Family Operating Countywide Commercial Sex Operation and Laundering Scheme Sentenced
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. (KEYT) – Four family members operating a commercial sex operation were sentenced to state prison this week.
Xiangwei Ma of Simi Valley was identified as the leader of the family-operated commercial sex operation. She was convicted of pimping, mortgage fraud and nine counts of money laundering before being sentenced to 14 years and eight months in state prison.
Xiangdong Ma of Hacienda Heights was convicted of pimping and five counts of money laundering. He was sentenced to ten years in state prison.
Li Ma of Oxnard was sentenced to five years and four months in state prison after her conviction for money laundering and pimping.
Ming Ma of Oxnard was convicted of a charge of pimping and two counts of money laundering. He was sentenced to four years and four months in state prison.
Both Xiangwei and Ming Ma admitted that each convicted offense involved planning and professionalism and the jury found that the special allegation also applied to the convictions of Li Ma and Xiangdong Ma explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Xiangwei Ma, Li Ma and Ming Ma also admitted to engaging in a pattern of criminal profiteering as part of an organized criminal activity and the jury also found this true beyond a reasonable doubt regarding the charges against Xiangdong Ma leading to the forfeiture of the defendant's financial interests of more than $1.25 million in seized currency, bank funds and life insurance cash value detailed local prosecutors.
"Behind the doors of seemingly legitimate massage businesses in Ventura County was a criminal enterprise that exploited vulnerable women and generated enormous profitsm," Senior Deputy District Attorney Rikole Kelly shared. "These convictions send a powerful message: our communities will not be a marketplace for commercial sex, and those who profit from exploiting others will be held accountable."
The investigation into the criminal enterprise began in 2020 after multiple law enforcement agencies received anonymous letters reporting human trafficking at massage parlors in Ventura County including Miracle Massage in Ventura and A+ Massage in Port Hueneme shared the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the investigation into the allegations revealed that Xiangwei Ma alongisde her husband Ming Ma, her brother Xiangdong Ma, her sister Li Ma, and Li Ma's husband Jaime Calderon operated the commercial sex operation through massage businesses that served as fronts for more than a decade.
Jaime Calderon previously pled guilty to money laundering connected to the illicit enterprise in August of 2023 noted local prosecutors.
Investigators learned that the defendants worked to recruit women from China and then exploit then for commercial sex work detailed the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
Xiangwei Ma pled guilty to attempted pandering in Los Angeles County and served an 18-month prison sentence, but other members of the organization continued operations and after her release, she resumed directing the commercial sex operation while deliberately avoiding being listed as an owner or manager at the businesses explained the Ventura County District Attorney's Office.
According to prosecutors, Xiangwei Ma used other people as nominal, or 'straw' owners, to conceal her involvement in both business and real estate deals used to launder the organization's criminal proceeds.
"Their illicit massage businesses were structured to survive even after law enforcement made arrests for pimping and prostitution," District Attorney Erik Nasarenko noted. "The sophisticated money laundering investigation conducted by District Attorney investigators allowed us to seize the assets of their commercial sex operations and shut down the businesses for good."
