Opinion/Editorial
Also known as Nici of Nicis Girls & Bella of Bella Models, Michelle Braun was arraigned Monday in federal court for running a high-end prostitution ring during the past 15 years. She charged up to $50,000 a night and had models and porn stars working for her. Her ex-husband and her sister also helped run the company.
Michelle is fully cooperating with authorities and cut a plea that will get her no time in prison. She’s looking at forfeiting $325,425, paying a $30,000 fine, and spending six months under house arrest. She’ll be sentenced next month.
The prostitution ring was first discovered after an undercover FBI agent submitted a membership application on her website in March 2006. Michelle was caught on October 2007 when an agent posing as a “Platinum Club member” lured her into violating the Mann Act by transporting one of her girls from California to New York City.
The FBI got the evidence they needed from the private investigator Michelle had hired to run background checks on potential clients and her girls. They say the information on her Macbook, iPhone, and T-Mobile Sidekick is very valuable.
Many assume Michelle got this great deal so authorities can go after bigger fish and other escort agencies in Porn Valley. Because those other prostitution rings are far a greater evil than anything Michelle Braun has been involved in. Michelle paid her taxes and was never abusive towards her girls unlike others who have been rumored to do every imaginable thing towards their girls short of murder.
Other porn agencies might also be brought down by this with many girls already have been been arrested during the past year or so. But LA Direct will face the bigger blow when this is all said and done with.
The story is federal authorities first raided the offices at LA Direct on November 2007. Derek Hay denied the story while others said he was quickly looking to sell the agency and leave town. Rumor is Derek then moved into Vivid’s building and sets up shop there. If anyone knows why Steven Hirsch cut off his balls and handed them to Derek, please do tell!
Michelle Braun hasn’t released any statements yet. She’s due to plea guilty next month in court and is now free on $20,000 bond. Stay tuned ……..
The court files and plea agreement can all be viewed at HollywoodInterrupted.com.
frog
May 14, 2009
It’s good to see one of the whores themselves stepped up and took some of the money. I don’t even know why porn needs men, other than as props because of their cocks. But, they manage to run the whole damn thing.
It’s gotta be something along the lines of woman typically not having enough balls to pimp out other women. Easier for men to do because more men hate women than women do? Or, something like that.
Harvey Dent
May 14, 2009
Well the madaming is often done by women, often former whores who cannot take the paid cock anymore.
The Pimping, that is the recruiting and the hard arm twisting is done by men. Most madames has some mob connections for that.
Remember that the Earl of Pimpwich was a paid “consultant” on her agency, and Leslie Zen agency too.
I bet Pamela “stone face” Peaks and the “Mare” Shy Love have some men doing the dirty work in their agencies.
I wonder about Lita Chase and Lourdes Enterprises.
Harvey Dent
May 14, 2009
Is that Michelle Braun? While she has a good body I wonder the amount of airbrushing and photoshop done to her skin and face.
iwasthere
May 14, 2009
Yes, that is Michelle. She has huge implants and tons of facial plastic surgery a la Lexxy.
Lita was at AVN.
Harvey Dent
May 15, 2009
I know Lita was at AVN, she even threw a party to the hobbyists. I PW who is a friend of mine was there.
iwasthere
May 15, 2009
I think Lita will get all the business once Pimpwich goes down. Once she had Briana Banks in her stable, things really took off for her.
iwasthere
May 15, 2009
Remember when Luke ran that story about Michelle getting all the facial plastic surgery to change her identity after pissing off some Arabs in LA? I wonder if that was true.
Harvey Dent
May 15, 2009
Arabs? The plot thickens.
I know the case of a SOSI activist who was ran out of LA by a wannabe Eddie Nash who is related to the Maloofs. And one of the Maloofs dated a Playboy whore who is rumored to be in the Bellamodels stable. Tina C………
So that might explain things. Michie and maybe the Earl might be business rivals.
Harvey Dent
May 15, 2009
BTW Darrah, that SOSI activist lives near you. Since she is Catholic, she moved to the North East, were her husband Irish Catholic roots lie.
tylerdurden
May 16, 2009
Rumor is that MB owns part of Lita’s biz. MB posted on TER that she sold Lita the web site and the contact lists. Lourdes runs the PWs from Florida just like MB.
Harvey Dent
May 16, 2009
That means that Lita Chase must be a target too. As was Leslie Zen and other people.
That means the Earl and his business partners are still behind and they are the real targets.
Harvey Dent
May 16, 2009
Leslie Zen also was in Florida.
I guess the Guidos are somehow involved in all this behind the scenes. That and SO Cal Law Enforcement corruption explains why Flowers By Irene is interested.
iwasthere
May 17, 2009
I always thought Pimpwich and Michelle to be rivals because their portfolios overlapped.
Harvey Dent
May 17, 2009
The Earl was a paid “consultant” to Michelle.
That explains all. No overlap.
But I’m curious on how the bookings were done. Someone said to me that Pimpwich did not handle the privates bookings and payment collection to keep the image of being a only PW talent agency. That was done by Michelle, Leslie and now Lita.
iwasthere
May 17, 2009
Lexxy was big on the Pimpwich side of things too. Remember that Christian wrote about taking her to lunch and called let it slip that she was a ‘head honcho’ or something similar.. he had to be talking about hookers.
That Hollywood Interrupted site is doing a good job of covering the case. I heard something bad happened to one of the girls, Faith Maxwell, a few years ago.
Harvey Dent
May 17, 2009
I know that Lexy made promotions, but I can bet the checks were not sent to Pimpwich but to her or some escort agency.
I’m going to check on Faith Maxwell.
BTW remember that I told you to go to the OC corthouses? That is were most of the squeletons seems to be buried.
Harvey Dent
May 17, 2009
Oh, Playmate names are starting to come out. And Cybergirls or Newstand special models.
So far a name has not been mentioned. She is the one that mentioned the Earl name in the OC.
And the FBI was looking over Michelle since 2000. Well the court documents Im talking about are earlier. The Earl was a pimp even before he got into porn.
iwasthere
May 17, 2009
Will have to check the OC courthouse. More people are starting to come forward with the Earl’s pre-porn hooker past. Probably, why he looks over his shoulder now.
iwasthere
May 18, 2009
I think this is a post from Michelle. This is what made me think that she is not a vile person
http://paulspoop.blogspot.com/2006/11/whatever-happened-to-farrell-kellener.html?showComment=1184435820000#c7028402222889982955
iwasthere
May 18, 2009
There are more Playmate named in this article, scroll halfway..
http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com/archives/exclusive_six_degrees_of_paris_hilton_web_extra_spiked_chapter.phtml
I always thought Dalene was a hooker even before Playboy. She just seemed like a ‘pro’.
Darrah Ford
May 18, 2009
Thank you! I found her ex-husband’s Twitter somewhere. He said my ex was arraigned yesterday. Camelot is dead.
What happened to Faith Maxwell??