FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – An Aventura woman was charged with multiple felonies after Broward County deputies accused her of laundering more than $500,000 from a massage parlor that served as a front for prostitution, according to court documents obtained by Local 10 News on Tuesday.
Deputies arrested Mingyang Hu, 40, at Magic Fingers Spa on May 25. The Broward Sheriff’s Office investigation, which began last October, centered around the spa, located at 1750 E. Commercial Blvd. in Fort Lauderdale.
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In addition to three charges of money laundering, she faced one count of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution.
According to an arrest warrant, Magic Fingers appeared in listings on numerous adult websites and a number of reviews mentioned Hu, known to customers as “Chelsea,” and her burgundy Mercedes-Benz SUV.
Stakeouts of the massage parlor revealed workers inside wearing bathrobes and lingerie, inconsistent with a legitimate massage business, authorities said. Thirty to 40 male customers would visit in a given day.
A confidential informant would later be offered sexual favors in exchange for cash in the business, the warrant states.
An investigator also dug through a trash bag placed in a dumpster outside of the business and found a used condom and a ledger showing client service times and the fee the worker owed the “house,” authorities said.
According to the warrant, Hu would often drive workers to and from Magic Fingers, often to a nearby condominium rather than her Aventura townhome. The detective wrote that it is common practice for illicit massage businesses to have a rented property close to the parlor.
They also said some of the women would sleep at the spa and that Hu was the only worker seen driving to and from Magic Fingers.
She, along with other workers, would frequently rotate to different spas, deputies said. They said all signs pointed to an illicit massage business employing human trafficking victims.
Investigators also followed Hu to various locations, including the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood, where she was considered to be a high roller, spending “several hours a day” gambling, largely at the high-limit baccarat table, the warrant states.
Deputies said Magic Fingers was registered to a man with addresses in California, Florida and China, but bank records listed Hu as the only one receiving a monthly paycheck.
The warrant states that Hu had multiple bank accounts in order to avoid triggering a mandatory cash transaction report.
In total, authorities accuse her of laundering $500,955 in illicit funds.
Hu was being held in BSO’s Paul Rein Detention Facility in Pompano Beach on a $100,000 bond as of Tuesday afternoon, according to jail records.