Anna Gristina made national headlines and was dubbed the “New York Soccer Mom Madam” when she was arrested and accused of running a multimillion dollar prostitution empire out of an Upper East Side apartment. After being at the center of a five-year undercover investigation and spending four months in jail, she's now out on bail, facing one felony count of promoting prostitution; a charge that could land her in jail for up to seven years — or get her deported to her native Scotland — if convicted. In a Dr. Phil exclusive, the 44-year-old mother of four addresses the accusations against her and explains why she says she's completely innocent. Then, Anna drops a bombshell about why she believes she was targeted by investigators — is there a political conspiracy behind the headlines?
Soccer Mom Madam?
Anna Gristina is refusing to help prosecutors, who allege that she has been running a $15 million dollar prostitution ring out of a tiny Manhattan apartment. Following four months in jail, Anna is now out on bail after an appellate court lowered the amount from $2 million to $250,000. She is set to go to trial next month. Wearing an ankle monitoring device, she sits down exclusively with Dr. Phil at her upstate New York home to set the record straight. Why does she believe she’s being targeted by investigators?
A Family Affected
Speaking out for the first time, Anna’s husband, Kelvin, says he’s angry at Anna’s high-profile friends, whom he says have turned their backs on his wife. Kelvin has stood by his wife the entire time and believes she is innocent. But, has the wear and tear of the investigation taken a toll on their relationship? And, how is their family coping with the media attention?
A Fair Trial?
Anna says that she feels it’s going to be difficult to have a fair trial because of the many “mistruths” being printed about her. “People believe the papers a lot,” she says. “I feel I’ve been tried already [in the court of public opinion].”