Date: May 19, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
INDIANAPOLIS— A federal jury has found Kristopher McDonald, of Indianapolis, guilty of the following eight counts related to his operation of a violent human and drug trafficking enterprise, “The Kristopher McDonald Organization.”
Count 1: Murder in aid of racketeering activity.
Count 2: Brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.
Count 3: Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
Counts 4 & 5: Sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion.
Count 6: Enticing an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.
Counts 7 & 8: Travel act; a federal crime to engage in interstate or international travel, for the purpose of furthering certain "unlawful activities.”
According to court documents and trial evidence, Kristopher McDonald orchestrated and led a human trafficking operation in Indianapolis. During this time, he recruited and exploited women, some from out of state, for commercial sex, maintaining strict control over the operation. McDonald managed all aspects of the criminal enterprise, including collecting proceeds from sex acts and using violence to intimidate and punish both clients and the women he exploited.
To manipulate and maintain control over the women, McDonald supplied them with crack cocaine, fostering addiction and dependency. He also used physical violence—including pistol-whipping—and threats of death to punish those who didn’t earn enough money or to force them into performing sex acts, often up to nine or ten times a day.
IRS, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and IMPD, investigated this case. U.S. District Chief Judge Tanya Walton Pratt presided over the trial and will sentence McDonald at a later date.
Acting U.S. Attorney Childress thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley Blackington and Michelle P. Brady, who are prosecuting this case.
IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.