A federal immigration worker in Minnesota got himself into hot water this week, landing among a group of 16 guys nabbed in a police setup targeting creeps preying on minors. The operation, dubbed “Operation Creep,” went down in Bloomington, and one of the suspects turned out to be Alexander Steven Back, a 41-year-old auditor with Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of Robbinsdale.
Back’s run-in with the law started when he bit on a fake online ad for prostitution services back on November 13. What he didn’t know was that it was all a trap set up by undercover Bloomington cops.
According to the court docs, an officer pretending to be a 17-year-old girl named Bella shot him a text saying she was a bit younger than the ad let on—just being upfront about it. Back brushed it off with a casual “Sure,” even after she mentioned another guy flipping out over her age. He double-checked if she was with the cops, got the all-clear, and headed over to the spot they gave him, pulling up in a car registered to his wife.
That’s when things went south fast. Officers swooped in, cuffed him, and grabbed his phone. And get this—in the heat of the moment, Back reportedly blurted out, “I’m ICE, boys,” like that was supposed to get him a free pass or something. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges wasn’t having any of it. At a press conference on November 18, he laid it out plain: “My understanding is, he helped send people to see federal authorities. I think he’s going to see some federal authorities because I think the feds are going to take this case.”
Hodges didn’t hold back on the irony—here’s a guy whose day job involves cracking down on serious crimes, and he’s the one walking right into this mess. Back’s facing a felony charge for trying to hire someone he thought was between 16 and 18 for sex. He got booked into Hennepin County Jail that same day, but posted a $75,000 bond and walked out two days later. He skipped entering a plea at his initial court date on November 17, and he’s got another appearance lined up for December 17.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE has chimed in yet on the whole ordeal. Back couldn’t be reached for comment at the number tied to his name. It’s a wild story that hits close to home for anyone thinking about trust in the folks enforcing the law.