Below is Google's translation of Renaud’s La Presse article.
////////////////////
How the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) dismantled an escort agency
Undercover agents posing as escorts interested in prostitution. Others playing the role of clients. A father worried about his daughter who fakes a date with her through his agency to convince her to leave the sex industry. Escorts denouncing the way they are treated. A long and unusual investigation by the Montreal Police Service (SPVM), which resulted in five charges being laid in January, sheds light on the inner workings of organized prostitution.
March 17, 2026
Daniel Renaud
Investigative Team, La Presse
May 6, 2025. “Hello, I’d be interested in working for you,” a young woman texted the phone number of the XO Escort Agency in Montreal. She found the number on the agency’s website, which listed the profiles of 58 young women with fictitious names, accompanied by photos of them posing suggestively in revealing outfits.
[SCREENSHOT from XO’s website showing photos of scantily clad women]
SCREENSHOT FROM THE XO ESCORT AGENCY WEBSITE
The dismantled agency offered the services of 58 young women.
Two days later, the applicant met with the agency owner, who had five cell phones in front of him.
“The rate is $280 an hour. The agency keeps $90 for the first client of the day and $80 for each subsequent client,” he explained. “If you miss an appointment, it will cost you $100. If you’re late, it will cost you $50. And if the condo isn’t left tidy after your shift, there will be a penalty of $10 to $20,” he continued.
The woman accepted the conditions. The next day, she went to a condo in a building on Saint-Antoine Street West and began seeing clients. But after the third client, she called the manager, told him she wasn’t feeling well, and abruptly ended her shift. She didn’t return.
The young woman is actually undercover agent AI XXX12, and her three supposed clients were also double agents.
12 clients per day
This undercover operation took place as part of a major investigation by the SPVM's Sexual Exploitation and Prostitution section, in collaboration with their colleagues from the Proceeds of Crime unit.
The man suspected of being the agency's leader and four other individuals were arrested and charged last January. The raid was kept quiet, but La Presse obtained court documents that detail the case. Not all the information contained therein has yet been tested in court.
The investigation began in the spring of 2024 when an escort contacted 911 in Montreal, claiming she was under the control of a pimping network. The woman had been recruited in Toronto. She arrived by plane in Montreal at 9:30 a.m. on April 20th, and on her very first day, the agency scheduled her with 10 clients, with a 15-minute break between each appointment. On her third day of work, the agency scheduled 12 clients for her, and she was sexually assaulted by one of them.
Fathers worried about their daughters
A few weeks later, on May 30, police received a call about a young woman, another escort from the agency, who was in a state of psychosis and intoxicated on Peel Street. The same woman had also been found intoxicated three months earlier.
While searching their databases, investigators discovered that citizens had previously filed complaints about prostitution in condos affiliated with the XO agency.
They also discovered that, in 2020, a father had recognized his 20-year-old daughter, using a fictitious name, on the agency's website. Posing as a client, he had booked a time slot with her to talk to her and convince her to come home; the man and his daughter then met with the police.
Three years earlier, in 2017, another man had gone to a police station to report that his 17-year-old daughter had joined an agency called EscortsXO and that he had recognized her in photos in sexy outfits on the agency's website.
A Cancelled Appointment
The police spared no expense in their investigative techniques. They requested and obtained at least 80 warrants or production orders. In addition to the one described above, they conducted several undercover operations, the first on October 8, 2024; an undercover agent posed as a client.
“After discussing services and money, the escort gave the woman five $20 bills and left without receiving any sexual services,” according to court documents.
The following November 14, an undercover agent booked an escort for the end of the evening. But agency officials contacted him to inform him that they had to cancel all appointments due to an emergency.
That same day, one of the suspects was pulled over by a Montreal police patrol officer because his vehicle registration was suspended. Upon searching it, the police officer found 14 white envelopes in the centre console containing over $3600 in total.
Between January and March 2025, another undercover agent spoke with one of the suspects. He explained to her how the agency operated, saying that "being an escort is a good strategy for making a lot of money and it's just a job like any other."
Cash only
According to evidence gathered during the investigation, the ringleaders allegedly used several condos where the women received clients. They gave the clients a code that allowed them to enter the buildings or they unlocked the doors remotely. They required clients to pay in cash. The agency is believed to have been operating since 2015.
Several charges related to prostitution have been laid against the five alleged ringleaders, and according to our information, at least two buildings used to commit the alleged crimes are subject to a restraining order.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, extension 4918, email
drenaud@lapresse.ca or write to La Presse's mailing address.
THE ACCUSED
Sammy Joe Ferrer, 35
[PHOTO]
PHOTO FROM COURT DOCUMENT
Sammy Joe Ferrer
He allegedly headed the agency and its prostitution activities.
Julien Tristan Désir Caux, 30
[PHOTO]
PHOTO FROM COURT DOCUMENT
Julien Tristan Désir Caux
He allegedly acted as a money collector.
Éric Faucher, 55
[PHOTO]
PHOTO FROM COURT DOCUMENT
Éric Faucher
He allegedly acted as a general handyman.
Noémie Foucault, 33
[PHOTO]
PHOTO FROM COURT DOCUMENT
Noémie Foucault
She allegedly handled appointment scheduling, taking photos of the escorts, preparing the schedules, and managing social media. Sheila Jean Ferrer, 27 years old
[PHOTO]
PHOTO TAKEN FROM A COURT DOCUMENT
Sheila Jean Ferrer
She was also allegedly responsible for scheduling appointments, taking photos of the escorts, preparing schedules, and managing social media.
THE CHARGES
- Having received a financial benefit knowing it was obtained through a crime;
- Having induced a person to offer sexual services for payment;
- Having advertised sexual services.
Vast majority barely spoke english.Just Québécois. Which made their charm, if you ask me.
