An Indian-origin motel manager was among the 10 people arrested and charged as several agencies targeted locations near the notorious Figueroa Corridor in Operation Broken Blade. Figueroa Corridor, an area of South LA, is known for trafficking and underage prostitution. 45-year0old Mukeshkumar Rambhai Patel, the on-site manager of the motel, has been facing a series of financial crimes connected to human trafficking.
Get breaking news anytime, anywhere. Download the TOI app now!
As agents combed through the motel, Federal Financial Crimes investigators told ABC7 that Ahir was not a trafficker but accused him of profiting off prostitution.
"The money told the story. As alleged, individuals associated with this location hid large amounts of illicit cash, manipulated records, and structured deposits to conceal proceeds from sex trafficking activities," said Jose Gonzalez, IRS Criminal Investigations.
From September 2024 to January 2026, Ahir deposited $64,581 in proceeds that he knew derived from the gang’s sex trafficking of children and adults. Ahir is also charged with “structuring,” or depositing smaller amounts at a time into bank accounts opened for this purpose to avoid banks from reporting large cash deposits to the US government.
Hoover gang sex trafficking
Many of those arrested are members or associates of the well-known Hoover Gang, which authorities say "largely controlled sex trafficking and prostitution" along the corridor. A federal indictment unsealed Wednesday lists 51 victims, some as young as 14.
Those members are facing charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking of a minor, sex trafficking through force, fraud, or coercion, drug trafficking conspiracy and concealment money laundering.
Federal prosecutors allege "the Hoovers worked together to recruit new victims via social media or in person, focusing on vulnerable minor girls and young women, particularly those with financial or emotional struggles or who had run away from home or in the foster care system. Victims were recruited via false promises of a luxurious lifestyle, intimidation, and actual or threatened violence. Pimps also supplied their victims with drugs such as oxycodone and amphetamines to create addictions that the pimps could exploit."
"They are targeting and preying on girls in the foster care system who are the most vulnerable. This is about using a human being to make money for yourself," said First Assistant US Attorney Bill Essayli.
"They will beat them. One of them bit a piece of meat out of her cheek in her face, down to the cartilage," Essayli said. "One of them was forced to have an abortion and then was forced to work that same night."
List of the 10 people arrested and charged
Cameron Lockett
Caleed Mouton
Nakhali Miller
Jorge Melendez
Mauricio Ulloa-Franco, Jr
Lagrane Lenox
Mukeshkumar Rambhai Ahir
Lenny Ray Mann
Kylan Young
Dejon MacDonald Williams
