Massage parlor prostitution ring in southern Illinois exposed, owners charged
Federal investigators allege that five massage parlors in southern Illinois and Indiana were operating as a front for prostitution.
The parlor’s owners, Jianhong Hu Allbright, 57, of Shoals, Indiana, and Yalong Cao, 25, of Schaumburg, Illinois, were indicted Wednesday on conspiracy and money laundering through prostitution charges for operating five illicit massage parlors throughout southern Illinois and Indiana. The charges were filed in the U.S. Court for the Southern District of Illinois.
Allbright and Cao are alleged to have operated the prostitution ring from March 2022 until June 20, 2024.
According to court documents, the pair ran four businesses in Illinois: the Rose Spa in Harrisburg, the Oriental Home Spa & Massage in Centralia, the Sunflower Spa in Mt. Vernon, and the Oasis Massage Spa in Vandalia. Their Corydon, Indiana business was called the Oriental Massage Parlor.
Authorities rescued 11 women that were believed to have been working at massage parlors, court records state.
The criminal complaint alleges Allbright managed the day-to-day operations of the massage parlors. She would transport women to the spas and deliver them necessary supplies to engage in prostitution, the documents said. She also paid the parlors’ operational costs.
Cao would recruit women as employees and would collect the proceeds. In total, from December 2022 to March 2024, the pair made at least $25,000, according to the charges.
Authorities seized $74,357 in cash, but the documents did not indicate if the money was profits from prostitution.
Allbright and Cao would advertise their services through multiple online websites known to promote commercial sex, the documents said. The sites proclaimed “Sexy hotties have awesome techniques,” and “100% New Hotties.” Some said “Cash only.”
Police Investigation
An investigation into the pair’s parlors began in November 2023. The first instance of surveillance started on Jan. 3, 2024.
At one of the locations, holding compartments labeled for grocery items were packed instead with condoms, according to the criminal charges.
The following accounts came from men interviewed by police shortly after leaving the parlors and are included in the criminal indictments:
- At the Rose Spa, a man walked in and requested an hour-long massage for $70. Ten minutes into the massage, the worker asked him to remove his underwear and masturbated him. He left $40 on the bed, but didn’t see if the woman took it.
- On Feb. 14, 2024, at the Oriental Home Spa & Massage, a man said he paid $60 for an hour-long massage. At the end, he also was masturbated.
- Also on Feb. 14, 2024, at the Sunflower Massage Spa, a man paid $60 to get a foot massage. After seeing a woman make a “motion with her head,” he showed the woman $20 for oral sex, but the woman said that wouldn’t be enough money and he left the parlor soon after.
- On June 4, 2024, at the Oriental Massage Parlor, a man used Google translate to communicate with workers inside. Near the end of his session, he paid cash for the massage and a “happy ending.”
- On June 6, 2024, a woman named “Yuna” received $100 to masturbate a man, records said. The man said “Yuna” said she worked seven days a week and only received pay through tip money.
“Massage parlors engaged in prostitution … are criminal enterprises that create and exploit financial dependency to trap immigrants and others, coercing them into degrading subjugation,” U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft said. “The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute sex trafficking and work to vindicate the rights of vulnerable victims across southern Illinois.”
Allbright and Cao have been charged with one count each of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and one count each of money laundering conspiracy. Allbright has an additional charge for transporting an individual in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution.
Money laundering conspiracy convictions are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines up to $500,000, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. Convictions of transporting an individual to engage in prostitution are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines up to $250,000, and convictions for conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. are punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment, it added.
