A US lady has pleaded responsible to working a high-end intercourse racket within the better Boston space and the suburbs of Washington that served politicians, navy officers, attorneys, and company executives.
Han Lee, 42, appeared in Boston federal courtroom on Friday to plead responsible to fees that she conspired to “persuade, induce and entice” primarily Asian girls to journey to Massachusetts and Virginia to interact in prostitution and dedicated cash laundering, prosecutors mentioned.
The Massachusetts resident was arrested and charged in November final yr together with Junmyung Lee, 31, and James Lee, 69. They have been subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February for working the prostitution racket.
Han Lee faces as much as 25 years in jail when she is sentenced in December. She instructed the decide that whereas she ran an unlawful prostitution enterprise, she didn’t power any girls to interact in intercourse work.
How They Operated The Intercourse Racket
In line with prosecutors, from at the very least July 2020, Han Lee operated an interstate prostitution community with a number of brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia
She established the infrastructure for these brothels in a number of states for the needs of “persuading, inducing and attractive girls – primarily Asian girls – to journey to Massachusetts and Virginia to interact in prostitution,” prosecutors mentioned.
It’s additional alleged that Han Lee and her aides coordinated the ladies’s airline journey and transportation and permitted them to remain in a single day within the brothel areas so they didn’t have to search out lodging elsewhere, subsequently attractive girls to take part of their prostitution community.
“To guard and preserve the secrecy of the enterprise and be sure that the ladies didn’t draw consideration to the prostitution work inside condominium buildings, Han Lee and, allegedly, her co-defendants established home guidelines for the ladies throughout their stays,” prosecutors mentioned.
Charged $350 To $600 For Intercourse Companies
Han Lee charged intercourse patrons $350 to $600 per hour relying on the companies and solely took money.
They allegedly marketed their prostitution community and supplied appointments with girls by way of two web sites. Each web sites presupposed to promote nude fashions for skilled pictures at upscale studios as a entrance for prostitution supplied by means of appointments.
It’s additional alleged that Han Lee maintained native brothel telephone numbers which they used to speak with verified prospects and schedule appointments by way of textual content messages; ship prospects a “menu” of accessible choices on the brothel, together with the ladies and sexual companies obtainable and the hourly charge; and to textual content prospects instructions to the brothel’s location the place they engaged in business intercourse with the ladies.
To hide the proceeds of the prostitution community, Han Lee deposited lots of of hundreds of {dollars} of money proceeds into private and third-party financial institution accounts and peer-to-peer transfers, prosecutors mentioned.
Additionally it is alleged that they frequently used lots of of hundreds of {dollars} of the money proceeds from the prostitution enterprise to buy cash orders (in values underneath an quantity that may set off reporting and identification necessities) to hide the supply of the funds.
These cash orders have been then used to pay for lease and utilities at brothel areas in Massachusetts and Virginia, prosecutors mentioned.
Her shoppers have up to now not been recognized however authorities have estimated the community’s buyer base was within the lots of and included elected officers, pharmaceutical and expertise executives, docs, navy officers, professors, attorneys, enterprise executives, scientists and accountants.