Jennifer Helen Richmond (Orange County Jail, Orange…)
Christina Lynn Davis told agents she made up to $80,000 a month as an "escort" for businesses such as "Ashley's Playmates."
Jennifer Helen Richmond, her friend and another suspected prostitute, said she earned $500,000 in one year.
Davis and Richmond brought in so much cash to their "upscale" prostitution ring that they hid the money in the air vents at their apartment near downtown Orlando and stashed more in storage units, records show.
The Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation has been investigating the ring for years, but it wasn't until recently that serious charges were filed.
Richmond, 22, has been accused of racketeering — a crime that could send her to prison for 30 years if convicted. She remains in the Orange County Jail.
Davis and the ring's suspected leader, Abdullah Hamid, have fled the area and are not currently facing local charges, MBI officials said.
Throughout their investigation, agents identified 15 to 20 women who worked for Hamid during the past five to eight years, said MBI Director Larry Zwieg.
The group operated under various names, including "Platinum Companions," "Ashley's Playmates," "Platinum Girls" and "Platinum Companions DC."
It advertised on more than a dozen adult websites and also marketed its upscale escort services on Facebook.
The group offered services in other regions, too, agents said, including Washington, D.C.
"We provide a high class private incall and outcall service for your discreet, passionate, and intimate encounter. We are your local source for companions," one advertisement stated.
"Our models are available for visiting your residence or hotel and a nice upscale incall is always available as well."
According to their "agency" rates, one hour with an escort ranged from $300 to $400. A dinner date for up to five hours ranged from $1,500 to $1,800.
At one point in the investigation, MBI records show, agents tracked Davis, Richmond and Hamid to the Westgate Palace hotel on Carrier Drive.
Hamid was driving a Bentley around the parking lot that Davis later admitted she bought. Davis and Richmond were in a hotel room, and each woman told agents Hamid was their boyfriend.
Records said Davis admitted she was involved in an upscale-prostitution business and gave her money to Hamid, who sometimes stashed it in storage units.
When the three lived at the Lofts at SoDo near downtown Orlando, they hid $40,000 under the carpet and in the air vents, Davis said.
Richmond told agents she made $20,000 to $40,000 a month and admitted she hid about $500,000.
A man interviewed by agents in early February said he paid Richmond for sex about 10 times in 2010 and 2012 at her south Orlando apartment.
He also had sex with Davis.
Agents seized Davis' Bentley and some of the group's proceeds through the years. But agents still don't know what happened to all the cash.
According to the MBI report, an agent who questioned Richmond after she was caught at the Westgate hotel asked where the ring's cash was stashed.
"I won't tell you," Richmond replied. "I don't have to answer that."
apavuk@tribune.com or 407-420-5735
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