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SALT LAKE CITY — Three women each received three years of probation, and two of them received additional time in jail, after pleading guilty to exploiting prostitutes and laundering money through six different Utah massage parlors.
- Lianfang Feng, 56, pleaded guilty in February to a pattern of unlawful activity, money laundering and exploiting prostitution, all third-degree felonies.
Feng was sentenced on May 8 to three indeterminate terms of zero to five years in prison, to run concurrently, but the sentence was suspended in favor of 90 days in jail and 36 months of probation.
- Ruixue Chen, 39, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to a pattern of unlawful activity, a third-degree felony previously charged as a second-degree felony. She also pleaded guilty to exploiting prostitution, a third-degree felony.
Chen was sentenced on May 15 to two indeterminate terms of zero to five years in prison, to run consecutively, but the sentence was suspended in favor of 73 days in jail and 36 months of probation.
- Xiu Yun Huo, 47, pleaded guilty in June 2022 to a pattern of unlawful activity and exploiting prostitution, both third-degree felonies.
Huo was sentenced on May 15 to two indeterminate terms of zero to five years in prison, to run consecutively, but the sentence was suspended in favor of 36 months of probation.
In April 2021, West Valley Police received a tip from a woman identified only by her first name who said she worked at one of Huo's massage parlors, GJO Massage, 2101 W. 3500 South in West Valley City. Huo also owned Le Q Massage, 363 E. 2100 South in Salt Lake City.
The woman told police that Huo's husband "finds girls in Los Angeles and brings them to Utah to work," according to the affidavit. The woman said she believed she was coming to Utah to perform massages, but that when she arrived in Utah, Huo asked her to perform sexual acts, police said.
The woman also said that Huo sometimes sent her and another girl to Lavender Massage, 359 E. State Road in American Fork, to work for Huo's friend Chen.
After receiving this tip, police and agents from the Utah Attorney General's Office began investigating Huo and Chen's massage parlors. They found that Feng was also in association with Huo and Chen. Feng owned Magic Massage and Blue Spot Spa in Salt Lake City, along with One Way Massage in Taylorsville.
Feng has been a subject of two criminal investigations in Salt Lake City and one in Georgia, according to an affidavit.
From May to July 2021, agents conducted undercover operations at each of Huo's, Feng's and Chen's massage parlors. Agents were offered sexual acts in exchange for money at all locations.
They also conducted surveillance at the massage parlors and saw Feng and Chen transport women between Feng's home and her businesses, according to the affidavit.
Agents served a search warrant at Feng's home in September 2021 and found more than $100,000, along with bank cards and documents confirming her involvement in the sting, according to the Utah Attorney General's Office.
Agents also served search warrants at Lavender Massage and Chen's home, where they found messages from Chen telling another woman how to avoid suspicion. They also found money and documents associated with Chen's massage parlor.
Huo, Feng and Chen were arrested Sept. 8, 2021.
"The women victims, in this case, were suffering in plain sight," Leo Lucey, chief of the attorney general's Criminal Investigations Division, said in a statement. "They were working in servitude and trapped in a criminal enterprise that was extensive and powerful. We are pleased that we are able to work with our law enforcement partners and the Asian Association of Utah as these women recover from the trauma they have endured."
Feng also had several charges dismissed as part of a plea deal, including three counts of aiding prostitution, all class A misdemeanors; and three counts of maintaining, committing or failing to remove a public nuisance, all class B misdemeanors.
She was also previously charged with aggravated exploitation of prostitution, a second-degree felony, which could be retried. A charge against Feng of human trafficking, a second-degree felony, was dismissed because of a lack of evidence, according to defense attorney Brad Anderson.
Chen had several charges against her dismissed as part of a plea deal, including money laundering, a second-degree felony; aiding prostitution, a class A misdemeanor; two counts of prostitution, a class B misdemeanor; and maintaining, committing or failing to remove a public nuisance, a class B misdemeanor.
