Landlords, tenants squeezed in spa raids

Josh Hawley: Some of the landlords likely had no idea.

Profits drive human trafficking efforts

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Missouri Attorney General’s office, Springfield Police Department and federal agencies coordinated July 20 to raid 13 business and five residences as part of a human trafficking and prostitution investigation. The actions took place simultaneously at 1 p.m. across the city, as well as in Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, in cooperation with law enforcement in those states.

In the days following, Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley told Springfield Business Journal a number of business owners were among the arrests after the months-long investigations.

Customers who have purchased illegal sexual services from these businesses are not the focus of the investigation, he said, but many of them have been identified and could be charged.

“There’s a reason human trafficking is a profitable business,” he said. “They are making lots of money on this.”

Additionally, many women were taken into protective custody after it was determined they were being coerced into participating in sexual acts and possibly being held against their wills. Most of the victims are thought to be from China and many don’t speak English, he said.

“Traffickers will lure, or coerce or defraud women into the commercial sexual exploitation industry – which is what we have here – and then move them around,” Hawley said. “We have evidence already that some of the women that we were able to free have been moved from site to site, not just here in Springfield but moved across states.”

There have been similar human trafficking raids in Kansas City and Central Missouri in recent years, Hawley said, but nothing of this scale and scope has ever been attempted in Missouri.

“Over 70 law enforcement officers were involved, just in Springfield,” he said. “It was a coordinated effort between the highway patrol, the attorney general’s office, Springfield police and various federal agencies – including the IRS and Homeland Security who also contributed resources to this raid. So it was truly a massive raid.”

That the investigation centered on Springfield should not reflect poorly on residents, said Hawley, whose parents moved here 20 years ago from the Kansas City area.

“It’s a reflection on the fact that this trafficking is everywhere,” he said. “And that’s why we have to aggressively go after it.”

Hawley’s website identifies fighting human trafficking and exploitation as one of his office’s top priorities.

Last edited 10:49 a.m., Aug. 4, 2017

Following July 20 raids at 13 Springfield businesses, neighbors, landlords and law enforcement are dealing with the hot-button topics of human trafficking and prostitution.

On July 21 nine massage parlor operators were charged with Class A misdemeanors for operating without the proper state licenses. Additionally, officials issued restraining orders against six businesses.

Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley believes the businesses are part of organized crime in one large trafficking ring that spread into other states and may have ties to the West Coast and East Asia.  

“Of the 13 locations that we raided, we discovered evidence of illegal prostitution activity and, we believe, trafficking activity in all 13 locations,” he said.

Most of the cited businesses were operating in strip malls in high-traffic areas, begging the questions of landlord liability and fallout by association.

Hawley declined to comment on whether any specific property owners are under investigation. Many of the businesses took steps to appear legitimate, such as filing for an LLC or proper licenses, Hawley said, and he suspected some of the landlords had no idea what was going on in their buildings.

“If there is evidence that the landlord did know of the nature of these businesses and took no steps to prevent or report illegal activity, then there could be the possibility of facilitation – that they actually helped illegal trafficking and illegal prostitution,” he said.

Rob Lurvey, who owns 2005 E. Kearney St., where Asian Massage operated, said on July 24 he hadn’t heard of the legal actions taken on the property he owns and hadn’t been contacted by anyone else about it.

“I’m kind of surprised to be honest with you,” he said. “I have no clue what’s going on.”

If landlords suspect illegal activity on their property, Hawley said, they should notify law enforcement authorities and take steps to make it clear they have no involvement in it.

Dr. Agnes Tran owns the building at 520 W. University St, where her own Queen City Eye Care Center LLC treats patients. She also rents a unit to Yunying Yang, who was charged with operating Shui Massage without a license.

“The news is running wild with this story,” Tran said, noting KY3 filmed an interview with Hawley in front of her business’ sign.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve never had a problem with the tenants. They seem to be really nice people, and I don’t know if they did anything wrong,” she said, urging people to consider everyone innocent until proven guilty.

Tran said the operators of Shui Massage do not speak English well and that may be a factor in their trouble filing for the proper city and state papers.

Galen Elliott, owner of Tresformers Hair and Nail Studio, said the outside of his salon was included in media photos following a raid of Relax Spa just to the north. Jinhua Zhou was charged with operating the spa without a license.

To help the public vet local businesses, the city of Springfield has a searchable database on its website to check if a businessperson has an occupational license in one of 150 categories, including massage technician. Currently, there are 238 people licensed locally for massage. The Missouri Division of Professional Registration also has a search form, and 323 massage therapists are listed in Greene County.

Lori Stubbeman, supervisor of the city’s licensing department, said each massage therapist must have an individual occupational license with the city and all applicants must show proof of a state license, which requires education and testing.

“The state has pretty rigorous requirements for the establishment and then for the actual therapists,” she said.

State officials inspect massage parlors, she said, and the city only inspects them if there is a complaint.

Greene County Prosecuting Attorney Dan Patterson said landlords may have greater success evicting tenants. “Lots of landlords have leases that would have clauses that would allow them to act if there were illegal activity on their premises,” he said.

Many of the identified businesses promoted massage, salon or spa services on traditional outlets such as Google Maps, Yelp.com and Groupon.com. Hawley said several also were advertising illegal activities on websites, such as RubMaps.com and Backpage.com, with images of Asian female masseuses.

Backpage still lists ads for local masseuses, and nearly all feature photos of Asian women in lingerie with such language as “new girls daily.”

Attorney General Hawley said the restraining order would make it easier to target the suspects – who still are under surveillance for human trafficking and prostitution.

“The restraining order is a very powerful tool,” he said. “Essentially, if there is any evidence of any violation of it, it allows the court to immediately – without any further proceeding – to hold anyone violating the order in contempt of court, and that carries very serious penalties and immediate penalties. It’s a very powerful hammer to use when we have strong evidence of wrongdoing.”