Two people arrested last week in New Mexico following a prostitution investigation at multiple massage parlors will face criminal charges in Texas, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District announced.
Xiaoping Wen, 64, and Shu Wang, 41, are charged with conspiracy to use interstate travel to aid an extortion enterprise, according to a Wednesday news release. They were arrested March 21 and transported to Lubbock, the release states. Each could be sentenced to five years in prison.
The federal prosecutor's office said that between June and February, undercover agents were offered sex for money “at least 10 times” at Wen's businesses.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by dallas morning news, Authorities believe Wen operated and maintained “several illegal massage parlors in neighboring cities in New Mexico and Texas.” Mr. Wang told authorities that he was Mr. Wen's son, and he is charged with participating in an illegal operation.
Three of the eight businesses investigated were located in or near Lubbock, according to the affidavit. Authorities determined many locations through a mobile tracking device installed in Mr. Wen's car.
After receiving concerns from multiple people, investigators began monitoring a business that Wen believed to be operating in Wolfforth, just southwest of Lubbock, according to the affidavit.
One person “reported observing male customers coming into the store throughout the day until midnight,” the affidavit states. The same person “reported hearing a man's moans and a woman's screams at least once.”
Investigators also identified a massage business run by Wen on a website “known within the sex trafficking industry as a platform commonly used to advertise sexual services in exchange for money.” were also found, the affidavit states. Wen and Wang are also suspected of paying cash bail to women arrested on suspicion of prostitution at their businesses.
According to the affidavit, authorities believe Wen laundered the proceeds from the operations using a “cash-in, cash-out” scheme at casinos in California.
As of Wednesday afternoon, it was unclear whether Mr. Wen and Mr. Wang had lawyers.
