Sexual Wellness Startup’s Founder Questions Strength of US Case

A defense lawyer said he would seek to dismiss charges against the founder of a sexual wellness education startup who is accused of conspiring to manipulate victims of sexual trauma into providing forced labor.

Reid Weingarten told US District Court Judge Diane Gujarati at a hearing in Brooklyn, New York, Wednesday, that the government failed to identify victims of the alleged scheme.

Prosecutors allege OneTaste founder Nicole Daedone and another executive drove clients into debt and coerced them to perform sexual acts while also withholding wages from some employees. In 2018, a Bloomberg Businessweek investigation detailed allegations from former OneTaste ...