A US woman has pleaded guilty to running a high-end sex racket in the greater Boston area and the suburbs of Washington that served politicians, military officers, lawyers, and corporate executives.
Han Lee, 42, appeared in Boston federal court on Friday to plead guilty to charges that she conspired to "persuade, induce and entice" primarily Asian women to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution and committed money laundering, prosecutors said.
The Massachusetts resident was arrested and charged in November last year along with Junmyung Lee, 31, and James Lee, 69. They were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February for operating the prostitution racket.
Han Lee faces up to 25 years in prison when she is sentenced in December. She told the judge that while she ran an illegal prostitution business, she did not force any women to engage in sex work.
How They Operated The Sex Racket
According to prosecutors, from at least July 2020, Han Lee operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia
She established the infrastructure for these brothels in multiple states for the purposes of "persuading, inducing and enticing women - primarily Asian women - to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution," prosecutors said.
It is further alleged that Han Lee and her aides coordinated the women's airline travel and transportation and permitted them 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.
"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, Han Lee and, allegedly, her co-defendants established house rules for the women during their stays," prosecutors said.
Charged $350 To $600 For Sex Services
Han Lee charged sex buyers $350 to $600 per hour depending on the services and only took cash.
They allegedly advertised their prostitution network and offered appointments with women via two websites. Both websites purported to advertise nude models for professional photography at upscale studios as a front for prostitution offered through appointments.
It is further alleged that Han 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.
To conceal the proceeds of the prostitution network, Han Lee deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash proceeds into personal and third-party bank accounts and peer-to-peer transfers, prosecutors said.
It is also alleged that they regularly used hundreds of thousands of dollars of the cash proceeds from the prostitution business to purchase 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, prosecutors said.
Her clients have so far not been identified but authorities have estimated the network's customer base was in the hundreds and included elected officials, pharmaceutical and technology executives, doctors, military officers, professors, lawyers, business executives, scientists and accountants.
