BOSTON — The head of an interstate commercial sex ring that authorities said catered to “wealthy and well-connected clientele” pleaded guilty in federal court on Friday.
Han “Hana” Lee, 42, of Cambridge emphasized that while she did run the brothels, she did not control the women.
She said she is guilty of recruiting the sex workers, getting them transportation to the brothel locations in Cambridge and Watertown, and then concealing the profits of the brothel with money orders.
She and two men, Junmyung Lee, 31, of Dedham, and James Lee, 69, of California, were indicted by a federal grand jury in February on charges of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution, and money laundering conspiracy.
All three are accused of running a “sophisticated” commercial sex network in Watertown, Cambridge, and in Virginia, where buyers paid up to $600 per hour for a wide array of advertised sex acts. They were arrested in November.
Junmyung Lee is also expected to plead guilty in the case during a hearing set for Oct. 30. James Lee continues to plead not guilty, with a pretrial conference set for Oct. 29.
Prosecutors said the three charged sex buyers a premium price for appointments with women advertised on their websites. Buyers paid anywhere from $350 to upwards of $600 per hour for sex, depending on the services. They paid in cash.
To conceal the proceeds of the prostitution network, Han Lee deposited hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash proceeds into personal and third-party bank accounts and peer-to-peer transfers, prosecutors said. Hundreds of thousands of dollars from these proceeds were used to buy money orders to conceal the source of the funds.
These money orders were then used to pay for rent and utilities at brothel locations in Massachusetts and Virginia, prosecutors said.
Meanwhile, nearly two-dozen Boston-area John Does are fighting to keep their names private. Elected officials, doctors, lawyers, professors, accountants, and military officers were reportedly among a group of “high-end” clients who paid for the illegal sex services at various locations in the Bay State and in Virginia.
No names on the client list will be released until probable cause has been found, officials have said.
A Supreme Judicial Court ruling handed down in February said the probable cause hearings would be public. It was unclear Friday when, or if, public court hearings would be held.
Since July 2020, Han Lee operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, as well as in Fairfax, Virginia and Tysons, Virginia, prosecutors said.
She “established the infrastructure for these brothels in multiple states for the purposes of persuading, inducing and enticing women – primarily Asian women – to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution,” prosecutors said.
With her two alleged associates, Han Lee rented high-end apartments as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained, prosecutors said. Then, they coordinated the women’s airline travel and transportation and allowed them 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.”
To protect and maintain the secrecy of the business and ensure that the women did not draw attention to the prostitution work inside apartment buildings, Han Lee and her two alleged associates “established house rules” for the women during their stays, prosecutors said.
Websites advertising nude models for professional photography at upscale studios served as a front for the prostitution ring, prosecutors said.
Investigators searched and seized the domain names for the websites after obtaining search warrants that were executed in November 2023.
Each website had a verification process for interested sex buyers to become eligible for appointment bookings, prosecutors said. Clients were required to complete a form providing their full names, email address, phone number, employer and reference if they had one.
Han Lee and her two alleged associates persuaded the women to work for their prostitution network “because the business maintained a regular customer base of men that were adequately screened, ensuring that the customers were not members of law enforcement or men who posed a risk to the safety and security of the commercial sex workers,” prosecutors said.
The trio also maintained local brothel phone numbers, prosecutors said. These were used to text with customers and schedule appointments; send customers a “menu” of available women, sexual services available and the hourly rate; and also to text customers directions to the brothel’s location “where they engaged in commercial sex with the women.”
A Cambridge police detective on Dec. 18, 2023 filed applications for criminal complaint against 28 people for sexual conduct with another person for a fee.
Han Lee faces up to 25 years in prison and up to three years of supervised released, as well as a $750,000 fine.
She could also be deported, since she is not a U.S. citizen.
Han Lee is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20. She remains in federal custody.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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