Feds Bust 'High-End' DC-Area Brothels With Politician Clients

Execs, military officers also among alleged clients
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Nov 9, 2023 12:30 AM CST
3 Charged With Running 'High-End' DC-Area Brothels
The Justice Department in Washington, Nov. 18, 2022.   (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

"Pick a profession, they're probably represented in this case." Those were the words of a federal prosecutor in reference to what CNN describes as the "sprawling client list" of a network of high-end brothels operated in the Washington, DC, area as well as in Massachusetts. Those clients included, per the Justice Department, "politicians, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants." The DOJ has charged three people with running the network, two of them in Massachusetts and one in California, Politico reports. As for the clients, they're being investigated.

The three defendants, Han Lee, Junmyung Lee, and James Lee, allegedly rented expensive apartments and advertised rates ranging from $350 to $600 per hour for sexual services to pre-approved clients. They allegedly mostly advertised on websites promoting sex with Asian women; Fox News, which has a screenshot of the alleged "menu" of services one client provided to the feds, reports the websites included photos and measurements. Women's flights and transportation were allegedly paid for. The feds say they're interviewing alleged customers and looking at cellphone location data, surveillance video, and financial records amid the investigation, and that there are "potentially hundreds of yet to be identified customers." (More Justice Department stories.)

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