Six reputed members and associates of the Hoover Criminal Gang were arrested Wednesday in what authorities called the first major takedown of a sex trafficking operation in the Figueroa Corridor of South Los Angeles.
The Hoovers largely controlled sex trafficking and prostitution along a 3.5-mile stretch of Figueroa Street between approximately Slauson Avenue and Century Boulevard from February 2021 to August 2025, according to a 155-page federal indictment charging 11 people.
Gang members and associates allegedly recruited vulnerable minors and young women — including runaways and children from the foster care system — through social media and branded them with tattoos, prosecutors charged.
Victims were recruited through false promises of a luxurious lifestyle, intimidation, and actual or threatened violence and were plied with drugs ranging from the synthetic painkiller oxycodone to amphetamines, according to the indictment.
Federal authorities allege Amaya Armstead, 25, a.k.a. “Lady Duck,” of South Los Angeles, was the de facto leader of the 112 set of the Hoover Criminal Gang and sex trafficked a 14-year-old girl. Armstead has been charged with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.
Armstead’s attorney declined to comment.
Indicted alongside Armstead were Kenyondre Young, 22; Naziz Harris, 19; Derail Robinson, 22; Jalon Phillips, 22; Bryan Isrel, 31, Tejohn Gray, 25; and Tommy Crockham, 30, — all from South L.A. Also charged were Avery Amoako, 27, of Long Beach; Jared Evans, 29, of the Mid-City area of L.A. and Mathew Brooks, 22, of Riverside.
Along with the RICO charge, the defendants are facing various other charges, including sex trafficking of minors; sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion; transportation of a minor for sex trafficking; sexual exploitation of a child; drug trafficking conspiracy; money laundering to promote specified unlawful activity; and conspiracy to straw purchase firearms.
Local and federal authorities arrested Amoako, Evans, Brooks, Phillips and Crockham on Wednesday morning. Armstead was transferred from state custody to federal custody and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. Authorities are still looking for Isrel. Three defendants are in state custody in California and Harris in Nebraska.
Bill Essayli, the top federal prosecutor in L.A., called the operation “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.”
“There are no meaningful consequences for their conduct under state law, so the federal government — aided by its local law enforcement partners — will step in to make sure these criminals face lengthy prison sentences,” Essayli said in a news release.
Nicknamed “The Blade,” the Figueroa Corridor is by far the most notorious sex trade hub or “track” in the city. Police officials and advocates for trafficking victims say that the Hoovers gang has long held a stranglehold on the area.
According to the indictment, the Hoovers formed in the late 1970s and their territory largely encompassed the Figueroa Corridor.
Gang members and associates allegedly acted as pimps “by managing and monitoring their victims, pooling resources to rent several motel rooms for commercial sex dates … and sending each other money via Cash App and Apple Pay,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s news release.
Victims were allegedly forced to turn over proceeds from commercial sex dates to the pimp. If a victim refused or otherwise disobeyed a pimp, they allegedly faced discipline, including assaults, berating and public humiliation, withholding of affection, drugs, or food, draconian “overtime” hours, or firing, according to the indictment.
In exchange, according to the indictment, pimps were expected to provide protection, clothing, housing, food and beauty services. Prosecutors said sex workers were required to have their hair and nails done at all times “because their grooming was a status symbol that reflected on her pimp.”
Victims were also branded with tattoos of a defendant’s moniker, according to the indictment.
The gang members and associates allegedly focused on recruiting vulnerable minor girls and young women, “particularly those with financial or emotional struggles or who had run away from home,” according to the news release from federal prosecutors.
In one case in April 2022, Gray and two accomplices drove to an area of San Bernardino notorious for prostitution activities and allegedly attempted to force two women into their car. Both victims broke free, according to the news release.
In April 2024, according to the indictment, Armstead and Evans allegedly rented rooms at the Stadium Inn, a South Los Angeles motel, including one in which a 14-year-old girl was sex trafficked for at least three consecutive days.
According to the news release, some members of the Hoovers criminal enterprise produced rap music and videos, which often glorified the gang, sex trafficking, drug sales and firearms possession. Gang members also allegedly posted videos and photographs of their assaults on others to social media, “in order to intimidate their victims and ensure their compliance in performing commercial sex work for the enrichment of their pimps and the Hoover gang itself.”
If convicted, some defendants would face a minimum of 15 years and potentially up to life in federal prison.
Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
