Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Booker in high-end brothel ring sentenced, may get deported, says U.S. Attorney
The judge ordered the Korean national to serve a one-year prison sentence.
A Korean national who helped run a high-end interstate prostitution network with ties to brothels in greater Boston and Virginia was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston.
U.S. District Court Judge Julia Kobick sentenced Junmyung Lee, 32, to one year in prison and one year of supervised release. Lee is subject to deportation after he completes his sentence.
The court also ordered the forfeiture of $200,000, which is equal to the amount of proceeds Lee earned during the conspiracy.
Lee, who was residing in Dedham, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of money laundering conspiracy.
Advertisement:
Police arrested Lee in November 2023, along with co-defendants Han Lee, 42, of Cambridge, and James Lee, 69, of Torrance, California.
A federal grand jury indicted the Lees in February 2024. Han Lee was sentenced to four years in prison and forfeited over $5 million, and James Lee pleaded guilty in February. James Lee is scheduled to be sentenced at the end of May.
Previously:
According to the D.A.’s office, from January 2022 to November 2023, Junmyung Lee conspired with Han Lee and James Lee to operate an interstate prostitution network and laundered the proceeds.
Han Lee recruited Junmyung Lee to work for the prostitution network in late 2021 as the business expanded. The D.A. says his primary role was as a “booker,” and he assisted with various tasks to maintain the prostitution network. In exchange, Han Lee paid him $6,000 to $8,000 per month.
Advertisement:
As a booker, Junmyung Lee was responsible for vetting sex buyers, booking appointments, and communicating directly with vetted customers. The D.A. said the brothel’s cell phones contained over 2,800 verified customers of the prostitution business.
The D.A. says Lee also helped transport women to and from the airport, with some women working at the brothel locations on multiple occasions and in numerous states.
Junmyung Lee also collected cash proceeds from the brothels and concealed them through structured deposits in personal bank accounts and peer-to-peer payments with other conspirators.
He also used hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase money orders in amounts under the threshold that would trigger reporting, to conceal the source of the funds.
The D.A. says the Lees rented high-end apartments in Massachusetts and Virginia to serve as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained.
In June 2022, Junmyung Lee leased one of the brothel locations in Cambridge under his name. In exchange for the lease, he received a large cash payment of prostitution proceeds from Han Lee. He used part of the cash payment to buy a Corvette.
The D.A. reports that the brothel network generated over $5.6 million in revenue from about 9,450 scheduled sex dates with sex buyers.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com