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State prosecutors have charged a Utah man accused of operating a human trafficking operation with five felony charges, including counts of racketeering and exploiting of a prostitute.
Changfeng Lin was charged last week with one count each of second-degree felony pattern of unlawful activity — also known as racketeering — and money laundering, along with three third-degree felony counts of exploitation of a prostitute.
Lin, 35, is not charged under Utah's human trafficking statute, although the Utah Attorney General's Office, whose SECURE Strike Force arrested Lin during a June 10 raid on his residences and massage parlors in three Wasatch Front counties, was billed as one of the state's largest human sex trafficking operations.
The charges were filed by the attorney general's office in Ogden's 2nd District Court.
Lin, who is free on $50,000 bail, is scheduled for an initial court appearance on July 7.
Court records say Lin does not yet have an attorney, although he has consulted with a Salt Lake City attorney, Carl Anderson, who told the court this week that Lin will need the assistance of an interpreter who speaks Mandarin.
Charging documents and jail papers say that over a 10-month investigation, Lin was observed going in and out of eight different Asian massage parlors, sometimes traveling with young Asian women who also entered the businesses.
State licensing records tie Lin to four of the eight properties, many of which, according to jail documents, are listed on the Internet site rubmaps.com, which reviews Asian massage parlors that offer sex acts in exchange for money.
Under questioning by police during his arrest, Lin told investigators he had advertised massage parlor services through Internet-based classified advertising sites.
Lin also said he keeps numerous apartments along the Wasatch Front and moves the women who work for him from location to location as needed, jail papers say. He told police he placed ads for masseuses online and in Asian newspapers, including papers in New York and Los Angeles, in order to get the women to work for him.
The sweep of Lin's businesses also put investigators in contact with nine women who were working for Lin, including his wife — identified in the documents only by their initials — and several customers.
Jail papers say the women identified Lin as their boss and said they have performed sex acts for money.
Only one woman was arrested and booked into the Salt Lake County Jail on suspicion of misdemeanor counts related to prostitution and working as a massage therapist without a license.
Jail records show, however, that the woman was released without posting bail due to crowding at the jail, and court records show she has not been charged.