Man, 45, accused of running sex trafficking ring with siblings extradited to NYC to face charges
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Federal prosecutors on Friday announced that a Mexican man accused of trafficking young women into the United States for over a decade and forcing them into prostitution will face charges in Brooklyn.
Hugo Hernandez-Velazquez, 45, was extradited on Wednesday and will make his initial court appearance Friday after he was arrested in Mexico last August.
According to prosecutors, Hernandez-Velazquez would draw in young women into romantic relationships in Mexico, then coerce them into moving to the United States with traffickers.
The women would then be forced into sex work in over 15 states, with Hernandez-Velazquez's trafficking headquarters located in Queens, prosecutors said.
His group also forced the victims to get abortions if they got pregnant, according to court papers. The young women were beaten and told their families in Mexico would face retribution if any of them tried to flee, the documents said.
His charges include racketeering, sex trafficking, fraud, interstate prostitution, alien smuggling, and money laundering.
Hernandez-Velazquez, his brother, Ernesto Hernandez-Velazquez, 40, and his sister, Arcelia Hernandez-Velazquez, 47, are facing charges in Brooklyn Federal Court.
His siblings were already awaiting trial in the United States.
The prostitution ring was allegedly run by the three siblings for 18 years.
They began trafficking women in 2001 and continuing up until 2019 when charges were first filed, authorities said.
In 2020, prosecutors in an indictment identified six unnamed women as victims of the scheme.
Federal agents said the sister lived in a Queens apartment on 18th Street with traffickers and victims and handled much of the day-to-day operations.
The sister monitored the prostitutes and would accompany them to buy condoms, tracked their sex work and profits, prosecutors said.
She also attempted to stop victims from cooperating with the government, upon learning of the investigation, feds agents said.
If convincted, all three siblings face life in prison.
