By Shayna Jacobs, Murray Weiss, Serena Solomon and Leslie Albrecht
DNAinfo Staff
MANHATTAN — Authorities investigating alleged 'Millionaire Madam' Anna Gristina are seeking her suspected co-conspirator — a woman who worked as a recruiter for a high-end Union Square matchmaking service that pairs monied men with pedigreed women.
Prosecutors are looking to question Jaynie Mae Baker, a beautiful 30-year-old recruiter for VIP Life, a matchmaking service that's been featured on "20/20" and in the New York Times, sources told DNAinfo.
Baker is believed to be an associate of Anna Gristina, the mother of four who is suspected of running a high-end prositution service that catered to wealthy and powerful men. She was indicted with Gristina, but is yet to be found.
Sources said Baker knew Gristina from high-end networking dinners that the accused madam hosted at Manhattan restaurants. Guests at the intimate soirees, from which Gristina would collect fees, included a Scottish billionaire, a Morgan Stanley banking big and the owner of a Fifth Avenue building, among others.
Gristina was looking to create an online dating service that would offer similar networking potential when she was busted last month, sources said.
Baker, who lives in Williamsburg, has worked since 2007 at VIP Life, according to her LinkedIn profile, but founder Lisa Clampitt said Baker started working for VIP Life about six months ago.
The service works with a select roster of only 30 male clients at a time, who pay to be matched with beautiful, engaging women, said Clampitt.
Baker worked for the agency as a contractor referring men to VIP Life, for which she received a finder's fee, said Clampitt. She'd referred about two or three men to the service, Clampitt said.
Both male and female clients at VIP Life must complete an extensive background check that includes family history and relationship history. The agency prides itself on weeding out women who are gold diggers or high-maintenance, Clampitt told DNAinfo.
VIP Life only works with men who are interested in long-term relationships, Clampitt said, adding that she recently turned away a "super handsome" male client because she heard he had a reputation as a player. The service claims it's responsible for dozens of marriages.
Clampitt, who said she's known Baker for 10 years, described Baker as a "sweet" young woman who wouldn't be involved in illegal activity, adding that she'd be "horrified" if Baker was mixed up in prostitution. Clampitt said that she last saw Baker about a month ago at a her house where Baker's boyfriend cooked dinner for them. Baker was preparing for a move to Los Angeles.
Baker, a brunette beauty with sultry brown eyes, attended Broward Community College in Florida, according to her Linkedin profile. She has an IMDB page that lists her as cast member in "WWE $250,000 Raw Diva Search," a 2005 video about professional wrestling.
"Have tried many things but have learned sitting at a desk pulls the energy from my soul and thus not for me," Baker says on her LinkedIn profile.
Baker's Facebook page says she co-hosted a fundraiser for a Texas-based animal shelter called Shelby Shelter with Gristina, a pig lover, last fall at a West Village nightclub. Their fellow co-host, the nightclub owner, said Baker was an old friend who he briefly dated years ago.
Baker tried to recruit the night club owner for VIP Life, but he declined, he said. The club said he'd met and dated many of Baker's friends over the years, but none ever asked for money or implied they wanted payment.
"I know a lot of pimps, madams and escorts and would know if she was one," the club owner told DNAinfo. "And if she was one I would be very surprised that she hadn't contacted me about it over all the years I've known her."
