The leaders of two D.C.-area prostitution rings that worked together to make millions of dollars have both pleaded guilty to racketeering and money laundering charges.
Together, the operations run by 26-year-old Otasowie Christopher Asuen and 33-year-old Kuraye Akuiyibo made $3.4 million and employed at least 150 prostitutes, according to federal prosecutors.
The two men and four others who worked for their businesses were indicted in January in federal court in Alexandria, when prosecutors alleged they ran prostitution operations disguised as escort services, using violence and money laundering to operate the rings.
Asuen pleaded guilty this week to employing more than 50 prostitutes in his operation, first called Prime DC and later renamed DMV INDYS, and admitted he earned $1.8 million since fall 2009 from the ring. Akuiyibo pleaded guilty last month to employing more than 100 prostitutes and making $1.6 million since 2008 through his enterprise, Classy DC Escorts.
The convictions “Have helped dismantle a criminal organization that generated large profits in a very short time period,” Neil MacBride, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, said in a statement Thursday.
The two “shared information with one another about their respective prostitution businesses in order to enhance their efficiency,” Asuen’s plea agreement says. Court records say they shared information about prostitutes and money collectors.
Two women who answered phones, booked appointments and screened clients for Classy, and another woman who helped launder the profits, have also pleaded guilty in the scheme. A fourth woman accused of working for both prostitution operations by editing photographs to remove tattoos and birthmarks is scheduled to face trial later this month.
Both Asuen and Akuiyibo recruited prostitutes from across the United States and Canada by soliciting women online on sites like Craigslist and Backpage, according to court documents.
The operations became violent at one point and could have escalated further. In September 2010, the pair learned that a man who collected and deposited money for them “had been involved with a Classy prostitute and was making plans to open a rival prostitution business,” Akuiyibo’s plea agreement says. Akuiyibo then punched the man in the head and face and struck him with a power cord, according to the plea agreement.
He also threatened to harm a prostitute if the woman didn’t pay money she reportedly owed to Classy, and Akuiyibo stole her Social Security card and cellphone, court documents say.
