The arrests were made last week after a three-year investigation in Orange and
Riverside counties, officials said. Investigators raided four brothels, seized
$44,000 in cash and froze about $700,000 in bank accounts belonging to the
suspects, officials said.
Ten brothels are listed in the complaint but investigators believe the
defendants may have operated as many as 31 establishments across Southern
California, said William J. Hayes, assistant special agent for the Immigration
and Customs Enforcement in Orange County.
Many of the prostitutes were Chinese and immigration officials were trying to
determine if they entered the country illegally, Hayes said. He said it did not
appear that the women were brought to the United States against their will.
Orange County Deputy District Attorney Scott Steiner, who is prosecuting the
case, said at least 100 women were involved in the prostitution ring over three
years and many changed locations every week. He said authorities were
investigating whether the ring involves prostitution in neighboring states or
is linked to rings around the nation. "There may be a lot of heads to this
snake," he said.
The brothels were concealed as massage parlors, spas and acupuncture studios
and included locations in Anaheim, Dana Point, Rancho Mirage and Tustin, said
Capt. Joe Reiss of the Anaheim Police Department.
Ringleaders allegedly placed discreetly worded advertisements in the classified
sections of The Orange County Register, the OC Weekly and The Desert Sun of
Palm Springs, said Orange County District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. They
charged about $80 per visit, officials said.
Jian Shi, 49, of Montebello; Gua Hua Chen, 56, of Monterey Park; and Hong Jun
Bai, 42, of Rowland Heights, were charged with felony pimping and conspiracy to
commit the crime of pimping. They were held without bail on immigration holds.
John Couch, 46, of San Clemente, was charged with conspiracy to commit the
crime of pimping and being a felon in possession of a firearm and one
misdemeanor count of keeping a house of ill fame. His wife, Yu Mei Cheng-Couch,
38, was charged with felony conspiracy to commit the crime of pimping and a
misdemeanor count of keeping a house of ill fame.
They were held on $35,000 bail.
Xueyan Yu, 49, of Huntington Beach, was charged with a misdemeanor count of
keeping a house of ill fame.
Attorneys for the defendants did not immediately return calls for comment or
could not be reached for comment. All the defendants but Yu will be arraigned
on April 6, Steiner said.
