This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
An arrest warrant was issued Tuesday for a Utah man accused of operating a human trafficking operation after he didn't show up for court.
Changfeng Lin, 35, was supposed to be in an Ogden courtroom Tuesday morning for his initial appearance on five felony charges, including counts of racketeering and exploiting of a prostitute.
But after he failed to show up, Assist. Utah Attorney General Wayne Jones asked that an arrest warrant be issued for Lin — who was free after posting a $50,000 bond. Jones asked for the bail amount to be raised to $75,000, which 2nd District Judge Scott Hadley granted.
Lin is charged with one count each of second-degree felony pattern of unlawful activity and money laundering, along with three third-degree felony charges of exploitation of a prostitute.
Though 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 — has billed the bust as one of the state's largest human sex trafficking operations, Lin was not charged under Utah's human trafficking statute.
Lin is not yet represented by an attorney, according to court records.
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.