Federal investigators have released further details on a network of “sophisticated high-end brothels” that serviced politicians, military officials, and government contractors, revealing that the alleged ringleaders kept “impeccable” records of their million-dollar operation.
The prostitution ring was busted earlier this month by the Department of Justice (DOJ), with three Korean nationals arrested for their alleged roles in orchestrating the criminal network. Han Lee, 41, James Lee, 68, and Junmyung Lee, 30, “walked through the border safeguards that have been relaxed by President Joe Biden’s border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas,” Breitbart News reported after their arrests on November 8.
The new details about the criminal organization, which operated in luxury apartments in Massachusetts and Virginia, were revealed in an affidavit submitted to the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Wednesday by Department of Homeland Security Special Agent Zachary Mitlitsky, the New York Post reported.
Han, whom the agent described as the leader, allegedly “concealed over one million dollars in prostitution proceeds.”
“I believe that Han’s financial and business record keeping was impeccable,” he stated.
Mitlitsky argued that the alleged co-conspirators could have access to even more money that investigators haven’t found yet, thus posing a flight risk, and should remain in custody until their hearings.
“Han maintained ledgers detailing the daily activity of her brothels. At the time of the search warrant execution, one such ledger was open to a page showing the stage names, appointment dates and times and earnings of the women,” Mitlitsky detailed, noting that one of the names on the ledger matched a woman discovered to be at the Tysons, Virginia, branch of the brothel network when law enforcement executed a search warrant. She had allegedly been pimped out by the suspects.
“Next to the ledger were envelopes containing bulk cash and handwritten notes with the stage names of women and a tally of their earnings,” the agent added.
The agent also described the wealth and evidence found in Han’s Cambridge, Massachusetts apartment, including a Louis Vuitton shoe box containing hundreds of well-organized money order receipts, $22,000 in cash, dozens of gift cards, 16 cell phones, and “bulk quantities” of condoms, lubricants, lingerie, UTI and pregnancy testing kits, and false eyelashes.
Investigators also discovered a phone appearing to have communications between Han and the prostitutes.
“During these communications, Han not only listed a brief description of the anticipated customers, expected sexual services and corresponding pricing, and schedule of appointments for the day but also set forth what I believe to be her house rules for commercial sex workers engaging in sex for a fee at the brothel apartments,” the affidavit states.
According to the court filing, Junmyung is believed to be the one who was “in charge of booking the appointments for the sex customers.” His Dedham, Massachusetts, apartment contained $5,000 in cash, four ledgers, and multiple computers and cell phones when police searched it.
A page from an appointment book included in the affidavit appears to show that “at least one of the sex workers slaved for about 10 hours on October 18, 2022 – from 8:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., with a one-hour break,” the Post reported.
“Collectively, these three photographs show that the prostitution network not only maintained meticulous daily records of their operation but also kept those records for a lengthy period of time,” Mitlitsky wrote.
“Deposits in Junmyung’s bank accounts totaled approximately $378,365, according to the agent. Han’s bank accounts showed approximately $965,000 in mostly cash deposits going back to December 2019,” the outlet reported.
“There is significant concern by investigators that Han may have control over other accounts not yet identified,” Mitlitsky wrote, adding that Han allegedly transferred tens of thousands of dollars to South Korean bank accounts and to as many as 30 individuals.
Following the affidavit, lawyers for Han and Junmyung agreed to a voluntary order of detention, and will be able to move for their release at a later date.
A detention hearing for the third alleged co-conspirator, James Lee, has not yet been scheduled.
At the time of their arrests, investigators said the “commercial sex buyers allegedly included elected officials, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, attorneys, scientists, and accountants, among others.”
“The investigation into the involvement of sex buyers is active and ongoing,” the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office announced at the time.
No identities of the sex buyers have been publicly released at this time.
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