San Francisco Brothel Operators Charged ...

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San Francisco Brothel Operators Charged with Immigration Violations

Two women named in 74-count indictment as part of Operation Gilded Cage

SAN FRANCISCO - Two women face a battery of federal charges, including alien harboring and money laundering, for their role in operating a Bay Area massage parlor that allegedly served as a front for prostitution.

Yon Suk Pang, 56, of San Francisco and Hyon Chu Yim, 45, of San Leandro, are accused in a federal indictment unsealed yesterday of operating a business called Suk Hee Oriental Massage in San Francisco. The allegations stem from Operation Gilded Cage, a multi-agency investigation involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the San Francisco Police Department, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the State Department's Diplomatic Security Service.

According to the indictment, from January 2003 to June 2005, the women conspired to operate Suk Hee where they employed alien women to work as prostitutes. As part of the conspiracy, Pang allegedly paid brokers to deliver her female aliens, then held the women's passports until the women repaid their debts. The indictment further alleges that the defendants housed the women in an adjacent unit, accessed by climbing through a window, and collected payment from the women for that housing.

This is the first indictment in Operation Gilded Cage since the execution of numerous arrest and search warrants in June 2005. Yon Suk Pang was previously indicted in June 2005. This indictment adds Yim as a defendant, and includes numerous new charges against both suspects. The investigation is ongoing.

The charges against the women are as follows:

* Counts 1 - 8 (Alien Harboring for Prostitution). These counts include an alien harboring conspiracy and seven substantive counts of harboring for the purpose of prostitution.
* Counts 9 - 16 (Alien Harboring for Commercial Advantage or Private Financial Gain). These counts encompass a conspiracy and seven substantive counts.
* Counts 17 - 74 (Money Laundering). These counts include a conspiracy to launder monetary instruments and substantive money laundering counts totaling approximately $171,513.
* Forfeiture Allegations. The indictment seeks forfeiture of property related to these crimes, including $86,046 previously seized on June 30, 2005.
* Yim was arrested at her home Wednesday in San Leandro and made her initial appearance in federal court in San Francisco yesterday. She was released on a $300,000 bond with electronic monitoring. Pang is free on $300,000 bond. Both defendants appeared this morning before Magistrate Judge Maria-Elena James in San Francisco.

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