EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An El Paso lawyer who was arrested in connection with a human trafficking investigation allegedly paid hundreds of dollars to have sex with a trafficking victim, according to court documents obtained by KTSM 9 News.
Mario Ortiz Serladi, 51, is charged with solicitation or prostitution, a state jail felony. Investigators say Ortiz-Serladi paid $850 to Yasiel Rodriguez-Amaro, 31, and Tamara Batista-Ramirez, 32, in exchange for sex with a victim who was being trafficked in El Paso.
Yasiel Rodriguez-Amaro, 31.
Tamara Batista-Ramirez, 32.
Katherine Ventura-Amaro, 37.
Mario Ortiz Saroldi, 51.
According to the affidavit, the investigation began in March 2024, when a Homeland Security Investigations special agent was searching through escort websites for possible human trafficking victims being advertised for sex in the El Paso area.
Lawyer among nine arrested in El Paso human trafficking bust
Agents reportedly found an online ad featuring a 22-year-old Hispanic girl, who goes by the name “Aynoa,” listed with a 915-are code phone number. The ad appeared on Megapersonals.eu, a website known to be used by prostitutes and pimps to advertise sexual acts in exchange for money.
Other ads for “Aynoa” identified her as a Cuban, a note investigators stated was uncommon in El Paso. HSI agents traced the ads through facial recognition and immigration records, identifying the woman as a 22-year-old who was from Cuba and had crossed into the U.S. in January 2024 with another Cuban woman. Both provided an address on the 3400 block of Touchstone Place in east El Paso, and a phone number — both associated — with Rodriguez-Amaro.
Further investigation revealed 11 escort advertisements tied to a phone number associated with Rodriguez-Amaro. The ads featured multiple women, including the two Cuban nationals, and were traced back to the same Touchstone Place residence.
Surveillance conducted in May 2024 showed Ortiz-Seraldi visiting the home several times, picking up and dropping off the women late at night or in the early morning hours.
In June 2024, law enforcement conducted an arrest operation and interviewed one of the Cuban women, who told agents she was forced to surrender all her income to Rodriguez-Amaro and Batista-Ramirez to pay off a “debt,” which required daily payments of about $300. She said she was not allowed to leave the Touchstone residence until the debt was paid.
The victim also told investigators that Rodriguez-Amaro and Batista-Ramirez created an escort website profile using her photos to advertise sex services.
According to her statement, Ortiz-Seraldi arranged through Batista-Ramirez for a “date” with the victim in May 2024, taking her to dinner and then to a downtown El Paso hotel, where they engaged in sexual activity.
Investigators later uncovered a financial transaction showing Ortiz Seraldi had transferred $850 to Rodriguez-Amaro, including a memo that referenced both the victim and Batista-Ramirez.
As previously reported by KTSM 9 News, Ortiz Seraldi was among several individuals arrested following a year-long, multi-agency human trafficking investigation in El Paso County.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), the probe uncovered an international network of human smugglers and traffickers operating from Cuba through Central America and Mexico into the El Paso area.
In total, nine people were arrested on various charges, including prostitution, aggravated promotion of prostitution, online promotion of prostitution, possession of a controlled substance, migrant inadmissibility, solicitation of prostitution, and engaging in organized criminal activity.
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