pimp,' and a woman she called 'Boss Lady,' who investigators identified as Gandy, 'forced and coerced' her into commercial sex acts with people she said were Seymore's customers, the filing says.
Seymore and Gandy would transfer money tied to forced prostitution through online platforms, according to prosecutors.
On June 18, a federal jury found Gandy guilty of a conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; and money laundering, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Tallahassee criminal defense attorney Richard Higdon Smith, who was appointed to represent Gandy, declined a request for comment from McClatchy News.
Seymore's court-appointed federal public defender, Joseph F. DeBelder, declined McClatchy News' request for comment June 23.
Before Gandy's jury trial, the U.S. Attorney's Office said that Seymore pleaded guilty June 9 to five charges:
Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercionSex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercionReceiving benefits from sex trafficking Interstate travel in aid of racketeeringMoney laundering
Seymore is accused of physically abusing the women he sex trafficked.
He 'recruited women suffering from drug addictions at hotels and through online advertisements,' prosecutors said.
Multiple state and federal agencies investigated Seymore and Gandy, including the Leon County Sheriff's Office in Florida and the Dothan, Alabama, police department, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In an undercover sting operation by the Leon County Sheriff's Office, in June 2023, investigators met a woman Seymore is accused of trafficking in Fort Walton, Destin, Panama City and Dothan after responding to an online advertisement on a website called Skip the Games, court documents say.
After speaking with the woman, the sheriff's office contacted police in Dothan for potential leads and received 'extensive information' on Seymore, according to prosecutors.
Dothan police previously investigated Seymore in relation to human trafficking and 'received ongoing leads that Seymore used female inmates to recruit other inmates for (him) to bond out and pimp,' prosecutors wrote in court filings.
'Seymore would tell the bonded females they would have to work off the bonds,' court documents say. 'He was also known to keep the money and, if the girls didn't do what he wanted, would have the bond revoked sending them back to jail.'
In one year, investigators found more than $80,000 tied to Seymore's alleged involvement in sex trafficking, based on a financial analysis, according to prosecutors.
In a statement, U.S. Attorney John P. Heekin said, 'Thanks to the tireless efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners who investigated this case, and the tenacious work of the federal prosecutors and support staff in my office, we have dismantled this sex trafficking conspiracy and obtained justice on behalf of its victims.'
Seymore's sentencing hearing in Tallahassee federal court is set for Aug. 15, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Gandy is set to be sentenced a month later, on Sept. 15.
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