Pensacola Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Charges Related to Human Trafficking in Multiple States

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – United States Attorney Lawrence Keefe, of the Northern District of Florida, announced today that David C. Williams, 41, a Pensacola massage parlor business operator, pled guilty to charges of using interstate facilities for purposes of racketeering, transporting females for purposes of prostitution, harboring illegal aliens for commercial advantage or private financial gain, and being involved in a money laundering conspiracy.

Williams was arrested by the FBI in August of this year in connection with his operation of multiple Asian massage parlors in Florida, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. Along with the arrest of Williams on these federal charges, over a dozen search warrants were executed at massage parlors linked to Williams in these three states. This included multiple federal search warrants in Pensacola, Gulf Breeze, and Gainesville, all of which are located in the Northern District of Florida. Over half a dozen seizure warrants were also executed on bank accounts linked to Williams.

“Human trafficking is high on the list of the most heinous crimes because its perpetrators treat people as property to be abused and monetized. Consequently, this office, and all of our law enforcement partners, will be vigilant and diligent in the prevention, pursuit, prosecution, and punishment of human trafficking,” stated United States Attorney Keefe.

During his guilty plea, Williams admitted operating Asian massage parlors that maintained Chinese females illegally present in the United States who were offering sexual acts at the parlors in return for money. The investigation revealed that Williams was using the now-defunct website “Backpage.com” to run tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of advertisements for his illicit businesses. Records obtained from financial institutions and airlines also confirmed that Williams paid for the travel of the Chinese females throughout the United States and, particularly, to locations where he maintained illicit massage parlors. The records from financial institutions also revealed that Williams and his conspirators laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars through bank accounts that were opened in nominee names in an effort to distance Williams from the illegal activity.

“Human trafficking is a crime that happens all around us, often in plain sight, impacting the safety of our neighborhoods and our quality of life,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “When human beings are treated as commodities, they are not only being abused physically, but emotionally and financially as well. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will continue to collaborate at every level to disrupt and dismantle organizations responsible for this illegal activity.”

“Tracing money obtained as the result of criminal acts is the specialty of IRS Criminal Investigation agents, and to be able to do so in the aid of victims of human trafficking is additionally rewarding,” stated Mary Hammond, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Tamp Field Office. “Criminal enterprises such as this one are a blight in the communities in which they operate.”

“This criminal was profiting off human lives,” said HSI Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge K. Jim Phillips. “Human trafficking is a complicated, intricate crime and HSI has made it a priority to work with all our law enforcement partners to identify these perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

Assistant United States Attorney David L. Goldberg is prosecuting the case following a joint investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Pennsylvania State Police, the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, the Gainesville Police Department, the Clearwater Police Department, and the Florida RULES: 6+ paragraphs.

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