Brothels that serviced politicians and military officials raked in millions: ‘Record keeping was impeccable’

The accused ringleaders of a network of “sophisticated high-end brothels” that serviced politicians, military o🍌fficials, and government contractors kept “impeccable” recor🤡ds of their illicit operation which netted them over a million dollars, one of the top federal investigators on the case revealed Wednesday. 

The new details about the prostitution ring, which operated in luxury apartments in Massachusetts and Virginia, were included in an affidavit submitted to the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts on Wednesday by Homeland Security Invest🌊igations Special Agent Zachary Mitlitsky. 

The HSI agent argued that two of the ⛄co-conspirators in the case, Han Lee and Junmyung Lee, could have access to even more funds than investigators are already aware of and thus pose a flight risk and should remain behind bars.

Han, described by M��itlitsk🅷y as the leader of the scheme, “concealed over one million dollars in prostitution proceeds,” according to the filing. 

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During a search of the 41-yearꦦ-old’s Cambridg♓e, Mass., apartment, Mitlitsky discovered “bulk quantities” of condoms and lubricants, lingerie, UTI and pregnancy testing kits, and fake eyelashes, as well as $22,000 in cash, dozens of gift cards, 16 cell phones and ledgers detailing the financial records of the operation, according to his affidavit. 

“I believe that Han’s financial an꧙d business record keeping was impeccable,” Mitlitsky states. 

“Han maintained ledgers detailing the daily activity of her brothels. At the time of the search warrant execution, one such ledger was open to a page showing the stage names, appointment dates and times and earnings of the women,” he writes, noting that one of the names listed in the ledger matched a woman allegedly pimped out online by defendants and found present at the Tyson🌄s, Va., brothel during the execution of a search warrant. 

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“Next to the ledger were envelopes c🃏ontaining bulk cash and handwritten notes with the stage names of wom♉en and a tally of their earnings,” Mitlitsky states. 

The agent describes finding a Louis Vuitton shoe box at Han’s apartment which contained hundreds of welꦇl-organized money order receipts, some of which he believes could be previously unaccounted for proceeds from the operation. 

Items indicative of Han’s lavish and extravagant spending habits wereꦯ also found, including luxury bags and shoes from designers such as Yves St. Laurent, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, C🐻hristian Louboutin, and Jimmy Choo. 

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Investigators also found a cell phone that Han appears to have used to communicate with the sex workers through a Sou🏅th Korean messaging app. 

“During these communications, Han not only listed a brief description of the anticipated customers, expected sexual services and corresponding pricing, and schedule of appointments for the da𓆉y but also set forth what I believe to be her house rules for commercial sex workers engaging in sex for a fee at the brothel apartments,” Mitlitsky writes, noting that Han used a photo of her pet pug dog as her profile picture. 

Junmyung Lee was believed to be “in charge of booking the appointments for the sex custome🍰rs,” according to Mitlitsky, who discovered  $5,000 in cash, four ledgers/appointment books, and multiple computers and cell phones during a search of his Dedham, Mass., apartment. 

A photograph of an appointment book included in the affidavit appears ♋to show that at least one of the sex workers slaved for about 10 hours on Oct. 18, 2022 – from 8:30 a.m. to 8:15 p.m., with a one-hour break. 

“Collectively, these thr🌠ee photographs show that the prostitution network not only maintained meticulous daily records of theirꦍ operation but also kept those records for a lengthy period of time,” Mitlitsky states. 

Like Han, Junmyung, 30, also spent lavishly, �🅰�according to the filing. 

Authorities seized a Chevrolet Corvette belonging to Junmyung and valued at nearly $70,000, for which “a do💯wn payment was believed to have been ma𝓡de using prostitution proceeds.” 

Deposits in Junmyung’s bank accounts totaled approximately $378,365, according to the agent. Han’s bank accounts showed appꦫroximate💞ly $965,000 in mostly cash deposits going back to December 2019. 

Neither appeared to have ever worked a legitimate job in years, according🔜 to the affidavit. 

“There is significant concern by investigators th🔥at Han may have control over other accounts not yet identified,” Mitlitsky writes, noting that she appears to have transferred tens of thousands of dollars to South Korean ꧒bank accounts and as many as 30 individuals – indicating that the operation may be larger than is currently known. 

After Mitlitsky submitted his affidavit, lawyers for Han and Junmyung agreed Wednesday to a voluntary order of detention signed off on by Magistrate Judgꩵe Da🌼vid Hennessy.

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Their lawyers will be able to move for the💧ir releases at a later date. 

A detention hearing for a third alleged ✱member of the prostitution ring, James Lee, 68, has not yet been sche💃duled.

The three were nabbed by federal 🐽authorities on Nov. 8.&൩nbsp; 

The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts said at the time of their arre♚sts that the “commercial sex buyers allegedly included elected officials, high tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, military officers, government contractors that possess security clearances, professors, att🔴orneys, scientists, and accountants, among others.”

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“The investigation into the involvement of sex buyers is active and ongoing,” the Massachusetts US Attorney’s Office🐻 note♓d at the time. 

No informat🥂ion about the identities of the prostitution ring’s all𒈔eged clients has been made public.