Federal prosecutors in Boston did not identify any of the
"wealthy and well-connected clientele" that they say paid up to
$600 per hour for sexual encounters with predominantly Asian
women who were being exploited through sex trafficking.
The brothels' alleged operators -- Han Lee, 41, and Junmyung
Lee, 30, of Massachusetts and James Lee, 68, of California --
were arrested and charged with conspiring to coerce and entice
women to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.
Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said the probe was "just getting
started" and that law enforcement was gathering more evidence
after executing search warrants on locations in Massachusetts,
Virginia and California.
Those searches included of active brothels and uncovered
financial documents, cash and women believed to be engaging in
prostitution, according to court records.
"We're committed to working closely with our federal, state and
local partners to hold accountable the people who both ran this
ring and the people who fueled the demand for this ring," Levy
said at a press conference.
Han Lee and Junmyung Lee, who are both Korean, were ordered by a
judge to be detained following a hearing in Massachusetts. Han
Lee's lawyer declined to comment. Other defense lawyers either
did not respond to requests for comment or could not be
identified.
According to charging documents, the defendants, led by Han Lee,
used high-end apartment complexes as brothels in Cambridge and
Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia.
Two websites advertised appointments with Asian women, and
customers underwent a vetting process that included providing
their driver's license photos and employers' names, prosecutors
said. The U.S. government has seized those sites' domains.
Authorities said they believed the brothel network had
potentially hundreds of customers, who Levy said "often paid a
monthly fee to be part of this illicit club."
Customers included politicians, pharmaceutical and technology
executives, doctors, military officers, professors, lawyers,
business executives, scientists and accountants, prosecutors
said.
(Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston, Editing by Alexia
Garamfalvi; Editing by David Gregorio and Michael Perry)
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