LOS ANGELES — A recently unveiled Grand Jury document revealed this week that LA Direct agent Derek Hay has been indicted as part of a criminal case for “conspiracy to commit pandering” and “conspiracy to commit pimping.”
The Grand Jury indictment document was filed on September 28, but was only made available this week.
The indictment names Hay alongside two co-defendants. The three are accused by the State of California of “conspiracy to commit pandering by procuring” in violation of Penal Code 266i (a), a felony, and “conspiracy to commit pimping” in violation of Penal Code 266h (a).
The felony of pandering — punishable by imprisonment in state prison for three, four, or six years — is defined as any of the following: “(1) procuring another person for the purpose of prostitution; (2) by promises, threats, violence, or by any device or scheme, causing, inducing, persuading, or encouraging another person to become a prostitute; (3) procuring for another person a place as an inmate in a house of prostitution or as an inmate of any place in which prostitution is encouraged or allowed within this state; (4) by promises, threats, violence, or by any device or scheme, causing, inducing, persuading, or encouraging an inmate of a house of prostitution, or any other place in which prostitution is encouraged or allowed, to remain therein as an inmate; (5) by fraud or artifice, or by duress of person or goods, or by abuse of any position of confidence or authority, procuring another person for the purpose of prostitution, or to enter any place in which prostitution is encouraged or allowed within this state, or to come into this state or leave this state for the purpose of prostitution; (6) receiving or giving, or agreeing to receive or give, any money or thing of value for procuring, or attempting to procure, another person for the purpose of prostitution, or to come into this state or leave this state for the purpose of prostitution.”
The felony of pimping is described by the statute as concerning “any person who, knowing another person is a prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person’s prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for soliciting for the person, is guilty of pimping, a felony, and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years.”
The victims of the alleged pandering and pimping are only identified as “Jane Does” and “Individuals.”
The Accusations Against Hay
Although most of the charges concern the other two co-defendants, Hay is accused of sending a message to one of the co-defendants asking them to “cease all bookings” of someone only identified as Individual 1, of introducing Jane Doe 2 to the co-defendants during a dinner, of sending text messages to Jane Doe 4 concerning introducing her to one of the co-defendants, of text messaging Jane Doe 4 about sending her photos to one of the co-defendants, and of communicating with Jane Doe 4 concerning “a private job.”
Among the accusations against the other co-defendants, those involving Hay include: “inducing” Jane Doe 1 to be represented by Hay, telling Jane Doe 1 that they “intended to pay a referral fee for Jane Doe 3” to Hay, contacting Jane Doe 1 to discuss a letter sent by attorney Allan Gelbard to Hay, and communicating with Hay regarding someone identified as Individual 4.
As XBIZ reported, Hay first faced criminal pandering charges in California in early March 2020, stemming from accusations made during the "Jane Does" labor case. That case involved five of his former models petitioning against him and his agency before the California Labor Commission.
The March 2020 felony complaint against Hay, filed on Tuesday by the California attorney general's office, included a warrant for "arrest and extradition" of Hay, who is based in Las Vegas.
"The charges go back 18 months or more and came from statements made by two or more of the five women who are suing him civilly with the Department of Labor," Hay's attorney, Richard D. Freeman, told XBIZ at the time. "This is not new information, this is not recent information. While no one wants to be the subject of a criminal investigation or a criminal prosecution, Derek is ready, willing and able to come to California to answer the charges against him and he's confident we will disprove the charges."
The 2020 felony charges and the September 2022 grand jury indictment are connected to the 2018 civil filings and also to testimony given by the five "Jane Does" models and former LA Direct clients — later self-identified as Charlotte Cross, Shay Evans, Sofi Ryan, Andi Rye and Hadley Viscara — during the Labor Board hearings in the fall and winter of 2019.
Viscara appears to be identified as “Jane Doe 4” in one of the unredacted text messages quoted in the Grand Jury indictment.
Both Viscara and Ryan have accused Hay of sexual assault during the Labor Board hearings. Hay and his attorney have disputed the veracity of their accounts.
XBIZ contacted Hay’s attorney today but received no comment.
For more from XBIZ's coverage of Derek Hay's case, click here.
