Sandy MaloneLas Vegas, NV – One of the former stars of MTV’s “Making the Band 2” has been arrested for sex trafficking in Las Vegas.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (LVMPD) investigators said in a press release that 37-year-old Kevin Barnes, who goes by the rap name “Chopper,” used his vast social media following to recruit prostitutes, KSNV reported.
Barnes was arrested earlier in April in Maryland, TMZ reported.
Legal documents obtained by TMZ showed Barnes direct messaged an undercover LVMPD vice detective on Instagram and made them an offer to earn money through prostitution.
The undercover officers said police searched Barnes’ Instagram account and noted multiple posts that referenced prostitution and pimping, TMZ reported.
One specific post included a picture of the former MTV star on a private plane with the caption “Sending em” with a moneybag and crown emojis.
That’s when law enforcement launched the investigation into the former teen star, according to TMZ.
The undercover officer said Barnes called her and bragged about having seven homes across the United States and said he traveled frequently, TMZ reported.
Barnes told the undercover officer that Las Vegas wasn’t a safe city to do business because authorities had been cracking down.
The undercover officer said she did a phone interview with Barnes and, after she passed the test, the rapper told her that he would make her a part of his “team” and “stable,” TMZ reported.
She said Barnes got verbally aggressive and ordered her to pack her belongings, get to the airport, and meet him in Charlotte, North Carolina to join his “stable” of prostitutes.
The undercover officer claimed she was afraid to leave home and Barnes got angry and tried to force her to go, demanding a $2,000 fee, TMZ reported.
Police said that social media posts, direct messages, phone calls, and the fee demand led to the arrest of Barnes of felony sex trafficking charges.
Court records showed Barnes was charged on April 26 and released on his own recognizance, KSNV reported.
His preliminary hearing was scheduled for May 10.
Barnes starred in the second season of “Making the Band” in the early 2000s and became a member of Da Band, a hip hop group created by “Sean P. Diddy” Combs, KSNV reported.
