ST. CROIX — Federal prosecutors have charged three people for allegedly harboring undocumented workers and running a prostitution ring out of a St. Thomas strip club, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.
The defendants — Hussein Jamil, 56, also known as “Tony;” Magda Castro Santos, 39, also known as “Tatiana;” and 65-year-old Julio Hidaldo De Pena — were arrested following a criminal complaint authorized by a federal judge in the District of the Virgin Islands. All three reside in St. Thomas.
According to court documents, Jamil owns and operates Tootsys Gentlemen’s Club, a strip club in St. Thomas that the three defendants allegedly ran as a brothel. The club was promoted on Instagram and other social media platforms to recruit women to work as dancers and sex workers.
Prosecutors allege Jamil paid for U.S. citizens to fly from the mainland to St. Thomas and financed smuggling operations to bring foreign nationals into the territory illegally. Most of the dancers lived in a rental house on St. Thomas paid for by Jamil.
The complaint details distinct roles for each defendant. Hidaldo De Pena is alleged to have transported dancers between the rental house and the club. Castro Santos allegedly managed the dancers during their shifts — directing clients, collecting payments, and ensuring dancers met required fee quotas. Prosecutors say a coercive fee structure pushed women into commercial sex both at the club and through customers “buying out” dancers to take them to an off-site location.
Each defendant faces three federal charges: conspiracy to transport for purposes of prostitution, conspiracy to commit interstate and foreign travel in aid of racketeering enterprises, and conspiracy to harbor aliens for financial gain.
If convicted on the prostitution-related charges, each faces up to five years in prison. The harboring charge carries a maximum of 10 years.
The case is being investigated by the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Baker and Cherrisse Amaro for the District of the Virgin Islands, along with DOJ trial attorneys from the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.
The arrests are part of two overlapping federal initiatives. The Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) — a DOJ and Department of Homeland Security partnership targeting human smuggling and trafficking networks run by cartels and transnational criminal organizations — has secured more than 455 arrests and 400 U.S. convictions since its inception. The operation also falls under the Homeland Security Task Force, established by executive order, which coordinates federal, state, and local law enforcement across Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
