JEFFERSON CITY, Mo – It’s lonesome in prison, but it’s a lonely world on the outside too. Authorities say they have ended a prison pen-pal sex ring that brought female inmates $291,860. Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon has sued 33 prisoners in Cole County Circuit Court, to confiscate money they earned from Internet pen-pal services. Nixon asked the court to freeze the inmates’ assets: $291,860 in prison accounts. Nixon said in a statement that the inmates paid $5 to $40 to have their personal ads listed on a site, many of which contain provocative and sexually explicit photos. The inmates then received money from people interested in developing a pen-pal relationship.

Nixon sued under the 1988 Missouri Incarceration Reimbursement Act. It allows the state to claim an inmate’s assets to reimburse taxpayers for up to 90 percent of the cost of their imprisonment. Nixon said the 33 inmates’ incarceration totals come to $2,655,029 to date. “Missouri prisons are intended as institutions to punish criminals and protect society, not as a place of business at taxpayers’ expense,” Nixon said. “It costs the state millions of dollars to keep these individuals behind bars, and if they have the ability to pay part of that cost, they will.” The inmates became involved in several Web sites, including www.writeaprisoner.com, www.inmate-connections.com, www.thepamperedprisoner.com, www.inmatesforyou.com and www.cellpals.com.