Defendant Convicted of Sex Trafficking and Interstate Prostitution on Long Island and in Other States

Press Release

Michail McKen Controlled and Disciplined His Victims, Using Gunpoint Threats, Chokings, Beatings and Rationing Supplies of Opioids

A federal jury in Central Islip today convicted Michail McKen of two counts of sex trafficking by force and two counts of interstate prostitution in connection with a sex trafficking business he operated in Suffolk and Nassau Counties, New York, Virginia, Arizona, Massachusetts and elsewhere. The verdict followed a six-day trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. When he is sentenced, McKen faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison and up to life in prison.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Robert Waring, Acting Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the verdict.

"The defendant stands convicted today of luring vulnerable women into his web of deceit and coercing them to have commercial sex with men all over the country, including on Long Island," stated United States Attorney Peace. "He falsely promised his victims a better life, but instead controlled their lives with threats of violence and manipulation to enrich himself. Prosecuting sex traffickers like McKen is a priority of my Office and it is also my hope that today's verdict brings some measure of consolation to survivors of this awful, exploitative crime."

Mr. Peace expressed his appreciation to the Arizona Desert Hawk Violent Crime Task Force, the FBI's Baltimore and Richmond Field Offices and the Henrico County, Virginia, Police Division for their assistance on the case.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Dennehy stated, "For three years, Michail McKen established a national trafficking route to ensnare and force countless women into sexual slavery. False promises and deceit progressed into physical violence and degradation to ensure his victims remained captive. May today's conviction demonstrate the FBI's commitment to apprehending all individuals who implement perverted tactics to profit off another's body."

As proven at trial, between 2019 and 2022, McKen was a pimp who used violence and threats of violence to coerce multiple women to engage in commercial sex acts for his own profit. McKen often recruited sex workers through social media and then caused them to travel to Long Island, where McKen is originally from, to engage in commercial sex acts in hotels and other locations. As part of his sex trafficking business, McKen sent his victims all over the country to engage in commercial sex acts, including Virginia, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Kentucky, Alabama and Oregon. McKen enticed the victims with false promises of a better life and a lucrative partnership based on sharing illicit proceeds. He also choked, beat and threatened the victims at gunpoint to control them. Some of McKen's victims suffered from drug addiction and he would maintain leverage over those victims by forcing them to engage in commercial sex acts in exchange for a rationed supply of opioids that would prevent them from going through complete withdrawal.

McKen forced his victims to abide by strict rules, such as forbidding them from talking to other pimps or even making eye contact with other men in public and wearing lingerie under their street clothes, so they were always prepared for sex work. McKen also took identification documents from victims, which he held as ransom to prevent them from acting independently of him. One victim who testified at trial had the word "Cavalli," the defendant's street name which he adopted from the name of a famous fashion designer, tattooed across her ribcage.

The government's case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office's Long Island Division. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan E. Farrell and Samantha Alessi are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Adam Bernard, Legal Assistant Hannah Valoy, and Victim Witness Specialist Stephanie Marroquin.

The Defendant:

MICHAIL MCKEN (also known as "Kells" and "Cavalli")
Age: 36
Baldwin, New York and Phoenix, Arizona

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-377 (JMA)

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Updated November 12, 2024