A Boston Police SUV.
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Sophisticated” high-end brothels in greater Boston and eastern Virginia provided sex for pay to “elected officials, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors,” and others, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Three people were arrested in connection with operating the pricey sex shops, which required “interested sex buyers” to provide employer information and references before booking sessions with prostitutes, authorities said.
The brothels charged customers about $350 to “upwards of $600 per hour depending on the services and were paid in cash,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Massachusetts, which is prosecuting the defendants.
The appointments with sex workers allegedly took place in “high-end apartment complexes” where the rent was as much as $3,664, authorities said.
The brothels were located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, as well as in Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia.
The Virginia locations are close to Washington, D.C., the U.S. capital, and are located in an area that is rife with government contractors, many of whom have government security clearances. The Boston area is home to many pharmaceutical and tech firms.
“The investigation into the involvement of sex buyers is active and ongoing,” the office said.
Charged in the case were Han “Hana” Lee, 41, Junmyung Lee, 30, and 68-year-old James Lee.
Each was charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.
Han Lee and Junmyung Lee, who both live in Massachusetts, were arrested Wednesday morning and are due to appear in Boston federal court later in the day. James Lee was arrested in California, where he resides, and will appear in Boston court at a later date.
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