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San Jose Family Charged in $1 Million Bay Area Brothel Network, Prosecutors Say

The case stems from a multi-agency probe dubbed Operation Family Ties that began after a Morgan Hill officer flagged a suspicious massage-parlor application.

Overview

  • Prosecutors filed 26 felony counts, including conspiracy, pimping, money laundering and tax fraud, against Joseph and Binghua Bresee and Jiabao Huang.
  • Investigators allege at least 10 brothels operated under massage-parlor fronts in San Jose, Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Cupertino, Mountain View and Hayward.
  • Authorities executed search warrants and made arrests on Dec. 3, then a judge set $1 million bail for each principal defendant at a Dec. 5 arraignment.
  • More than $1.25 million in alleged proceeds was seized or frozen, and an additional co-conspirator was arrested on suspicion of running money for the operation.
  • Eighteen women were recovered during the raids, over 40 were identified during the investigation, and victim services were offered by county partners.