New Jersey Couple Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy in Massage-Business Case

A husband-and-wife team pleaded guilty in late May to conspiracy charges for operating a network of massage businesses across New Jersey and New York that concealed brothels, Washington Examiner reported. Hee Choi and Yong Piao admitted to running the operation for nearly a decade. Prosecutors said women lived inside the spas and worked 16-hour days seven days a week.

Customers paid $160 to $175 for sexual services, with some locations offering loyalty cards for repeat visits. Business records showed some women serviced as many as 20 customers in a single day. Choi admitted recruiting women, advertising services online, scheduling appointments, and directing the operation.

Piao admitted delivering groceries, condoms, medications, and supplies while transporting cash and records. Investigators recovered about $1.2 million in cash plus luxury watches, jewelry, and designer handbags, all of which the couple agreed to forfeit.

Earlier this month Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appointed veteran federal prosecutor Ali Serano to lead the Justice Department’s anti-human trafficking efforts.

Blanche said the appointment sends a message to predators. Serano previously prosecuted human trafficking cases in California. Serano told the Washington Examiner that illicit massage businesses cross sex trafficking and labor trafficking and are hard to detect because they appear to be ordinary storefronts.

She noted that victims often hesitate to cooperate due to fear of deportation or retaliation against family members overseas. Estimates from the Polaris Project and the DOJ place the number of such businesses operating across the United States between 7,500 and 9,000.