On Wednesday, Nov. 8, federal prosecutors charged three people in connection with running a network of high-end brothels that federal officials said politicians, military officers, government contractors, and even tech executives frequented. According to acting U.S. Attorney Josh Levy, the three people charged, Han Lee, James Lee, and Junmyung Lee, rented high-end apartments as brothel locations in Massachusetts and in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, just outside of the District of Columbia.
“It is alleged that the perspective 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 elicit club,” Levy said.
Pick a profession; they are probably represented in this case.
U.S. Attorney Josh Levy
Levy said in a news conference that the interstate sex ring catered to wealthy clients, raking in hundreds of thousands of dollars over at least three years.
“The buyers that made up this ring hail from an array of professions,” Levy said. “They are doctors, they are lawyers, they are accountants, they are elected officials, they are executives at high tech companies and pharmaceutical companies, they are military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists. Pick a profession; they are probably represented in this case.”
According to the charging documents, clients would pay between $350 to $600 per hour for services.
Levy did not give specific details on the identities of the sex ring’s clients but said there are likely hundreds of them.
Prosecutors allege in court documents that the ring leaders recruited women by “persuading, inducing, enticing, or coercing” them into interstate travel and prostitution.
Levy said two men arrested appeared in federal court on Wednesday, Nov. 8.
The three men have all been charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity; the charges carry a five-year prison sentence along with a $250,000 fine.
