Sex Trafficking2008
United States US
Len Wah Chong, also know as Lisa Tsui, was arrested along with her husband, Che Ngan Tqui, also known as Allen Tsui, and her brother, Kim Poh Chong and Wei Shang. They were charged with operating massage parlors or acupressure spa establishments as fronts for prostitution and human trafficking. Between August 2004 and Ocober 2007, Len Wah Chong, 43 years old, trafficked at least 11 women to exchange sexual favors for money. Chong pleaded guilty in April 2008 to sex trafficking of persons by force, fraud, and coercion. She and her family operated four massages in the greater Buffalo region: Lotus Acupressure Spa in Lockport; Golden Acupressure and Lucky J Fortune Teller, 3571 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Wheatfield, NY; Lotus Acupressure, 2302 Niagara Falls Blvd. in Tonawanda, NY; and the Lotus Spa in Niagara Falls, NY. Chong's plea agreement with the U.S. District Attorney's Office requires her to pay $350,000 in restitution to 11 former "employees" and an additional $350,000 in forfeiture to the federal government. She was sentenced to six years in prison and five years supervised release. As part of the plea, Chong agreed to cooperate with the U.S. Attorney's Office in the ongoing investigation into human trafficking in northern New York massage parlors. U.S. Attorney Terrance Flynn is quoted in the Niagara Gazette (4/17/08): "She [Chong] admitted to being the person to coerce these women to the area, many of them not knowing - they thought they were coming here to be legitimate massage therapists, but once they got here they realized what they were really here for and did not have the ability to leave." The Chongs (Tsuis) and her brother are naturalized US citizens, and Zhang has permanent residence status. They are originally from China, as were nearly all of their trafficking victims. The criminal complaint says that the women were treated as sex slaves, expected to work off their passage to the USA that had been financed by the traffickers. As a side note, on March 20, 2008, retired Lockport Police Captain John Trowbridge, 60, pleaded guilty in federal court to transporting a local massage parlor worker (undocumented) from one of Chong's spas to Kentucky for the purposes of prostitution. The arrest occurred on October 28, 2005, for a meeting of the Royal Order of Jesters, an international fraternal society. That ties into a whole series of corruption angles to the case. Despite opposition from block clubs and local business owners, the Chongs were able to gain Zoning Board approval for their Lotus Acupressure Spa in Niagara Falls thanks to the ardent support of then-Mayor Vincenzo Anello, according to the Niagara Falls Reporter (12/18/07). Mayor Anello convinced the board that the spa and acupressure were legitimate. Assemblyman Robin Schimminger wrote a letter supporting Chong saying that her spa "be a welcome addition to your business community." The Niagara Falls Development Corp even offered a $10,000 grant for Lotus Spa to help them get started. The 77-page criminal complaint filed by the US District Attorney's Office refers to customers known as "the judge," "the police captain," "the sheriff," and one survivor she offered regular free services to "an immigration officer" in order to get his help in bringing her son into the United States. "The judge" is even quoted in the criminal complaint as giving Chong advice on how to run the club and how his referrals (friends) should be treated.
Sex Trafficking2007
United States US
Yan Liu, 48 Ms.Liu spoke by telephone with an Asian woman then in California on several occasions in August, 2007 and persuaded the woman to purchase an airline ticket and travel to Buffalo for the purpose of working in a massage parlor owned or operated by the defendant. She owned or operated Asian Greenday Spa in West Seneca, New York and Rainbow Spa in Amherst, New York. The woman who traveled from California worked in Asian Greenday Spa and performed numerous sexual acts for customers and was paid in "tips" for these services while the parlor's base massage fee was paid over to Ms. Liu.
Sex Trafficking2012
United States US
Johnny Ray Davis, most recently a resident of Ohio, pleaded guilty on January 4, 2012 before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to making a false statement to officers of the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. In September 2011 David attempted to enter Canada at the Peace Bridge port of entry with two female passengers. Canadian officials refused him entry because he was the subject of outstanding arrest warrants in the U.S. Davis and his two passengers were escorted back to the U.S. and turned over to U.S. ICE officers. During questioning, Davis lied about his whereabouts before the attempted border crossing. Subsequent investigation determined Davis was seeking to transport one of the women for the purpose of prostituting her.