Ok Hwa Lee, Illicit Massage Parlor Operation, North Carolina 2022
Three women from South Carolina, Virginia, and North Carolina were sentenced to combined 72 months in prison for their management and involvement in an illicit massage parlor operation.
Ok Hwa Lee, 55, was the leader of the organization and was sentenced to 34 months in prison.
Shanyu Song, 50, was sentenced to 26 months in prison, while Xuejin Bai, 51, received a 12-month and 1-day sentence.
The illicit massage parlors were operating in Cary, Durham, and Wilmington, North Carolina.
The women were arrested as part of a broad undercover operation for attempting to bribe law enforcement officers to provide protection for their illicit massage parlors.
According to court documents, Lee, Song, and Bai provided more than $18,000 in bribes to an undercover HSI agent, believing that the bribes would provide protection from unwanted law enforcement inquiries.
The investigation, led by the Department of Homeland Security - Homeland Security Investigations, resulted in the execution of search warrants at eight different massage parlors, multiple residences, and the arrest of six individuals, including Lee, Song, and Bai.
Ok Hwa Lee, Shanyu Song, and Xuejin Bai were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant/Respondent: Ok Hwa Lee
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy, Bribing a Public Official
City and State: New Bern, North Carolina
Date: November 10, 2022 (plea), December 12, 2022 (Bai's plea), no sentencing date listed
Sentence or Outcome: 34 months in prison for Lee, 26 months in prison for Song, 12 months and 1 day in prison for Bai
Dollar Amounts: $151,000 (Lee's forfeiture), $146,000 (Song's forfeiture), $55,000 (Bai's forfeiture)
Key Facts
- State: North Carolina
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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