Virginia Couple Pleads Guilty to Operating Interstate Prostitution Ring

BOSTON – A Virginia husband and wife pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to their roles in operating a long-running interstate prostitution ring. 

Yoon I. Kim, 36, and Taehee Kim, a/k/a “Hyunsook Kim,” 46, both of Haymarket, Va., each pleaded guilty in separate hearings to one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce individuals to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled Yoon Kim’s sentencing for Feb. 12, 2019, and U.S. Senior District Court Judge Douglas P. Woodlock also scheduled Taehee Kim’s sentencing for Feb. 12, 2019.

Co-conspirators Jineok Kim, 38, of Watertown, Mass., and Susan Bashir, a/k/a “Susan Redmon,” a/k/a “Susan Redmond,” 41, of Stone Mountain, Ga., previously pleaded guilty to the same charges. Kyung Song, 52, of Lexington, Mass., pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in money laundering. Bashir is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 11, 2018; Jineok Kim on Jan. 9, 2019; and Song on Jan. 29, 2019.   

From at least 2013 until March 2018 when they were arrested, the defendants operated an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in high-end apartments in Cambridge, Mass.; Atlanta, Ga.; and eastern Virginia. They advertised appointments with Asian women primarily on three websites: www.bostonasiandolls.com, www.exoticasiansatlanta.com, and www.redhotflowers69.com. The women advertised on the websites were moved from city to city within the network, at Taehee Kim’s direction, working as prostitutes for the organization. Co-conspirators collected the cash earnings from the women working at the brothels and funneled the money into accounts controlled by Yoon and Taehee Kim. Co-conspirators also used U.S. Postal money orders and the U.S. Mail to transport proceeds around the prostitution network. Yoon Kim rented several of the brothel locations, including multiple apartments in and around Cambridge.

The charge of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce women to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain/loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to engage in money laundering provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the money laundering transactions, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Joseph W. Cronin, Postal Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Field Division; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard Jr. made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. D’Addio and Amy Harman Burkart of Lelling’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case.