We posted a story yesterday about an Onlyfans investigation into “chatters” and now just a day later a federal class action lawsuit has been filed against OnlyFans parent company Fenix International Limited and eight agencies providing “chatter” services to OnlyFans models.

The lawsuit, led by Arizona-based attorney Robert B. Carey and his co-counsel Michella A. Kras from Hagens Berman, was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The suit alleges fraud, invasion of privacy, and violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

The class action lawsuit coincides with a Reuters investigation into the use of chatters on OnlyFans, highlighting concerns over privacy and deceptive practices.

The lawsuit represents hundreds of millions of OnlyFans users who pay to communicate directly with content creators. According to a statement published on the Hagens Berman website, the lawsuit claims fans are misled into believing they are engaging in authentic conversations with creators. In reality, they are often communicating with professional chatters hired to impersonate the creators and encourage spending.

The agencies included in the lawsuit are

• Boss Baddie
• Moxy Management
• Unruly Agency (aka Dysrpt Agency)
• Behave Agency
• A.S.H. Agency (Riley Reid’s OF company)
• Content X
• Verge Agency
• Elite Creators

“The lawsuit is filed on behalf of hundreds of millions of OnlyFans users, or fans, who pay to communicate directly with preferred content creators on a personal, often intimate, level,” the statement reads. “The suit alleges that fans are led to believe they are engaged in an authentic conversation when they are actually communicating with professional chatters hired to impersonate the creator and convince users to spend more money.”

In addition to Fenix International and its digital division, Fenix Internet, the lawsuit names eight agencies known for representing models with large followings. The plaintiffs, a class of consumers who have used their first and last initials to obscure their identities, accuse the defendants of engaging in a RICO enterprise that harmed the plaintiffs and class members.

RICO, initially created to combat organized crime, allows for civil claims against organizations deemed corrupt. The lawsuit alleges that OnlyFans and the named agencies conspired to deceive and defraud users through the use of chatters.

The use of chatters on OnlyFans has been a point of contention. These chatters are employed by agencies to manage the overwhelming number of messages popular models receive, often impersonating the creators to maximize revenue.

Mike Stabile, Free Speech Coalition’s director for public affairs, raised concerns about the lawsuit’s potential impact on content creators. “An international law firm is shopping around a class action ‘fraud’ suit against OnlyFans creators with chat teams to get ‘justice for all subscribers,'” commented Stabile. “I can think of little as cynical—and can’t imagine the ways this will be weaponized by fans to extort and harass sex workers.”

The filing comes on the heels of a Reuters investigation titled “OnlyFans’ porn juggernaut fueled by a deception,” which delves into the chatter phenomenon within the OnlyFans economic model. The investigation, which features Carey prominently, sheds light on the operational intricacies and ethical concerns surrounding the use of chatters.

As the lawsuit progresses, it highlights the growing scrutiny of OnlyFans’ business practices and the broader implications for online platforms that rely on user interaction and subscription models. The outcome of this case could set significant precedents for how digital platforms manage and disclose the use of third-party services like chatters.

OnlyFans has not yet responded to requests for comment regarding the lawsuit. The legal proceedings will undoubtedly be closely watched by stakeholders within the adult entertainment industry and beyond, as they navigate the complex intersection of user privacy, business ethics, and digital platform management.