I was divided if I should publish this news article here or not, but given the information presented and literally one specific line, I felt it was too important to let it pass. The official DOJ Press Release can be found here.
DOJ announces arrests in ‘high-end brothel network’ used by elected officials, military officers and others
Three individuals have been arrested on charges of operating a “high-end brothel network” in Massachusetts and Virginia with a clientele that included elected officials, military officers and government contractors with security clearances, the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
“Pick a profession,” Joshua Levy, acting US attorney for Massachusetts, said of the sprawling client list during a press conference in Boston. “They’re probably represented in this case.”
Levy did not identify any of the brothel’s clients and noted that multiple search warrants are being executed in the case in Massachusetts, California and Virginia.
Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, Massachusetts; James Lee, 68, of Torrance, California; and Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Massachusetts have been charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity. They are expected to appear in federal court in Boston Wednesday or at a later date.
The three individuals, Levy said, transported women and advertised them online for pre-approved clients to choose from through several websites and ran the brothels out of apartments they rented.
“This case goes back to the summer of 2022 when investigators identified several buyers through surveillance phone records and interviews,” Levy said. “The buyers who made up this ring hail from an array of professions.”
He added: “They are doctors, they are lawyers, they are accountants, they are elected officials, they are executives of high tech companies and pharmaceutical companies, they are military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists. They are the men who fuel this commercial sex ring.”
“There are potentially hundreds of individuals who took these services as commercial sex buyers,” Levy said, noting the investigation is still in its early stages.
“Alleged prospective sex buyers in this scheme first had to respond to a survey and provide information online, including their driver’s license photos, their employer information, credit card information, and they often paid a monthly fee to be part of this.”
The prostitution network primarily used two websites that advertised appointments with Asian women, according to an affidavit filed in court from a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations.
The agent said about 20 sex buyers were interviewed in connection with the multiyear investigation. One customer described getting a text of available options at a brothel, including the women available, the sexual services and the hourly rate.
The agent said he believes the brothels are “high-end” because of the high cost of the rental units used and the “scope of the professional disciplines of the sex buyers.”
Customers are not named in the affidavit, according to the agent, because the investigation into their involvement is “active and ongoing.”
CNN has reached out to attorneys for Junmyung Lee and Han Lee. No lawyer is listed for James Lee on the court docket.
Human trafficking, and especially trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is big business, there are no conclusive numbers, but it is a highly profitable industry, with billions of dollars in profit, with very little “initial investment”. On average, a person you will exploit costs 2.000 USD.
And there is no bigger clientele to this type of business than high-networth individuals. Every so often smaller operations are busted, some low-level thug is busted, and information of the customers never sees the light of day. Worst still when big operations are busted, such as Epstein. Here is how they ran this operation, directly quoted from the Press Release.
The defendants 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. Both websites purported to advertise nude Asian models for professional photography at upscale studios as a front for prostitution offered through appointments with women listed on their websites. The websites listed the height, weight and bust size of women available for appointments and depicted nude and/or semi-nude photographs of each. The women listed as available on the websites updated frequently, with updates to include “coming soon” or “open” to reflect an impending arrival of new women arriving in the area.
Each website allegedly 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.
The reason I am sharing this piece of news is the following passage.
they are elected officials, they are executives of high tech companies and pharmaceutical companies, they are military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists.
First, it sounds a lot more like a blackmailing gathering operation, rather than merely a high-end prostitution ring, especially with the surnames of the 3 people charged. All Lee’s. This already lights up my instincts like a Christmas tree. But most of my interest lies on the client list, which most likely will never see the light of day, solely based on the locations, Boston and Virginia.
Both our most beloved companies have facilities in those areas. Our beloved companies are Pfizer and Moderna.
I personally don’t care about prostitution at a personal level, no government in history was able to stop it, and people should be free to make their choices, but this isn’t the case here, a similar dynamic repeats itself in similar operations. Completely inhumane, such as any form of forced labor.
Funny how when these high-end prostitution rings are busted, you never get any names, or nothing ever comes out of it…
A “normal” Covid article tomorrow or Sunday. In any case, I wish everyone a pleasant weekend.
I am grateful for your continued support.
I don't understand why men pay for sex these days.
In unrelated news GOP holdouts on funding the new FBI HQ approved the funding the same day.