Authorities: Vernon Hills woman forced women to work as prostitutes

A Vernon Hills woman has been charged with forcing two women to work as prostitutes in a business near Buffalo Grove, according to the Lake County sheriff's office.

Yuhua Fan, 53, of the 300 block of Alpine Spring Drive, was freed on $60,000 bail after a hearing in Lake County circuit court last week. Fan, who is to appear in court Wednesday, is charged with promoting prostitution, keeping a place of prostitution, pimping and maintaining a public nuisance.

Fan was seized at another massage business she co-owns in Mundelein on Sept. 28 after the Lake County Sheriff's Gang Task Force worked an undercover prostitution sting at Acupressure Physical Therapy on Milwaukee Avenue in an unincorporated area near Buffalo Grove.

Detective Christopher Covelli, a sheriff's office spokesman, said a tip regarding possible prostitution led to the investigation at Acupressure Physical Therapy, also co-owned by Fan.

Covelli said Monday that one undercover officer went into the business seeking a massage. A 28-year-old employee also offered to perform a sex act on the cop in exchange for money, he said.

"What they're looking for is for victims being trafficked," Covelli said of the undercover police team.

Other investigators were outside the business, he said. One customer was inside Acupressure Physical Therapy when the undercover cop visited.

An investigation led police to conclude the 28-year-old employee and a 47-year-old woman agreed to work at Acupressure Physical Therapy as masseuses and never intended to be prostitutes, Covelli said. He said Fan brought the women to the United States through acquaintances in China.

Police said the victims came to the Chicago area about two months ago, and Fan forced them into prostitution by threatening they'd become unemployed and homeless if they did not cooperate. Covelli said neither employee has been charged.

The victims lived at Healthy Massage on Route 60 in Mundelein, he said, and police there are investigating the business.

Lake County police investigated the Acupressure Physical Therapy case with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force. Covelli said the business has been closed since last week because investigators found it did not have a valid Lake County business license for massage.

Police said the victims were relocated from the Mundelein business to a secure, safe shelter. Fan could not be immediately reached for comment Monday.