(The Center Square) – An owner of massage parlors where employees offered sex for money faces federal charges, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.
Shaoping Wen, 64, and Xu Wang, her 41-year-old associate, were charged with conspiracy to use interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises.
Law enforcement arrested the two in New Mexico on March 21; they made their initial court appearance in Las Cruces earlier this week. They now await removal to Lubbock to “face justice” in a Northern District of Texas federal court, a release said.
Wen allegedly owned at least seven massage parlors where Asian women engaged in commercial sex. Wang, who says he is Wen’s son, allegedly ran the parlors for Wen when she was out of state.
From June 2023 to February 2024, undercover cops got at least 10 massages at Wen’s parlors in Texas and New Mexico. They were typically met with women in lingerie who offered them sex for additional sums of money, usually between $140 and $200.
“Several of the women allegedly used translation apps to negotiate sexual services,” the release said.
The women arrested for prostitution said they were Chinese citizens and listed their occupation as “laborer,” the release said. Wen and Wang allegedly paid the cash bonds for these arrested women.
Officers saw Wen’s vehicle picking up Asian women from the airport and transporting them to her massage parlors.
Neighbors claimed the women never left the building. A search of the parlors found that there were beds on floors; law enforcement thinks the women lived at the parlors.
A passerby of the parlor also reported hearing a woman screaming. When the person entered the parlor to see what was happening, he reportedly saw three women ages 30 to 50 wearing “provocative clothing,” according to the report.
Law enforcement found that the massage parlors advertised on sites used to advertise commercial sex.
The ads included scantily clad women and promoted “‘100% sexy’ girls who ‘like to spend time with nice upscale gentlemen.'” The ads also mentioned the “girlfriend experience,” “porn star experience,” and “fantasy outfits on request,” according to the release.
The two face up to five years in federal prison if convicted.
