JONATHAN RUIZ Pleaded Guilty to Trafficking Multiple Women, and Running Prostitution Operation from Rikers While Awaiting Trial

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg today announced the guilty plea of JONATHAN RUIZ, a/k/a “Saiint,” 32, for conspiring to violently traffic multiple women in their mid-twenties, forcing them to engage in commercial sexual acts in at least six states, including New York. RUIZ coerced the women by beating them, brandishing a firearm, withholding their personal identifying documents, forcing them to take cocaine, and more, and disguised his financial proceeds by creating an LLC based in Connecticut. RUIZ pleaded guilty to two counts of Sex Trafficking, as well as Labor Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree, and Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree and is expected to be sentenced on July 25, 2025, to the court’s promised term of 16 1/3 years in state prison.

Today, RUIZ also pleaded guilty to tampering with witnesses and running a prostitution operation from Rikers Island while awaiting trial on the Sex Trafficking indictment. With the help of JAMIXA ALVAREZ, 27, RUIZ hid one of survivors included in the Sex Trafficking indictment from law enforcement while continuing to use her in his operation. RUIZ pleaded guilty to Promoting Prostitution in the Third Degree and two counts of Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree pertaining to this indictment. ALVAREZ pleaded guilty to Promoting Prostitution and Tampering with a Witness in the Fourth Degree and is expected to be sentenced on June 5, 2025, to the court’s promised term of 1-to-3 years in state prison.

“Jonathan Ruiz ran a violent sex trafficking operation that spanned from Massachusetts to Delaware,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Even while incarcerated, he continued to harm a trafficking survivor by hiding her from law enforcement and continuing to use her to make a profit. We want survivors to know that this is a safe place to seek help. Please call us at 212-335-3400.”  

First Indictment – Sex Trafficking Operation

According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, and as admitted in his guilty plea, RUIZ trafficked multiple women in their mid-twenties between February 2020 and February 2021. RUIZ posted online advertisements for the women and drove them to work at hotels and other locations across New York City, as well as in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Connecticut and Massachusetts. At one point, RUIZ moved multiple women to a house in Connecticut.

RUIZ compelled prostitution by beating the women if they did not want to work, stashed money to save, attempted to flee, or fell asleep when he wanted her to work. These beatings frequently resulted in black eyes, bruising to multiple parts of her body, and lacerations with long-lasting scars. RUIZ also owned a firearm, which he displayed to the women on at least one occasion.

RUIZ also withheld the women’s government identification cards, birth certificates, and social security cards to prevent them from fleeing and to fraudulently obtain government benefits and loans in their names. RUIZ used these IDs to apply for and collect thousands of dollars in state and federal benefits which were intended for the women. RUIZ also made the women take cocaine while working in order to stay awake and earn more money. If the women didn’t earn a specific amount each day, RUIZ would beat them or sometimes not allow them to eat.

RUIZ was also convicted of Labor Trafficking for forcing the women to take nude photos, create sex videos, and speak with clients on OnlyFans.com. RUIZ created the online accounts without the women’s consent, and the women did not receive any of the proceeds for performing on OnlyFans.

To conceal the operation, the defendant created an LLC in Connecticut, with RUIZ listed as an executive officer in the corporate filing. He also issued fraudulent pay stubs, maintained extensive transaction records between himself and prostitution clients, in part to wrongfully obtain unemployment benefits in the names of the survivors

Second Indictment – Conduct at Rikers

In July 2022 – shortly after his arrest – RUIZ began calling ALVAREZ on recorded phone calls while in custody on Rikers Island. Using coded language, RUIZ instructed ALVAREZ to locate one of the survivors in the June 2022 indictment and ensure that “no matter what she shouldn’t leave the house or crib.” ALVAREZ located this survivor, purchased her a plane ticket, and kept her inside a hotel room she rented in New Jersey, all while updating RUIZ.

For the next year, RUIZ worked with ALVAREZ to continue profiting from the commercial sex acts of this same survivor. Using contraband cell phones, RUIZ messaged ALVAREZ instructions on how to post prostitution ads and the best websites to use, reflecting the same methods RUIZ used in the underlying indictment. He sent her money to cover the costs of hotel rooms for the operation.

RUIZ also used contraband cell phones and third parties to contact other witnesses and survivors in the underlying indictment. In one instance, RUIZ instructed a witness to meet with his lawyer, writing: “You just need to stay away from them until I find this lawyer for you and I get out after that I’m right there with u. We can run away together.” RUIZ paid for the cell phones and other expenses by using third parties to move extensive amounts of money – the proceeds from his trafficking enterprise – on his behalf.

Recent Sex Trafficking Cases

• Matthew Halstead was indicted for allegedly sexually assaulting and trafficking a 16-year-old boy for approximately five months beginning in March 2024.
• Laville Davis was indicted for allegedly running a sex trafficking operation involving at least three women in his Harlem apartment in August and September 2024. DAVIS allegedly repeatedly beat and strangled the women – including in front of two children – threatened them with a firearm and raped at least one of them.
• Alex Jean was indicted for allegedly kidnapping, raping, and trafficking two women in Manhattan and New Jersey in 2014 and 2020. Jean was previously indicted for kidnapping an 18-year-old woman outside of Covenant House, a non-profit organization that supports young people who have experienced homelessness and trafficking.
• Winston Williams was indicted for allegedly operating a prostitution ring and trafficking at least one woman using multiple coercive tactics, including supplying them with drugs and subtracting the price of the drugs from the profits of their commercial sexual acts, leaving them in “debt” and under his control.

Acknowledgments

Assistant D.A.s John Fuller and Candace White are handling the prosecution of this case under the supervision of Assistant D.A. Jonathon Junig (Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit), Assistant D.A. Courtney Razner (Deputy Chief of the Human Trafficking Unit) and Executive Assistant D.A. Justin McNabney (Chief of the Special Victims Division).

D.A. Bragg thanked DANY Investigators Ariela DaSilva and Sean Ryan, Investigative Analysts Erin Kelly, Janine Nassar, Alexa Underwood, and Leslie Martinez as well as Investigator Julien Sampson of the New York City Department of Corrections FBI New Haven Office, the Youngstown Police Department, Major Jeff Allen of the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office, and Agent Kelly Lamb-Jankowski of the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, all of whom assisted with this investigation.

Human Trafficking Clinical Director Melissa Martinez provided invaluable clinical support to the survivors of this trafficking operation.

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