A married couple and their grownup son have been arrested for allegedly working a community of at the very least ten brothels disguised as therapeutic massage parlors throughout Santa Clara County, producing one million {dollars} a 12 months in unlawful earnings, authorities mentioned.
Binghua Bresee, 52, Joseph Bresee, 77, and Binghua Breesee’s son Jiabao Huang, 30, all of San Jose, are accused of trafficking dozens of ladies on the brothels, based on the Santa Clara County District Legal professional’s Workplace. The defendants have been charged with 26 felonies, together with pimping, tax fraud, cash laundering and felony conspiracy.
“The trafficking of human beings has no place in our community, or any other,” mentioned Santa Clara County District Legal professional Jeff Rosen in a press release. “Modern slavery is morally and legally wrong and will be met with no toleration and – as you can see by the agencies cooperating in this operation – the strictest legal accountability.”
Joseph Breesee and Binghua Breesee have been arrested in a coordinated effort on Dec. 3, prosecutors added. The three defendants have been arraigned Dec. 5, the place Santa Clara County Superior Courtroom Choose Hector Ramon set their bail at $1 million every.
The investigation, named “Operation Family Ties,” was performed by investigators from the district legal professional’s workplace, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. State Division, the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Division and native regulation enforcement departments. It started in June after a defendant utilized to open a therapeutic massage parlor underneath another person’s identify in Morgan Hill and a police officer turned suspicious, authorities mentioned.
Investigators positioned brothels in cities together with Mountain View, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose, Cupertino and Hayward.
Investigators recognized greater than 40 girls within the operation. Eighteen who have been rescued whereas authorities served search warrants have been offered providers by the DA’s Victims Providers Unit and nonprofits Group Options and YWCA.
Many ladies who do intercourse work achieve this as a result of “their autonomy is heavily constrained by factors like poverty and immigration status,” the DA’s workplace added. Commerical intercourse work can result in crimes together with rape, assault and murder, and it’s a crime for anybody to generate income from, solicit, help with or encourage intercourse work.
The district legal professional’s workplace additionally froze and seized about $1.25 million in earnings.
A fourth co-conspirator was arrested on suspicion of working cash for one of many brothel operations, authorities mentioned.
If convicted, all 4 defendants face jail time, authorities added.
The operation stays underneath investigation.
