24 arrested in Hollywood massage parlor prostitution bust

2 business owners also arrested on bribery charges

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. – Hollywood police arrested 24 women at 20 different locations this week in a prostitution sting targeting massage parlors.

During the five-month investigation called Operation Red Light, undercover detectives said they found evidence that the women were performing sexual acts on customers in exchange for payment.

All of the women face charges of prostitution, practicing without a license and misrepresenting themselves as a licensed massage therapist.

Two of the massage parlor owners, Giselle Guo, 43, of Lucky Spa, and Yan Zheng, 47, of Hollywood Unisex, also face bribery charges because they told an undercover detective that they would pay him $400 a month to keep officers away from their businesses, police said.

Local 10 News reporter Jeff Weinsier visited the Best Asian Massage on Friday and tried to speak with employees.

"I'm professional. I'm licensed," one worker said.

"Can I see your license?" Weinsier asked.

"I don't want to," she said.

Detectives said they found items, such as beds, clothes and food, that suggested that some of the women lived in the massage parlors.

They said several of the women admitted that they lived at the businesses.

The owner of Xhale Spas at 5808 Johnson St. voluntarily shut down the business after being arrested. The spa is now a shoe store.

"We will continue to crack down on these types of businesses, which are used as fronts for prostitution," Hollywood police Chief Tomas Sanchez said in a statement. "These massage parlors breed other criminal activities, including human and sex trafficking, drug sales and money laundering."

Below is a list of the businesses where arrests were made:

Bonita Spa

Lucky Spa

Best Asian Massage

Ting Ting Spa

Fantasy Spa

Asian Massage

Casino Spa

Hollywood Asian Spa

Sunshine Oriental Massage

Relax Spa

Asian Hollywood Spa

Hollywood Unisex

Spa Latinas (two locations on State Road 7)

Xhale Spas

New Life Massage

 


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.