3 arrested for allegedly running high end brothel in Massachusetts

BOSTON (WWLP) – Three people have been arrested in connection to the operation of an organized high-end brothel in the Boston area as well as in eastern Virginia.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, commercial sex buyers at these brothels included elected officials, high-tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, attorneys, scientists and accountants.

The following people were arrested Wednesday morning for their involvement:

• Han Lee, a/k/a “Hana,” 41, of Cambridge, Mass.
• James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif.
• Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham, Mass.

From at least July 2020, the suspects allegedly operated an interstate prostitution network with several brothels in Cambridge and Watertown and persuaded women, mostly Asian women, to travel to Massachusetts to engage in prostitution.

It is also alleged that the suspects would rent high-end apartments and transform them into these brothels. The rent for some of these locations went as high as $3,664 a month. The women involved in prostitution would stay in these brothels so they didn’t need to find a place to stay, enticing the women to participate in sex.

The suspects used two websites to promote their prostitution network in both Massachusetts and Virginia, advertising the women they had working for them. Clients would be required to provide their full name, email, phone number, employer and a reference if they had one. The suspects would use texting to communicate with clients and would send a “menu” of available options at the brothels, including hourly rates and sexual services.

According to court documents, sex buyers would be charged anywhere from $350 to $600 per hour for the services and paid in cash. The defendants would conceal the proceeds by depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars into their personal bank accounts and peer-to-peer transfers. The defendants also allegedly purchased money orders to conceal the source of the funds and used them to pay for rent and utilities.

Acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy added that while there were elected officials, doctors and attorneys involved in buying services at these brothels, there were hundreds of clients from all types of careers. “Pick a profession, they are probably represented in this case,” Levy states during a news conference on Wednesday.