Reuters charts Onlyfans • “Degrading” • Couldn’t pay for son’s karate lessons
It started with a declined transaction for the son’s karate lessons.
Then Melinda discovered that her husband had taken hundreds of thousands of kroner from their bank accounts – to buy content on the sex site Onlyfans.
– It was not only humiliating, it was devastating, she tells AP.
At least six credit cards had reached the maximum limit and in the account statements American Melinda Lamb got a clue as to where the money had gone.
– It just said Onlyfans, Onlyfans, Onlyfans, she says according to the Reuters news agency.
Mapping of police documents
The controversial platform has marketed itself as a safer alternative to the porn industry – where users can subscribe and pay for images and videos, often of a sexual nature.
But behind the platform, people have built up a fortune – and there have been many reports of people getting hurt.
With the help of police documents, Reuters has been able to map and reveal stories about some of them.
Burned over a million
One of them is 46-year-old Melinda Lamb, who was battling breast cancer at the time.
When she first discovered that her husband was an avid subscriber and user, $40,000 had been taken from their joint savings. In the end, he ended up spending the equivalent of 1.3 million Swedish kronor – which caused great damage to the family, both financially and emotionally.
“Hurt the most”
When Melinda confronted her husband, he became violent and she began preparing for both divorce and personal bankruptcy. In the police report seen by Reuters, she describes it as “the ultimate betrayal”.
– What hurt the most was dealing with this mess while I was fighting cancer, she says.
Onlyfans had a turnover equivalent to 13 billion dollars in 2023. Money that is earned “at the expense of people like me”, says Melinda according to Reuters.
– It’s just money in the pocket. They don’t think about the consequences.