A Massachusetts woman has admitted running an interstate prostitution ring that catered to hundreds of high-end clients — including politicians, corporate executives and military officers.
Han Lee, 42, of Cambridge pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy and money laundering charges in the operation of brothels around Boston and Washington, D.C., federal prosecutors said.
Lee and two co-defendants rented luxury apartments in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, and Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, and recruited primarily Asian women to travel there to have sex with johns, according to prosecutors.
The ring advertised on a pair of since-shuttered websites — bostontopten10.com and browneyesgirlsva.blog — that featured photos of women purportedly available to pose for nude photos.
The sites required verification of the men’s names, phone numbers, email addresses and employment to screen out law enforcement authorities, accoding to court documents.
Customers could choose the hookers they wanted and selected from a “menu” of services that cost from $350 an hour to upwards of $600 an hour, officials said.
None of the clients have been identified, but authorities have estimated they number in the hundreds and included elected officials, pharmaceutical and technology executives, military officers, doctors, lawyers, accountants and other professionals, according to Reuters.
Last December, acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Josh Levy said federal authorities had referred 28 alleged johns to local Massachusetts officials for prosecution on state-level charges.
Some of them have appealed to the Bay State’s highest court in a bid to keep their names secret, according to the Associated Press.
Prosecutors in Virginia also received referrals but declined to press charges due a lack of evidence required under the state’s solicitation law, Reuters reported.
During Friday’s court hearing in U.S. District Court in Boston, Han told Judge Julia Kobick that she didn’t force any of her employees to engage in sex work.
“I simply want to emphasize that I did not control the women,” she said through a Korean interpreter, according to Reuters.
Han, who was arrested last November, faces up to 25 years in prison and is being held without bail pending sentencing on Dec. 20.
Co-defendant Junmyung Lee is scheduled to plead guilty on Oct. 30, and the third alleged co-conspirator, James Lee, has pleaded not guilty but is in talks to resolve his case, Reuters said, citing court records.
