Phoenix police say a major player in the health-food supermarket industry has been arrested on suspicion of felony child prostitution.

Michael Gilliland, the founder of Sunflower Farmers Market and Wild Oats Markets, was arrested Thursday afternoon at a hotel near Interstate 17 and Peoria Avenue, Sgt. Steve Martos said.

Martos said Gilliland, 52, knew he was going to the hotel on the premise of paying a minor, whom he had met online, for sex. The arrest was part of an ongoing investigation last week in which eight total arrests were made, Martos said.

Gilliland started out in the industry by founding Wild Oats Markets in Boulder during 1987. The company proceeded to grow into one of the nations largest health food chains. Gilliland left Wild Oats in 1999 and later started Sunflower Farmers Market, which has three locations in the Phoenix area.