James Lee, a 70-year-old man from California, has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for his role in running brothels across the Boston area and eastern Virginia.
In a plea agreement reached in February 2025, Lee pleaded guilty to conspiracy to induce individuals to engage in prostitution, money laundering, and wire fraud, as per a statement from U.S. Attorney Leah Foley’s office.
Following his prison term, Lee will serve three years of supervised release and has been ordered to pay restitution totaling $569,123 related to fraudulently obtained COVID-19 funds, as well as a money judgment of $63,000 tied to his prostitution operations.
According to allegations, Lee was part of a conspiracy that spanned from January 2022 to November 2023, in which he collaborated with two other individuals, Han Lee and Junmyung Lee, to manage a network of brothels.
The three conspirators were noted to have operated together in a scheme to launder the profits from their illegal activities, obscuring the source of their financial gains.
James Lee was identified as the primary tenant of at least six high-end apartments in the Greater Boston area and eastern Virginia, which were utilized as brothel locations.
In his operations, he leased these properties under his own name and also resorted to using fraudulent and stolen identities.
He received regular compensation for his role in managing these rental agreements and would typically travel to and from the brothel sites, earning significant commissions in the process.
For each active lease, Han Lee compensated James Lee around $1,000 monthly as a commission.
Lee’s responsibilities extended to acting as a liaison between the women employed at the brothels and property managers, fielding maintenance calls and addressing any issues that arose during inspections.
In further concealing their operations, the trio reportedly deposited large sums—amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars—into their personal bank accounts and engaged in peer-to-peer transfers to mask the illicit nature of their earnings.
The group also employed further tactics, such as utilizing cash proceeds from their business to purchase money orders, which were subsequently used to cover rents and utilities for the brothel locations.
Apart from the prostitution conspiracy, James Lee faced additional charges related to COVID-19 relief fund fraud.
Beginning in March 2020 and extending at least until September 2021, he allegedly submitted fraudulent applications for pandemic relief loans using the personal information of a third party.
Through this deceitful scheme, Lee managed to obtain at least $580,000 in loans fraudulently.
In a related case, one of Lee’s accomplices, Han Lee, received a four-year prison sentence in March, along with an order to forfeit $5,418,572 and restitution that will be determined later.
Another co-conspirator, Junmyung Lee, was sentenced to one year in prison in April, with a subsequent year of supervised release and a $200,000 forfeiture judgment equivalent to the earnings he made during the conspiracy.
Both Han Lee and Junmyung Lee pleaded guilty in late 2024 to their roles in the prostitution ring.
The case brought to light a troubling example of organized crime intersecting with the exploitation of vulnerable individuals and fraudulent financial schemes, marking a significant chapter in ongoing federal investigations into human trafficking and pandemic-related fraud.
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