Prison Time for Group that Ran “High-End” Brothels Across Eastern U.S.
The organizers of a prostitution network that counted high-profile people as clients are headed to federal prison.
Prosecutors say the group rented high-end apartments in the Boston area and in eastern Virginia and used them as brothels.
Lead defendant Han Lee was sentenced to four years in federal prison and ordered to forfeit proceeds from the brothels, which totaled over $5.4 million. She pleaded guilty last year.
A second defendant, Junmyung Lee, known as the “booker” for the sex network, was sentenced to one year in prison. A third defendant will be sentenced later in May.
“Han Lee and her co-conspirators crafted an elaborate scheme to set up an interstate commercial sex network and to hide their activity by laundering the proceeds,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol. “This secretive and covert industry treats women like commodities and provides no protection for the safety and wellbeing of the participants.”
Sophisticated High-End Brothels
According to documents, the defendants coordinated travel arrangements for the women who would become sex workers, picked them up at the airport, allowed them to stay overnight in the high-end apartments, and enticed them to participate in the prostitution network.
Prosecutors note that the group was careful to cover its tracks. It screened potential clients, requiring names, phone numbers and a reference, to ensure they did not work in law enforcement. House rules were established to ensure information did not leak out and customers were sent a menu of services once vetted.
According to court documents, customers paid $350 to $600 an hour in cash depending on the services. Approximately 9,450 scheduled dates with sex buyers happened at the brothels.
The network was promoted on two websites that were eventually shut down by law enforcement. Those websites advertised nude models for photo sessions as a front for their real purpose.
Once paid, prosecutors say Lee bought money orders to conceal the source of the funds and used the money to pay for rent and utilities at the brothel locations.
“Han Lee didn’t just recruit women to sell their bodies for sex – she built a criminal enterprise designed to thrive in the shadows, evading law enforcement while profiting off her victims like commodities,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley of the District of Massachusetts. “We will relentlessly pursue and prosecute those who exploit vulnerable women through interstate sex trafficking and launder their illicit gains.”
Alleged Clients in Court
Meanwhile, the names of alleged clients of the brothels were recently read in a Massachusetts courtroom, as the alleged johns face criminal charges.
There were no elected officials on the unveiled list, but there is a pharmaceutical CEO, a dentist, and finance executive.
At the time of the initial bust in November 2023, then U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Joshua Levy said, ‘"They are doctors, they are lawyers, they're accountants, they are executives at high-tech companies, pharmaceutical companies, they're military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists.”
