The investigation into the involvement of sex buyers is active and ongoing
The brothels, which began operating around July 2020, were located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia.
About 20 “sex buyers” were interviewed by the investigators as part of a multiyear probe of the network, according to an affidavit that supported the criminal complaint.
“I believe there are potentially hundreds of yet to be identified customers,” a Department of Homeland Security special agent wrote in that affidavit.
The agent did not name the customers known to have used the brothels’ services, but noted, “I do not do this for purposes of maintaining their anonymity, but instead do so because our investigation into their involvement in prostitution is active and ongoing.
The charge of conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Central District of California; the Eastern District of Virginia; the U.S. Postal Service; and the Watertown Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquelle Kaye, of the Asset Recovery Unit is prosecuting the case.
If you have any information on this case contact: USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.
How the brothels allegedly worked
Prospective sex buyers were allegedly instructed to respond to a survey and provide details online, including their driver’s license, employer information, and credit card information.
Levy said they often paid a monthly fee to be part of the club. He explained that buyers would receive a text message with a “menu” of the different services and women available to them. One menu included in the affidavit shows rates ranging from $240 for a 30-minute “girlfriend experience” to $840 for 120 minutes of sex without a condom.
Authorities used surveillance and phone records to identify sex buyers and interviewed about 20 of them during the investigation, according to court papers. One buyer told investigators he was directed via text message to an apartment and provided a menu of women, services and the hourly rate. Levy said there were possibly hundreds of clients, including government contractors with security clearances, doctors, lawyers, elected officials, military officers, professors and executives at tech companies.
Han “Hana” Lee 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts were arrested Wednesday and charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice others to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity. Prosecutors say they made hundreds of thousands of dollars through the scheme.
Authorities have not named the people believed to have bought services through the ring, and none of them have been charged. But Levy stressed that the investigation is in the early stages, and said that prosecutors are committed to holding accountable both those who ran the scheme and those who “fueled the demand for this ring.”
Women were featured on websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude Asian models for professional photography, and high-end apartments with monthly rents as high as $3,660 were used as brothels, prosecutors say. Another website allowed clients to rate the women, prosecutors say.
“This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele, and business was booming, until today,” Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said.
The Massachusetts brothels were in Watertown and Cambridge, while others were outside of Washington, D.C., in Tysons and Fairfax, Virginia, prosecutors said. Buyers paid upwards of $600 per hour for services, and some even paid a monthly membership fee to be pre-cleared for sex in a process similar to TSA PreCheck, Levy said.
The Justice Department said Wednesday it is investigating politicians, military officers and government contractors for buying sex through a high-end brothel network operating in Massachusetts and the D.C. suburbs.
The websites listed the height, weight and bust size of women available for appointments and depicted nude and/or semi-nude photographs of each. The women listed as available on the websites updated frequently, with updates to include “coming soon” or “open” to reflect an impending arrival of new women arriving in the area.
Each website allegedly described a verification process that interested sex buyers undertook to be eligible for appointment bookings– including requiring clients complete a form providing their full names, email address, phone number, employer and reference if they had one.
Federal prosecutors in Massachusetts charged three people with running the network:
Han and Junmyung are accused of running the day-to-day operations of the Massachusetts brothels, and Han is also accused of overseeing the daily operations of the Virginia ones, according to court papers. That included arranging for transportation for the women and collecting proceeds, authorities allege. Prosecutors say James Lee also leased several of the current and former brothel locations in Massachusetts and Virginia.
The defendants allegedly concealed the proceeds of the prostitution network through depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash proceeds into their personal bank accounts and peer-to-peer transfers. Additionally, it is alleged that the defendants regularly used hundreds of thousands of dollars of the cash proceeds from the prostitution business to purchase money orders (in values under an amount that would trigger reporting and identification requirements) to conceal the source of the funds. These money orders were then used to pay for rent and utilities at brothel locations in Massachusetts and Virginia.
The criminal complaint says that between December 2019 and October this year, Han Lee “has deposited just under $795,000 of cash into her personal Bank of America bank accounts, while also utilizing another approximately $109,000 in cash to make payments against her Bank of America credit card account, which she utilizes regularly for travel related purchases and other expenses associated with brothel operations.”
During the same time period, Junmyung, who is a student, “has deposited just under $194,000 cash into his personal Bank of America account, while also utilizing another $47,305 in cash to make payments against his Bank of America credit card account,” the complaint said.
The two Massachusetts defendants were scheduled to have initial court appearances Wednesday afternoon. If convicted, they face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000.
PACE TULSA 