🚨NO WHITE SUPREMACISTS INVOLVED🚨
🚨NO ISLAMIC JIHADISTS INVOLVED🚨
FOX 11 Los Angeles published August 13, 2025: LA gang members arrested, accused of massive sex trafficking operation. Six suspected members of the Hoover gang in South Los Angeles were arrested, accused of pimping girls as young as 14 along the Figueroa corridor.
ABC7 published August 14, 2025: 11 suspected gang members arrested in sex trafficking ring along Figueroa Corridor in South LA. Eleven suspected gang members are facing federal charges for allegedly participating in a massive sex trafficking ring along the Figueroa Corridor in South Los Angeles.
NBCLA published August 13, 2025: South LA gang members arrested for sex trafficking girls. Eleven people were indicted Wednesday as they were accused of luring young women and teenage girls into sex work. Mekahlo Medina reports.
CBS News
written by Matthew Rodriguez
Wednesday August 13, 2025
A grand jury indicted 11 members and associates of the Hoover Criminal Gang for sex trafficking children and adults along South Los Angeles' Figueroa Corridor, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
In addition to sex trafficking crimes, the 31-count indictment charges the following 11 people with one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act:
[BLEEP]
The Justice Department described Armstead as the de facto leader of the 112 set, an offshoot of the Hoover Criminal Gang, and named her as the lead defendant in the RICO case. Federal and local law enforcement arrested all of the suspects except Isrel, as of Wednesday afternoon.
If convicted, the defendants could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
"Today's operation is the first step in returning the Figueroa Corridor – long known as prostitution haven – back to its residents who have suffered for too long while criminals were allowed to run amok," Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.
Federal prosecutors claimed the gang had controlled the sex trafficking and prostitution ring along the Figueroa Corridor between February 2021 and August 2025. Investigators said the gang recruited new victims through social media or in person, primarily focusing on vulnerable women and girls with financial or emotional struggles, some of whom were runaways or foster youth. The Justice Department said the gang provided the women with drugs, gave them false promises of a luxurious lifestyle and, in some cases, beat them.
"The exploitation of vulnerable women and children through sex trafficking is one of the most heinous crimes our society faces," said Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell. "The victims in this case – many of them minors, runaways, or from the foster care system – were preyed upon by individuals who sought to profit from their pain."
The suspects forced sex workers to give up everything they had made, according to the indictment. The Justice Department said the women who refused or disobeyed were either beaten, berated, humiliated and starved of affection, drugs or food.
Several of the women were branded with tattoos of some of the suspects' nicknames.
"Human trafficking is among the most heinous crimes perpetuated throughout the world," said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang. "No human should be for sale – not here in Los Angeles or anywhere in our society. Today's operation is a result of our commitment to identify and rescue victims of trafficking and to hold accountable these criminal organizations exploiting them."
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Fox11 News, Los Angeles, CA local
written by Alexa Mae Asperin
Wednesday August 13, 2025
LOS ANGELES - Federal and local law enforcement have arrested six members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Hoover Criminal Gang on federal charges, accusing them of running a sex trafficking ring on the city's Figueroa Corridor.
The backstory: According to the indictment, members and associates of the gang controlled sex trafficking and prostitution on the Figueroa Corridor from February 2021 to August 2025.
They allegedly acted as pimps by managing victims, renting motel rooms, and using violence, humiliation, and other tactics to discipline those who disobeyed.
The indictment also claims that the gang recruited victims, often vulnerable minors, through social media and in-person and that they were sometimes branded with the pimp's tattoo.
"Victims were required to remit all proceeds from commercial sex dates to the pimp. A victim who refused or who otherwise disobeyed a pimp faced discipline, including assaults, berating, public humiliation, and withholding of affection, drugs or food. Victims also were branded with tattoos of a defendant’s moniker," the indictment read.
According to court documents, the pimps targeted vulnerable minors and young women, particularly those with financial or emotional struggles, or those who had run away from home.
"Pimps also plied their victims with drugs ranging from oxycodone to amphetamines," the indictment stated. "Victims were recruited via false promises of a luxurious lifestyle, intimidation, and actual or threatened violence."
In one instance in April 2024, two of the alleged pimps used rooms at a South LA motel to traffic their victims, one of whom was 14-years-old. One of the alleged pumps, Amaya Armstead, allegedly gave the victim – who was sex trafficked for at least three consecutive days – condoms to use for commercial sex dates with "Johns" or sex buyers.
What we know: The following individuals are charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act:
[BLEEP]
Dig deeper: The indictment described the Hoovers as a criminal street gang formed in the late 1970s and later became part of the larger "Westside Crips" umbrella.
The Westside Crips eventually split into two factions – the Gangster Crips and the Neighborhood Crips -- and the Hoovers aligned themselves with the Gangster Crips.
From the late 1970s to the early 1990s, the Hoovers were known as "Hoover Gangster Crips" or "HGC." To differentiate themselves from other gangs in the area and to establish their own reputation, Hoovers factions or "sets" dropped the "Gangster Crip," from their identity and became the "Hoover Criminal Gangsters" or simply the "Hoover Criminals."
"The more sovereign Hoovers gang identity gave rise to the especially dangerous Hoovers mentality of being an ‘Everybody Killer,’ or ‘EBK,’ meaning that members will kill anyone, or commit violence against anyone, who stands in their way of making money or promoting the Enterprise," court documents stated.
"This created an atmosphere of intimidation that allowed the Hoovers to operate with virtual impunity. Moreover, the pride and power of being associated with the Hoovers enabled and empowered its members and associates to commit criminal offenses that enriched the individuals and furthered the reputation and objectives of the Enterprise," the indictment read.
What they're saying: Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli stated that federal law provides harsher sentences for sex trafficking than state law.
"There are no meaningful consequences for their conduct under state law, so the federal government... will step in to make sure these criminals face lengthy prison sentences," he said.
Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang emphasized the agency's commitment to fighting human trafficking.
"No human should be for sale – not here in Los Angeles or anywhere in our society," Wang said.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell commented on the victims, saying they were "preyed upon by individuals who sought to profit from their pain."
He added that the LAPD is committed to working with federal partners to "dismantle these criminal networks, bring their perpetrators to justice, and ensure survivors receive the protection and support they deserve."
What's next: Law enforcement is still looking for one defendant, Bryan Isrel.
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