Quyen Thuc Ha, Prostitution Ring, Texas 2013

In a shocking turn of events, eleven individuals have been indicted in connection with a prostitution ring operating in the Eastern District of Texas.

The indictment, which was returned by a federal grand jury on June 12, 2013, charges the defendants with one count of conspiracy to use interstate facility to promote, manage, establish, carry on and facilitate unlawful activity, four counts of use of interstate facility to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate unlawful activity, and two counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds.

The defendants, who include Quyen Thuc Ha, aka Tony Ha, 53, of Richardson, Texas, Yu Lin Chang, aka Rica, aka Jennifer, 37, of Plano, Texas, Kim Sey Lau, aka John Wang, aka Tony, 56, of Dallas, and eight others, are accused of using nine massage parlors in Plano, Dallas, and Hurst, Texas as places of prostitution, or brothels.

According to court documents, Ha is the owner of the massage parlors, which were allegedly used to facilitate prostitution. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to use the massage parlors to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate unlawful activity, and that they bribed two local police detectives to keep the brothels open and operating free from law enforcement detection.

Arrest warrants were executed on June 17, 2013, and those defendants arrested made initial appearances on June 18, 2013 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Amos Mazzant in Sherman.

If convicted of the conspiracy charge, the defendants each face up to five years in federal prison. The use of interstate facility charges also carry a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison, and the bribery charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) and ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Plano Police Department, the Dallas Police Department, the Collin County District Attorney’s Office and the Texas Attorney General’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Griffith.

A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Related Federal Cases