Federal prosecutors revealed they have busted what was described as a high-end brothel network working in Greater Boston and eastern Virginia that was used by elected officials, doctors, military officers and more.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for Massachusetts held a news conference "to announce arrests in connection w/ sophisticated high-end brothel network operating out of apartment complexes," the prosecutors said in a tweet.
The brothel functioned as a kind of club, offering clients menus of women, predominantly Asian, and services for meet-ups at rented luxury apartments in Cambridge and Watertown, Mass., as well as eastern Virginia, according to acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy.
"This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity," he said at the news conference.
Han Lee, of Cambridge, Mass.; James Lee, of Torrance, Calif.; and Junmyung Lee, of Dedham, Mass., were charged on prostitution charges, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday in federal court. It wasn't immediately clear if they had attorneys who could speak to the charges.
While authorities noted that elected officials were among the hundreds of clients of the sex ring — "pick a profession, they are probably represented in this case," Levy said — they didn't share any information about their identities. But Levy stressed that that could change, with the investigation set to continue.
The investigation began with a tip from local law enforcement last summer, he said. The Lees allegedly required clients to verify their identities by sharing their driver's license photo, employer information and credit card number, as well as paying a monthly fee. The
Customers were identified "through surveillance, phone records, customer interviews, and other investigative methods," according to an affidavit filed in court. "These customers spanned a wide array of different professional disciplines. Some of these professional disciplines included, but are not limited to, politicians, pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, business executives, technology company executives, scientists, accountants, retail employees, and student."
The document noted that there could be hundreds more customers who haven't been identified by investigators.
Three of the units allegedly hosting the sex ring were in one building in Cambridge, in a residential/commercial area near commuter train tracks. Inside, prosecutors said, high-profile customers were paying up to $600 an hour for sex, under the guise of modeling shoots.
Authorities were still trying to figure out where the women came from, though most were of Asian descent.
"It's through these investigative efforts that we shine a light on sexual trafficking as a global issue," Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow said at the news conference.
The website for the Boston-based business has been seized by the government, but the website for the Virginia-based business, hosted on a .blog domain, remained active as of Wednesday, which prosecutors were aware of. A call to a phone number listed on that page went unanswered.
