Massage Parlor In Ocean County Busted In Prostitution Ring: Feds

NEWARK, NJ ? Four people have been charged with operating a group of massage parlors that were houses of prostitution, including one in Ocean County, the U.S. Attorney General's Office said.

Zhejun Piao, 37, a Chinese national; Miyeon Choi, 37, a South Korean national; Shangxian Cui, 36, Chinese national, and Meixiang Jin, 34, of Palisades Park, have been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit interstate travel or transportation in aid of a racketeering enterprise, U.S. Attorney Phillip Sellinger said.

All four were arrested on Thursday and made their initial appearances today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark III in Newark federal court on Friday. All four were released, Sellinger said.

According to the federal complaint, the four owned, operated, and derived money from illicit massage parlors or spas in New Jersey and New York that had been offering sexual services for money dating back at least to May 2017.

The spas used social media accounts to advertise the sexual services and the women who would provide those services, according to the complaint.

The spas listed in the complaint include New Soothing Day Spa in New Rochelle, New York; Coco Spa in Paterson; Gold Spa in Passaic; 785 Spa in Passaic; Bergen Acupressure in Fairview; Queen Spa in Edgewater; Hawaii Spa in Edgewater; Good Day Spa in East Brunswick, and Spa Wellness in Toms River.

While the complaint lists Spa Wellness as in Toms River, archived tweets from the Spa Wellness account on X (formerly known as Twitter) posted as recently as July 24 show the spa was in South Toms River at "GSP Exit 80 across from Wawa". The Twitter account has been deleted.

The spas used social media accounts to advertise the sexual services and the women who would provide those services, according to the complaint. Some included nude or partially nude photos of the women, and along with the addresses, according to the criminal complaint.

The U.S. Attorney's Office said investigators obtained evidence showing each of the four people charged had personal knowledge of, and involvement in, the prostitution operation.

"For example, emails obtained by law enforcement show that Choi received what appear to be draft advertisements for the spas, and other emails and records show Choi and Piao transferred cryptocurrency to an online advertisement company. Law enforcement also observed Cui transport supplies, including mouthwash and paper towels, to the spas, make suspected cash pickups, and deposit over $50,000 of cash with Jin to a bank account," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

The charge of conspiracy to commit interstate travel or transportation in aid of a racketeering enterprise carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker; the U.S. State Department, Diplomatic Security Service; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, with the investigation. He also thanked HSI New York, Hudson Valley Office; Customs and Border Protection; the Passaic County Prosecutors Office; Passaic County Sheriff; Bergen County Prosecutor?s Office; Bergen County Sheriff; Edgewater Police Department; Fairview Police Department; Paterson Police Department; East Brunswick Police Department; New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice; South Toms River Police Department; Edison Police Department; Morris County Prosecutor?s Office; Ocean County Prosecutor?s Office; New Rochelle Police Department; Westchester District Attorney?s Office; Federal Air Marshals; New York State Police; ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations; and the Palisades Park Police Department.