Trio at center of Mass. sex ring that catered to prominent clients indicted by federal grand jury

Three people at the center of a commercial sex ring catering to prominent clientele at “sophisticated high-end brothels” in Massachusetts and Virginia have been indicted by a federal grand jury, the U.S. Attorney said Friday.

Authorities in November arrested Han “Hana” Lee, 41, of Cambridge; James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California, and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, who are all accused of running a “sophisticated” commercial sex network in Watertown, Cambridge, and in Virginia, where buyers paid up to $600 per hour for a wide array of advertised sex acts.

All three have each been indicted on one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, Acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said in a statement on Friday.

According to the charging documents, since at least July 2020, all three defendants “operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels” in Cambridge and Watertown, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, Levy said.

All three are accused of collectively establishing “the infrastructure for brothels in multiple states which they used to persuade, induce and entice women – primarily Asian women – to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution,” Levy said.

Elected officials, doctors, lawyers, professors, accountants, and military officers were reportedly among a group of “high-end” clients who paid for the illegal sex services at various locations in the Bay State and in Virginia.

Last month, probable cause hearings initially scheduled to be public were halted by the court for several people accused of paying for sex in the commercial sex ring.

A Cambridge police detective on Dec. 18, 2023 filed applications for criminal complaint against 28 people for sexual conduct with another person for a fee.

Attorneys for the alleged sex ring clients, only identified as “John Doe #1-17″ to date in court documents, are pushing to keep the court hearings private.

On Jan. 23, Supreme Judicial Court Associate Justice Frank issued an order for Cambridge District Court Clerk-Magistrate Sharon Shelfer Casey to respond to questions from the court about why the magistrate hearings of the alleged clients of the sex ring should be held in public.

Shelfer Casey ruled in December that the court proceedings would be made public. In her Dec. 21, 2023 ruling, she wrote in part as it relates to this case, “The court has recognized the very limited exception where legitimate public interest overweighs the individuals’ privacy rights.”

It was unclear Friday when, or if, the public court hearings would be rescheduled.

No names on the client list will be released until probable cause has been found, officials have said.

Prosecutors allege that Han “Hana” Lee, James Lee and Junmyung Lee “rented high-end apartment complexes as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained,” Levy said. The trio allegedly then “coordinated the women’s airline travel and transportation and permitted women to stay overnight in the brothel locations so they did not have to find lodging elsewhere, therefore enticing women to participate in their prostitution network.”

According to court documents, the trio “established house rules for the women during their stays in a given city to protect and maintain the secrecy of the business and ensure that the women did not draw attention to the prostitution work inside apartment buildings.”

They allegedly advertised their prostitution network primarily on two websites – bostontopten10.com and browneyesgirlsva.blog – which offered appointments with women in either greater Boston or eastern Virginia, respectively, Levy said.

Prosecutors allege that they purchased and registered the bostontop10.com domain in August 2016. The websites purported to advertise nude models for professional photography at upscale studios as a front for prostitution offered through appointments.

According to court documents, each website 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.

“It is alleged that the defendants persuaded the women to work for this prostitution network because the business maintained a regular customer base of men that were adequately screened, ensuring that the customers were not members of law enforcement or men who posed a risk to the safety and security of the commercial sex workers,” Levy said in his statement.

It is further alleged that Han “Hana” Lee, James Lee and Junmyung Lee “maintained local brothel phone numbers which they used to communicate with verified customers and schedule appointments via text messages; send customers a “menu” of available options at the brothel, including the women and sexual services available and the hourly rate; and to text customers directions to the brothel’s location where they engaged in commercial sex with the women.”

According to the charging documents, they charged sex buyers a premium price for appointments with the women advertised on their websites, which ranged from approximately $350 to upwards of $600 per hour depending on the services and were paid in cash.

Han “Hana” Lee, James Lee and Junmyung Lee also allegedly concealed the proceeds of the prostitution network by depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash into their personal bank accounts and peer-to-peer transfers, Levy said. With this money, the trio allegedly bought 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, Levy said.

The charge of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine or twice the value of funds laundered, whatever is greater.

Levy urged anyone with questions, concerns or information regarding this case to contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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