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Massage Parlor Owner Pleads Guilty to Obstruction
DENVER – Jung Yoon Choi, age 55, formerly of Aurora, Colorado, has pleaded guilty to obstructing and impairing the laws of Internal Revenue Service.
According to the information and plea agreement, from January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2010, Choi owned and operated three massage parlors in the Denver Metropolitan area, specifically; Ivy Spa located at 2260 S. Quebec Way, Denver, CO (during 2009); New Image Spa located at 17783 Cottonwood Drive, Parker, CO (during 2010); and Blue Pine Spa located at 6212 East Pine Lane, Douglas County, CO (during 2010).
Choi staffed each of her spas with an on-site manager and a number of workers who provided services to customers. The primary service provided by her workers was giving massages. Each of the spas typically had a fee schedule according to which customers paid a door fee ordinarily ranging from $40 to $50, depending on the amount of time requested (30 to 60 minutes were the norm). In addition, customers at the various spas often paid an additional fee which was characterized as a “tip” in many instances for “extra services” provided by Choi’s workers.
At times, the “extra services” consisted of prostitution services in violation of Colorado Revised Statute, 18-7-201. Specifically, the workers would engage in sexual acts with customers in exchange for money. Choi was aware that such illicit activity was occurring at times in each of her spas and that business income was being generated from such activity.
Choi generated substantial income from each of her spas for tax years 2009 to 2010. However, she failed to file personal income tax returns for 2009 and 2010, and thus she did not report her business income for either year and she did not pay any taxes to the IRS. In addition to not filing tax returns and not paying taxes, Choi further impeded the IRS’s collection of taxes by several means, including: using nominees on bank accounts so as to conceal her business income; conducting cash and business transactions using nominees; conducting financial transactions in amounts that were less than $10,000 so as not to trigger the filing of currency transaction reports; and hiding and storing income in the form of cash hoards at various locations.
Choi agreed to the forfeiture of $118,575.00 seized on December 17, 2010. She is scheduled to be sentenced on April 21, 2016.
RELATED: Samir F. Elias Pleads Guilty in Wichita Sex Trafficking Case
Key Facts
- State: Colorado
- Category: White Collar Crime|Sex Crimes|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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