Newington, Virginia, United States

Agni Lisa Brown (a.k.a. “Agni Lisa Graham,” “Michelle,” and “Lisa”) and her daughter Maria Antoinetta Mourizaki (a.k.a. “Tonia”) ran a brothel located in Springfield, Virginia between the years of 1997 and 2005. The brothel was open 6 days a week, from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. The prostitutes were often illegal immigrants in the United States, some of whom had been trafficked into the country by human traffickers. Information on the traffickers is unknown since Brown and Mourizaki were uncooperative and did not divulge this information. The women were trafficked from multiple areas, including but not limited to Mexico and Thailand. Brown and Mourizaki hired women around the ages of 18-25, convinced them to engage in illegal prostitution, transported them over state boundaries, and housed many of them in the brothel. They had a diverse work force that included Asian, Hispanic, and American women. The exact number of women who worked in the brothel during its time of operation is unknown, but it is believed that a small number of women worked there for a long time. In the case of at least one of the trafficked victims, the woman paid a large sum to enter the United States; when she was sold to Brown, Brown assumed her debt, and so the women fell into a situation of debt bondage. Agni Lisa Brown split the money earned from the brothel into five bank accounts at Burke and Herbert Bank and 5 bank accounts at Suntrust Bank. She used that money to pay for the rent of the brothel from 2000-2005, to pay for the utilities and maintenance of the brothel from 2000-2005, and to pay for newspaper advertisements in both the “Adult Employment” and “Adult Services” sections of the Washington City Paper from January 2002-March 2005. Brown also laundered money from the brothel. During the time the brothel was open, she deposited $731,432 into bank accounts, purchased $633,504 in properties and cars, and kept $168,900 in her home.

Location

United States · Newington, Virginia · 2005 (location generalized to protect survivors)

Response & intervention

Both women pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2421 and the Travel Act, Title 18, United States Code, Section 2422 (a). Additionally, Agni Lisa Brown pleaded guilty to promotion money laundering and transactional money laundering from the brothel’s proceeds. U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris sentenced Maria Antoinetta Mourizaki to 27 months in prison and three years probation. Cacheris sentenced Agni Lisa Brown to 30 months in prison and three years probation, ordered her to file amended tax returns for 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2004, and ordered her to pay any back taxes. He also ordered her to forfeit her home in Cape Charles, Virginia, her home in Alexandria, Virginia, her 2003 GMC Envoy, her 1999 Ford Expedition, $168,900 seized from her Alexandria home, $23,180.65 from her bank accounts, and $2,006 found in her vehicle. The brothel was closed and the two women were charged for their crimes. They were emancipated, but it is unknown whether or not they received aftercare and whether or not they were deported. The FBI and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case. On February 25th, 2005, and undercover FBI special agent by the name of “M.W.” was hired by Agni Lisa Brown as a prostitute for the brothel, and the findings of her undercover investigation lead to the closure of the brothel. One of the local female prostitute’s testimony solidified law enforcement’s understanding of the operation of the brothel. For more information on the case, you can click on any of the following links: http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae/Pressreleases/12-DecemberPDFArchive/05/20051207brownnr.pdf http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae/Pressreleases/03-MarchPDFArchive/06/20060322brown_mourizakinr.pdf http://alextimes.com/news/2006/feb/03/woman-gets-federal-prison-time-for-brothel/

Sources

Documented on the original SlaveryMap (2008–2016). Use “Report a problem” below to add a source or flag an issue.

← All documented cases