Overview
- A federal grand jury in Boston indicted 40-year-old Zengzeng Liu on Thursday, July 2, 2026, and she was arrested in the Eastern District of New York and is due to appear in federal court in Boston.
- Liu faces one count of knowingly persuading a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and three counts tied to using interstate or foreign commerce in aid of racketeering.
- Charging documents say the operation began in August 2025 and used overseas recruiters, online commercial-sex ads and WeChat messages to schedule buyers and direct women to Allston and Brighton apartments.
- Investigators found women who said they had worked for days and were not allowed to leave, one reported bruises, and searches recovered about $105,000 in cash across the two sites plus phones, cameras and surveillance footage.
- Prosecutors estimate the network generated hundreds of thousands of dollars over 11 months and the racketeering-related counts allow federal authorities to pursue the operation’s cross-border recruitment, finances, and organizers as the case moves to trial.