22 Charged In Major Bergen Prostitution, Human Trafficking Bust

BERGEN COUNTY, NJ — Members of a human trafficking and prostitution ring operating out of face charges after a months-long investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutors Office identified over 50 female victims, officials announced Thursday.

At least 22 members of the operation have been identified and charged with racketeering, human trafficking, prostitution and money laundering offenses, Prosecutor Mark Musella and Chief of Detectives Robert Anzilotti announced during a Thursday news conference. All but one has been arrested, as of Feb. 3.

The "large-scale international human trafficking organization" has been operating out of Bergen County for the last five or six years, and have trafficked women throughout Bergen, Hudson, Middlesex and Passaic Counties in New Jersey, and Rockland and Queens Counties in New York, authorities said.

Four people have been identified as the leaders of the criminal operation, including Birmania "Nancy" Rincon, 61, of Teaneck. Rincon is currently located in Colombia, but authorities said they are working with the Department of Justice to extradite her back to New Jersey.

Other leaders include:

• Luz "Amy" Rincon, 59, of Teaneck
• Bernardino Hernandez, 39, of Lodi
• Fernando Hernandez, 28, of Lodi

They are charged with racketeering, money laundering, human trafficking, promoting organized street crime and promoting prostitution. (Others charged are listed below.)

Authorities seized multiple properties in Teaneck and Florida, as well as $250,000 in cash.

The investigation, which the office is calling "Operation Hope In Darkness," found that victims were trafficked from small towns in Mexico "under the false promise of lawful employment," Musella said.

Women identified as victims range anywhere in age from 18 to their mid-30s, officials said. No minors have been identified as victims, Anzilotti said.

Officials detailed a chain of command which included organizers, managers, drivers and muscle which used victims to profit from a prostitution service, and launder hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the country.

"These young women have been victimized and preyed upon by men in this area seeking to exchange money for sexual favors," said Anzilotti.

It wasn't unusual for these victims to work 12-hour days, "servicing" between 20 to 40 clients in a single day, officials said.

While women were being used as "sexual slaves," the ringleaders of the group were netting around $250,000 a month in profits. Hardly any of that money was being kept by the victims, authorities said.

The scheme saw 50 percent of the profits go to the organization, while, hypothetically, 50 percent went to the victims. However, a majority of that money went back to their traffickers, who the victims were owed for bringing them into the country, authorities said.

That money was often wired back sex traffickers in the Puebla and Tenancingo regions of Mexico, authorities said.

Profits taken by group leaders were "deposited into bank accounts in an attempt to avoid currency transaction reporting requirements," authorities said.

Those funds were then used to pay mortgages and property maintenance expenses on the properties owned by Birmania and Luz Rincon, the Prosecutor's Office said.

The Prosecutor's Office connected victims with the Covenant House of New Jersey, who provided food, shelter, medical aid, counseling, job training and long term support "to any victim that wanted to take advantage of those services," Anzilotti said.

"We felt that it was a major role for us to play in helping these young victims find a new way of life," he added.

Other charges

Charged with second-degree money laundering, second-degree promotion of organized street crime and third-degree promoting prostitution are:

• Giovanni Morales-Degales, 32, Queens, NY
• Roberto Molina, 46, Hackensack, NJ
• Armando Garcia-Osorio, 38, Queens, NY

Charged with third-degree money laundering and third-degree prostitution are:

• Monserrat Gomez-Sanchez, 35, Elmwood Park, NJ
• Daniel Morffi, 24, Weehawken, NJ
• Catherine Echavarria, 28, Teaneck, NJ
• David Aguirre, 25, Englewood, NJ
• Edgar "Junior" Vanegas, 40, Bergenfield, NJ
• Edwin Mercado V, 18, Union City, NJ
• Gabriel Torres, 30, East Newark, NJ
• Rodrigo Santander-Quito, 34, West New York, NJ
• German Ceballos, 22, Bergenfield, NJ
• Anthony Quezada, 32, North Bergen, NJ

Charged with third-degree promotion of prostitution are:

• Joan "Tato" Rincon, 39, Lodi, NJ
• Oscar Rincon, 40, Elmwood Park, NJ
• Laura Garcia-Maravilla, 34, Lodi, NJ
• Jorge Rincon, 67, Teaneck, NJ

Bryan Jimenez-Rincon is charged with second degree possession of CDs with intent to distribute and third-degree money laundering.

Clarification: Twenty-one people have been arrested as a result of this investigation. One person, Birmania "Nancy" Rincon, has been charged, but not arrested.