3 charged with money laundering, promoting prostitution at suburban massage parlors
The owners and operators of eight suburban massage parlors have been charged with money laundering and promoting prostitution, the Illinois attorney general's office announced Thursday.
Yang Yuan, 33, Jianwei Zou, 61, and Guilan Sun, 64, were arraigned Tuesday in DuPage County circuit court. They all pleaded "not guilty," according to court records.
Each faces six counts of money laundering and three counts of promoting prostitution.
The case was investigated for three years by Naperville police, with assistance from other police departments, Homeland Security and the Secret Service.
Naperville police started the investigation when an officer found a "suspicious" online ad connected to the parlors, according to DuPage court records. Officers also found a review for one of the parlors on a website that specializes in reviews for adult sexual massages. They conducted several undercover operations, where masseuses solicited the officers for sexual acts, according to court records.
Searches were done at massage parlors in Naperville, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Lake Zurich, Schaumburg, Streamwood, Roselle and Elmhurst.
The money laundering charges allege the three deposited and transferred more than $100,000 but less than $500,000 in illegal proceeds in bank accounts from May 24, 2019, to May 24, 2022.
Initial charges were filed on May 24, and all three were taken into custody on May 26. They were released on $5,000 bond apiece on May 27. They were indicted June 10 by a state grand jury on those and additional counts.
According to DuPage court records, Zou is Yuan's uncle, and Sun is Yuan's mother.
Sun and Yuan lived on the 500 block of Station Boulevard in Aurora but now list their address as the 1800 block of South Melody Court in Chicago. Zou lives on the 2800 block of Henley Lane in Naperville.
The indictments allege they promoted prostitution, provided food and other supplies and collected money at the parlors. Court records indicate investigators believe masseuses were living in the businesses and transferred from location to location.