Remove ads by Supporting Independent News
Written by: A. Smith
Published September 19, 2025 @ 11:00 AM ET
FULTON COUNTY, Ga. – A woman who operated a Buckhead brothel and later defrauded the federal government out of nearly $70,000 in pandemic relief funds has been sentenced to federal prison, prosecutors said.
Jamika Weese, also known as “Jae,” 42, of Atlanta, was sentenced to five years in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to transporting an individual across state lines for prostitution and wire fraud, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. She was also ordered to pay $69,000 in restitution and must register as a sex offender.
Federal prosecutors said Weese ran a prostitution ring from a Buckhead apartment between 2017 and 2019, where she advertised online, directed women to meet clients, and kept more than half of their earnings. Investigators said she also imposed quotas on the women and arranged for them to travel to states including Arizona, Colorado, South Carolina, Texas, and Florida “for her own financial benefit.”
Before the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta, the Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force received reports that Weese was physically abusive and, at times, threatened women at gunpoint to force them into sex work, court records state. In June 2019, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office raided the Buckhead apartment, seizing evidence that confirmed the operation.
Weese was arrested in 2019 but released the same day. She was rearrested in 2023 after investigators determined she fraudulently obtained a $48,900 Economic Injury and Disaster Loan and a $20,000 Paycheck Protection Program loan by falsely claiming she ran a cosmetics company.
U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg said the case highlights both exploitation and fraud.
“Weese ran a prostitution ring, trafficked women, and lied to collect tens of thousands of dollars in federal loans,” Hertzberg said in a statement. “Her conviction and sentence demonstrate that criminals who exploit vulnerable victims and rip off the government will be held accountable.”
Officials with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations said the case underscores their focus on dismantling trafficking networks that prey on vulnerable victims.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Laurel B. Milam with assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Irina Khasin.