Story by Ethan
On December 24th, 2025, the arrest of Taya and Vladilina Benayun, ages 59 and 37, was announced by Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez. Taya and Vladilina Benayun were charged with third and fourth-degree Promoting Prostitution, Permitting Prostitution, Sex Trafficking, and Labor Trafficking. The arrest and charges against Taya and Vladilina Benayun were a result of an investigation handled by Police Officer Konstantin Lyubinsky, Sergeant Brian Gribbin, Lieutenant Ewa Lapinska, Deputy Inspector Stanislav Levitsky, Human Trafficking Unit Social Worker Raquel Alger, Office Manager Aurora Martinez, Paralegal Aaliyah Antrobus, Deputy Unit Chief Robert Kaftal, Senior Assistant District Attorney Fernando Leal, and Office Manager Brenda Campbell.
According to the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the investigation brought up the incidents stemming from two separate victims. One victim was a 23-year-old woman that was desperate to save up money to help her ill father. She was referred to both defendants by a friend in January 2024 before she began to work for them. Allegedly the victim was forced to work, performing sexual acts, nonstop from 11 a.m. until 1 a.m. six days a week while splitting her income 50/50 with the defendants. The victim had allegedly worked out of massage parlors owned by the defendants located on 2281 McDonald Avenue and 1204 Coney Island Avenue. When the victim’s father passed away in June 2024 she became ill and unable to work. She ended up in the hospital for treatment and during her recovery the defendants allegedly called and texted her nonstop. Allegedly the defendants had threatened to report the victim to authorities and used the threat of physical violence against her friend to force the victim back into work. The victim eventually returned due to the alleged threats and out of fear of leaving.
In February 2025 another victim, a 20-year-old woman, responded to an alleged advertisement for employment at a massage parlor that the defendants put up on RusRek.com, a digital version of a Russian newspaper called Russkaya Reklama. This victim was allowed to work three days and choose her schedule while still having the same 50/50 split of her income with the defendants. She also reported to be working at the location on 1204 Coney Island Avenue and another at 2359 Coney Island Avenue. The victim reported multiple women working at these locations and heavy internal and external surveillance through video cameras to record their every move.
The Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office stated that the charges against Taya and Vladilina Benayun are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
