I've run into it - but, very, very rarely.
There was actually an incident in 2010 with a very well-known escort (she posted here) who apparently had a pimp. According to the news, they kidnapped a girl together and even advertised her on TER. While I never met her in person, she came across as extremely smart and literate in her posts. She seemed about as legit as you could get (to me, anyway). People who have been here a while will know who I mean (I don't have PM and am not sure I can post links to articles).
I've come across three other independents who had a "situation" - one had been pimped a few years back, one currently has a manager/boyfriend/pimp who takes ALL of her money. The last had (has? we lost touch) a husband who took all of her money (also, forced her to do some sessions w/undesirable clients such as those who wanted rape fantasies or unsafe activities)... even used some of her money to pay for sessions w/other girls. He'd also write shill posts for her, and women who worked for/with her.
The last incident involves an agency that went well beyond the traditional "middle man" role. This agency would basically force the girls to see certain clients, and do things with those clients against their will (fisting, greek, unsafe activities - this was in direct exchange for 10/10 scores from those clients, who were reviewers). These girls were not the more reliable/consistent employees and lives were rather unstable in general, from what I gathered... they were always in danger of getting fired. The agency always stressed how they were "helping" these girls by keeping them employed (and ostensibly educating them the ways of good service), letting them stay in incalls, and getting them better reviews.
Prior to 2009, I worked for a so-called Russian agency (although it was a mixture of Russians/Eastern Europeans and Brazilians with the odd Asian or grad student thrown into the mix). It was a B&S agency that was NOT on TER... however, it had a lot of regulars, and fulfilled a certain market (mainly late night). The owner was a thirty-something American/European dude who looked like he belonged on a college campus, and was always extremely helpful and polite. If there was a connection with the mafia, I certainly didn't see it (except, maybe a few of the clients were mafia... LOL).
I wouldn't assume everything is on the up-and-up just because a girl is independent, or because she's 'reputable' or 'well-reviewed.' On the other hand, I wouldn't assume that everything is thumbs down just because she's NOT any of those things. You just really never know, unless you know her... and even then, you don't always know.
-- Modified on 3/19/2017 11:13:19 AM