Yearlong investigation nets 4 arrests in alleged O.C. prostitution ring

Four women accused of operating an illegal escort agency that operated in Orange County and other locations were arrested this week after a yearlong investigation, local law enforcement officials announced Wednesday.

Jodi Hoskins, 43, of Las Vegas and Torri Wilkinson, 37, of Salt Lake City were charged with four counts of pimping and pandering and four counts of conspiring to commit pimping and pandering.

They are accused of running Companions Escorts, which operated call centers in Newport Beach and Santa Ana, according to the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force.

Andrea Tizzano, 30, and Aisha Kaluhiokalani, 39, both of Palm Springs, were also charged with four counts of pimping and pandering. They allegedly ran call centers in Santa Ana and Palm Springs.

Hoskins and Wilkinson each face maximum sentences of 12 years and eight months in state prison. Tizzano and Kaluhiokalani face maximum sentences of 10 years in state prison.

Other call centers operated in Las Vegas and Salt Lake City, according to the task force.

All of the women were arrested on Tuesday. Tizzano, Wilkinson and Kaluhiokalani are in custody in Orange County and are each being held in lieu of a $1 million bond.

Hoskins is in custody in Las Vegas, where she awaits extradition. Wilkinson was arrested in Irvine.

“What’s so interesting about this case is that what we typically see is male pimps who prostitute females and others for exploitation and money,” Orange County District Atty. Todd Spitzer said. “In this case we have women exploiting women for gain.”

Although the case spans multiple jurisdictions, Spitzer’s office will handle prosecution.

Law enforcement officials walked through the details of the case at a Wednesday press conference at the Anaheim Police Department headquarters.

Hoskins and Wilkinson allegedly started Companion Escorts in 2014 and developed a primary company website and another labeled “Newport Escorts,” according to court documents. The organization was allegedly made to look legitimate but derived money from up to 50 prostitutes at any given time.

Anaheim police Chief Jorge Cisneros said the accused operators were taking in tens of thousands of dollars a month.

Although the human trafficking task force handled the investigation, none of the women are being charged with human trafficking.

“They were charged with pimping and not human trafficking because of the lack of force we could show,” Anaheim police Sgt. Juan Reveles said.