(Ken Silva, Headline USA) The Justice Department announced Wednesday the arrest of three people who allegedly ran an interstate sex-trafficking network, which catered to elected officials, military officers and other high-powered officials.
According to the DOJ, the three defendants—Han Lee and Junmyung Lee of Massachusetts, and James Lee of California— operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Mass., as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Va.
Han, a female, was born in Korea and came to the U.S. in 2014 on a visitor’s visa on which she overstayed, while Junmyung was born in Korea and came to the U.S. in 2018 on a student visa to study at the Computer Systems Institute in Boston. Documents don’t indicate where James is from.
The defendants allegedly established 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, according to the DOJ.
“Specifically, the defendants allegedly rented high-end apartment complexes as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained. The monthly rent for the brothel locations were as high as $3,664,” the DOJ said in a press release.
Over the course of the investigation, the DOJ said it identified a wide array of buyers, including politicians, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants.
None of those high-powered officials were named.
The DOJ said its investigation is ongoing, and that investigators have interviewed at least 20 sex buyers so far in its multiyear probe.
Investigators surely know the identities of the network’s clients, as they were required to undergo thorough background checks, according to the DOJ’s charging documents.
“Typically, first-time clients are required to complete a form on the websites,” said Homeland Security investigator Zachary Mitlisky in an affidavit. “For www.bostontopten10.com, the form includes the clients having to provide their names, email address, phone number, employer, and reference if they have one.”
The defendants face up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for the charge of conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.
Ken Silva is a staff writer at Headline USA. Follow him at twitter.com/jd_cashless.
