Trial to Start for Man Charged with Running Prostitution Ring from Palm Springs to Temecula

Editor's Note: Opening statements were rescheduled to begin Tuesday, Sept. 20, in Indio, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

Opening statements are scheduled to begin Thursday or Monday in Indio in the trial of a man accused of running a "high-end" prostitution ring with a call center based in Palm Springs and clients across Riverside County.

Ofer Moses Lupovitz, 48, is accused of operating a prostitution ring that employed close to 200 women, with clients from Temecula and San Diego and as distant as Oregon, a district attorney's spokesman said Wednesday.

The primary call center in Palm Springs received requests for prostitutes and sent the women to paying customers, said John Hall of the Riverside County District Attorney's Office.

The operation often ran under the name of "Elite" and it was started in the early 2000s, Hall said.

By 2006, the prostitution ring "was in full swing with about 100 phone lines being utilized," Hall said.

"In general, when a prostitute was sent to a client there would be a $250 charge just for her showing up and additional 'tips' ranging from $150 to $4,000 would be charged for sex acts - depending on the sex act and the prostitute," Hall said.

Elite would then take 100 percent of the $250 show fee, and 30 percent if the 'tip' was made on a MasterCard or Visa card, and 50 percent if it was run on an American Express, Hall said.

"Fictitious business names utilized by those running the operation included Elite Entertainment, Elite Escort, Elite Massage, Hot Babes, Girls R Us, Spicy Girls, and Play Time Entertainment," Hall said.

Lupovitz and seven others were indicted by a Riverside County criminal grand jury in November 2008, Hall said.

Four women who were indicted have pleaded guilty to their involvement and three indicted men have fled from prosecution, Hall said. Each of the defendants who fled has a warrant issued for their arrest.

The case is being prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Kelly Sedochenkoff of the Special Prosecutions Section, Hall said.