The Department of Justice (DOJ) charged three men on Wednesday for allegedly operating brothels in Boston and Virginia serving politicians, military officers and other high-end clients.
Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts, James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts, were charged with “conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity,” a DOJ press release alleges. The DOJ asserts that the three men “collectively 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.”
“Throughout the course of our investigation, and as detailed below, agents have identified several customers through surveillance, phone records, customer interviews and other investigative methods,” a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) affidavit states. “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 students.”
However, neither the DOJ or DHS disclosed the identities of the brothels’ clients.
The operation allegedly used at least two different websites — www.bostontopten10.com and www.browneyesgirlsva.blog — to advertise women for commercial sex, according to the DHS affidavit.
“The co-conspirators were advertising women for commercial sex via at least two different websites on the internet, under the guise of professional nude photo shoots and established brothels in order to facilitate the engagement of commercial sex,” the DHS affidavit states.
Clients allegedly booked appointments with the advertised women by completing forms on the websites that required the disclosure of name, email address, phone number, employer and a reference, according to the affidavit.
Clients met with sex workers at multiple brothel locations in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as locations in Virginia, the affidavit states, and paid between $350 to $600 per hour for varying services.
The charges provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, the DOJ press release stated.
Han Lee, James Lee and Junmyung Lee could not be reached for comment.
Philip Lenczycki on November 8, 2023
