MOM, HUSBAND AND FIVE SONS OPERATED HOUSTON WHOREHOUSE ... AND EVEN TWO DOUGHTERS WORKED AS PROSTITUTES

Madam, 59, will die in jail after running enormous brothel whose prostitutes included her own daughters

 

By Sonya Gugliara 

 

Daily Mail

Oct. 22, 2025

 

 

 

Maria Angelica 'Patty' Moreno-Reyna, 59, was arrested and charged in connection to the vile scheme in 2017  

A Houston madam who ran an elaborate brothel network and employed her own daughters as prostitutes will spend the rest of her life behind bars in federal prison. 

Maria Angelica 'Patty' Moreno-Reyna, 59, was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences on October 9 for managing a gang-run sex trafficking ring out of Houston, which was finally busted in 2017. 

Moreno-Reyna was one of the 22 Southwest Cholos street gang members and associates who were indicted on charges related to the violent and illicit scheme.

 

Moreno-Reyna was one of the Southwest Cholos street gang members

 

The charges brought upon those involved included sex trafficking, drug trafficking, selling firearms, human smuggling and identity theft, according to the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Those arrested included Moreno-Reyna's husband, her five sons, and several of her relatives. 

While Moreno-Reyna and her co-conspirators were charged in 2017, she did not plead guilty until December 2023. 

She admitted to two of the 27 charges against her - sex trafficking by means of force, threats, fraud or coercion and a related conspiracy count - the Houston Chronicle reported.  

As part of her plea deal, she also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors as they continued their investigation. 

 

Carriage Way Apartments in southwest Houston was the brothel complex's hub and was run by Moreno-Reyna

 

Moreno-Reyna confessed to managing a brothel run out of the Carriage Way Apartments and Inglewood Village Apartments, both in Houston, as well as stash houses by the southwest border dividing Texas and Mexico. 

She also smuggled at least four women from Latin America to Houston to work as prostitutes from 2010 to 2016.

Prosecutors said the sex trafficker charged victims and their families to help them travel over the border illegally. 

Moreno-Reyna told the women that they could pay off their debts by working in a restaurant. 

But once they arrived in Texas, there was no restaurant job lined up for them.

Instead, they were forced into prostitution. 

Law enforcement agencies found dozens of women who were illegally brought into the country and subjected to abuse. 

While the exact number of people trafficked by Moreno-Reyna remains unclear, authorities said that some of the victims were as young as 14 years old. 

 

Raul Moreno-Reyna was among those indicted in connection to the scheme 

 

Moreno-Reyna even had her two daughters wrapped up in the illegal activities, having them both work as prostitutes. 

Many of the women who were roped into the brothel complex were forced to undergo cosmetic surgeries or get tattoos that would make them more 'profitable,' according to prosecutors.   

And if a prostitute managed to escape - even making their way back to Mexico - they were often tracked down and threatened by the vicious Southwest Cholos members.

Carriage Way Apartments, which Moreno-Reyna ran and served as the brothel complex's hub, was one of the gang's most lucrative spots. 

For 14 hours each day, 10 of the building's 70 units were used by prostitutes seeing clients. 

The FBI also said Carriage Way Apartments was a hotspot for drug and gun dealing. 

While recruiting her daughters as sex workers, Moreno-Reyna had her five sons handling enforcement and security for the brothel.

Her husband and brother were tasked with transporting women over the border, prosecutors said. 

 

The scheme involved stash houses near the southwest border dividing Texas and Mexico 

 

Overall, authorities seized 10 properties that Moreno-Reyna owned across Harris County. 

Of those indicted, 10, including Moreno-Reyna, have already been sentenced. 

Another eight criminals involved in the case have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. 

According to the Houston Chronicle, one of the defendants has had all charges against him dropped, although it is unclear why. 

Four people who were indicted by the federal grand jury in 2017 were never tracked down and remain on the run from authorities.