SANTA ANA, Calif. – A brothel ringleader was sentenced to 10 years in state prison today for pandering 53 women to commit prostitution at high-end apartments in Irvine.

Co-defendant Tina Lorraine Saunders, 53, Ladera Ranch, was charged on Feb. 2, 2017, with one felony count each of conspiracy to commit pimping, conspiracy to commit pandering, pimping, and pandering in Case # 17CF0268. If convicted, she faces a maximum of six years in state prison and is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing on June 30, 2017, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

Circumstances of the Case

• Between December 2014 and January 2017, Chaiban ran a sophisticated brothel operation at multiple high-end apartments in Irvine.
• Saunders is accused of aiding and abetting Chaiban by renting an apartment for Chaiban to use as a brothel.
• Saunders is accused of recruiting adult women to work for Chaiban by placing Internet advertisements to meet potential victims.
• Once women were recruited, Chaiban took sexually explicit photographs of 52 separate victims and posted their photos of various websites commonly used to advertise prostitution.
• He also operated his own website on a unique web domain.
• Chaiban posed as a woman to communicate with sex purchasers in order to set up prostitution dates.
• The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force (OCHTTF) located several Irvine luxury apartments where Chaiban arranged for sex purchasers to meet with the victims.
• During the investigation, OCHTTF and Irvine Police Department (IPD) detectives observed dozens of men going into and out of the apartments in 30-minute and one-hour increments before the victims left each evening.
• Chaiban entered the apartments to collect cash earnings left behind by the victims at the end of each day, kept the majority of the money for himself, and maintained a detailed client list.
• On Jan. 31, 2017, OCHTTF arrested the defendants while they were leaving their home.
• At the time of his arrest, Chaiban possessed over $465,240 in cash in a storage locker.

Members of the OCHTTF and the Orange County District Attorney's (OCDA) Office work proactively to protect women and minors from falling victim to commercial sexual exploitation. Demand for commercial sex is a primary factor in human exploitation and trafficking in Orange County. This case was investigated by OCHTTF, a partnership between Anaheim Police Department, California Highway Patrol, Costa Mesa Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, IPD, Newport Beach Police Department, OCDA, Orange County Sheriff's Department, Santa Ana Police Department, and community and non-profit partners.

Prosecutor: Deputy District Attorney Daniel Varon, HEAT Unit

Proposition 35 and HEAT

To read more about California's anti-human trafficking Proposition 35 and the OCDA's Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, please visit www.orangecountyda.org and select Human Trafficking Information from the Media Center drop down menu.

Orange County District Attorney / Case # 17CF0269 / May 30, 2017