Law enforcement officials shut down a brothel network operating since 2020 in the Washington, D.C., area, arresting three individuals leading the operation.
The clients of the sex-for-hire business reportedly included politicians and military officers.
Feds bust 'high end brothel' where politicians, military officers allegedly paid for sexhttps://t.co/gPSB6ZwWLh
— Fox News (@FoxNews) November 9, 2023
"Federal prosecutors announced that Han Lee, 41; James Lee, 68; and Junmyung Lee, 30 were arrested Wednesday morning after allegedly operating an 'interstate prostitution network' including multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C." Fox News reported.
"The defendants advertised the prostitution network on two websites, which, according to prosecutors, offered appointments with women in either Boston or Eastern Virginia and listed each woman's height, weight and bust size with nude and semi-nude photographs," it added.
#ICYMI Statement from Acting U.S. Attorney Levy on arrests made in high-end brothel network 📣 @HSI_HQ pic.twitter.com/Ej6axzCYTv
— U.S. Attorney Massachusetts (@DMAnews1) November 8, 2023
"Specifically, the defendants allegedly rented high-end apartment complexes as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained. The monthly rent for the brothel locations were as high as $3,664," the Justice Department said in a news release.
"It is further alleged that the defendants coordinated the women’s airline travel and transportation and permitted women to stay overnight in the brothel locations so they did not have to find lodging elsewhere, therefore enticing women to participate in their prostitution network," it continued.
The women were "booked" for sexual appointments through a website run by the group that included identification details for those involved.
Prices ranged from $350 to $600 per hour for services that were all paid in cash, bringing in hundreds of thousands of dollars for the leaders of the operation.
The investigation is ongoing, with the charges including the potential of up to at least five years in prison along with a fine of up to $250,000.
The shocking scandal could include future arrests as well, with the investigation of others involved still pending following the arrests.
