Anti-#GamerGate journalist Matt Hickey is not only facing multiple counts of rape charges in the state of Washington, but he’s also being sued by the Attorney General’s Office in Washington on consumer protection grounds. The suit came up after the Attorney General Bob Ferguson had the case brought forward where it was discovered that Hickey had been running his fraudulent porn recruitment agency for more than a decade in order to trick women into sleeping with him.

NBC News reported that the suit against Hickey for his fake recruitment agency – where he would lure women to his apartment using multiple fake Facebook identities where he posed as women – will be separate from the rape charges brought against him.

The complaint filed by the Attorney General’s office succinctly brings up why they’ve filed charges, stating…

“Defendant never secured or attempted to secure employment for these women. Defendant had no contacts in the adult film industry and deceived women by fabricating the job opportunities he advertised.”

The catfishing scheme managed to land Hickey thousands of nude photos of susceptible young women, and multiple counts of having sex with these women without him ever delivering them an actual job in the porn industry. Defamation Removal Law also has a breakdown of how some of these tactics could be construed as revenge porn.

The legal complaint contains images, Facebook discussions and private chats where Hickey posed as a female recruiter, lying about job offers and potential breakthroughs into the porn industry that he had no intentions of fulfilling.

Many of the women alleged that they were not attracted to Hickey and did not want to have sex with him. Hickey would usually proceed to get the women drunk and after consuming enough alcohol he would then have sex with them. Some of these women claimed that he had sex with them multiple times after they had passed out.

Hickey also attempted to lure in young girls under the age of 18. According to the complaint, posing as the fake Deja Stwalley, Hickey still tried to get the girl to audition even though she told him she was under 18…

“When one woman told Stwalley that she was under 18, Stwalley responded, “cool. I’m patient lol but I know a studio you’d be great for.” This young woman ended up auditioning for New Seattle Talent.”

According to Attorney General Bob Ferguson in the press release, he stated…

“This is one of the most egregious scams I’ve seen as Attorney General,” […] “Beyond the monetary damage his victims suffered pursuing the defendant’s fictional job opportunities, they endured emotional trauma and unconscionable loss of privacy through his deception.”

We reported on Hickey’s scam multiple times based on findings from The Stranger, which eventually culminated in a report about Hickey fleeing to Las Vegas after the police and lawyers sought to apprehend him in Seattle, Washington.

Hickey is now currently in the county jail on the deceptive business practice charges and the multiple rape charges. In regards to the deceptive business practice, the prosecution wants Hickey to pay back in restitution the monetary fees incurred by his alleged victims, as well as hand back the photos he took of them, and pay for all the attorney fees.

Additionally, the Attorney General in Washington wants you to reach out and contact their office through their official website if you have ever been in contact with Matt Hickey in regards to his fake porn agency. Things could get hairier yet for Hickey if it turns out he distributed any of the photos without permission from the models, as that would breach Washington state’s revenge porn laws, as indicated by the C.A. Goldberg law firm.

Matt Hickey was one of the staunchly sex-negative anti-#GamerGate critics who wrote for sites like Forbes, attacking Microsoft for hiring go-go dancers for an after party, as well as criticizing the #GamerGate consumer revolt. The reality is that the FBI report and a peer reviewed report from WAM! Indicated that #GamerGate was not the harassment campaign the media claimed it to be.

(Thanks for the news tip Hawk Hopper)