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The suspect robs a Northeast El Paso convenience store at gunpoint. El Paso Times
Texas DPS arrests owner on prostitution charge
A wife's suspicions reported at an El Paso police station about an erotic services ad found on her husband's cellphone was cited in court documents filed in a case against a massage parlor.
Health Massage, which is accused of offering sex services by Chinese immigrant women, was shut down Monday by a temporary court order, the El Paso County Attorney's Office said.
Health Massage was one of several businesses that Texas Department of Public Safety investigators and federal agents searched in a series of raids a month ago.
Health Massage is in a retail strip at 10420 Montwood Drive by Yarbrough Drive. The parlor has been in business since at least 2014, according to county records.
The business was closed by a temporary restraining order obtained the Nuisance Abatement Team of the El Paso County Attorney's Office for allegedly operating without licenses for massage therapy.
The owners are listed on the court order as Liuxiu Zhao, Hong Zhang and Guie Clark.
A court hearing on a temporary injunction that could keep the parlor closed is set for Oct. 13 in 171st District Court.
โEven during the pandemic, our office continues to work hard to protect residents from criminal activity using every tool at our disposal to identify and offer assistance to suspected victims of sexual trafficking,โ El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal said in a statement.
Long-term investigation
The closure follows an 18-month investigation by the Texas DPS, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, county investigators and the FBI.
Court documents state that investigators already were looking into the massage parlor when a woman filed a complaint with the El Paso Police Department on Jan. 23 after finding an ad for the parlor on her husband's phone linked to websites for erotic and sex services.
Health Massage was shut down Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, by a temporary restraining order amid allegations of prostitution involving Chinese immigrants. The massage parlor is at 10420 Montwood Drive in East El Paso.
(Photo: Courtesy El Paso County Attorney's Office)
County court filings say that legitimate spas do not advertise on such websites and are not open late into the night.
Over the past year, DPS agents and licensing inspectors allegedly found 25 violations, including operating without a license, provocatively dressed workers and employees living on site.
Inspectors found clothing, groceries and other signs that Chinese women were working and living in the parlor, according to court documents. The women had immigration work permits.
Documents noted investigators utilized the Google Translate phone app to communicate with the women in Mandarin.
Inspectors reported that the business allegedly lacked required records and paperwork filled out by clients.
More: Chinese women found living at El Paso massage parlor that advertised on erotic websites
In February 2019, a California man married to a Chinese immigrant wrote to the El Paso District Attorney's Office reporting that a Chinese immigrant friend of his wife reported that in 2018 she had worked at unlicensed parlors in El Paso, where women were forced to live on site, held against their will and forced to perform sex acts.
The woman was afraid to come forward, fearing retribution and because she had an expired travel visa, stated the letter, which was in court filings. The letter mentioned Health Massage and a spa in East-Central El Paso.
Documents show the investigation included undercover prostitution arrests, repeat licensing inspections and the questioning of customers leaving the location.
Undercover visits
On May 14, 2019, an undercover DPS special agent posing as a customer went to Health Massage, according to a complaint affidavit filed by the agent.
Once in a private room, the undercover agent was told massages cost $50.
Using hand gestures, the agent asked the masseuse if she offered "boom boom," meaning "full service," or sexual intercourse, and "yum yum," referring to oral sex, documents state.
The woman allegedly replied that "boom boom" would cost $100. The agent left, claiming that he didn't have $100 but that he would be back. The woman was later arrested on a prostitution charge, according to the complaint.
More: El Paso massage parlor with unlicensed, provocatively dressed therapists shut down
On Aug. 13 of this year, another undercover agent allegedly was told that a one-hour massage would cost $60 plus another $40 for manual sexual stimulation. The agent left, claiming he had to get more money, documents state.
FBI, DPS interview
On Aug. 9, an FBI agent and DPS special agent in Mandarin interviewed Zhang, one of the owners, who told them that she arrived in El Paso in July.
After arriving from China, she previously worked as a nanny in California and had lived in Oklahoma before arriving in El Paso, documents state.
In the interview, Zhang told the FBI that she and a business partner in China purchased Health Massage for $10,000 in August.
According to an interview summary, Zhang allegedly admitted providing manual sexual stimulation to customers two times.
She told agents that she maintained control of her Chinese passport and was free to come and go as she pleased, never felt threatened or abused and that she resided in the massage parlor because she didn't have money or time to look for a place to live.
On Monday, the Texas DPS arrested Zhang on a charge of prostitution, according to El Paso County Jail records. She was released that same day on a $300 cash bond.
The offense date is listed as Aug. 13, the day of an undercover sting at the massage parlor.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.
Other shut downs: El Paso strip club The Cabaret closed down permanently amid prostitution complaints
More: Fish Bar closed by court order amid allegations of rampant underage drinking, violence
Read or Share this story: El Paso massage parlor accused of offering sex services by Chinese women shut down
The suspect robs a Northeast El Paso convenience store at gunpoint. El Paso Times
Texas DPS arrests owner on prostitution charge
A wife's suspicions reported at an El Paso police station about an erotic services ad found on her husband's cellphone was cited in court documents filed in a case against a massage parlor.
Health Massage, which is accused of offering sex services by Chinese immigrant women, was shut down Monday by a temporary court order, the El Paso County Attorney's Office said.
Health Massage was one of several businesses that Texas Department of Public Safety investigators and federal agents searched in a series of raids a month ago.
Health Massage is in a retail strip at 10420 Montwood Drive by Yarbrough Drive. The parlor has been in business since at least 2014, according to county records.
The business was closed by a temporary restraining order obtained the Nuisance Abatement Team of the El Paso County Attorney's Office for allegedly operating without licenses for massage therapy.
The owners are listed on the court order as Liuxiu Zhao, Hong Zhang and Guie Clark.
A court hearing on a temporary injunction that could keep the parlor closed is set for Oct. 13 in 171st District Court.
โEven during the pandemic, our office continues to work hard to protect residents from criminal activity using every tool at our disposal to identify and offer assistance to suspected victims of sexual trafficking,โ El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal said in a statement.
Long-term investigation
The closure follows an 18-month investigation by the Texas DPS, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, county investigators and the FBI.
Court documents state that investigators already were looking into the massage parlor when a woman filed a complaint with the El Paso Police Department on Jan. 23 after finding an ad for the parlor on her husband's phone linked to websites for erotic and sex services.
Health Massage was shut down Monday, Oct. 5, 2020, by a temporary restraining order amid allegations of prostitution involving Chinese immigrants. The massage parlor is at 10420 Montwood Drive in East El Paso.
(Photo: Courtesy El Paso County Attorney's Office)
County court filings say that legitimate spas do not advertise on such websites and are not open late into the night.
Over the past year, DPS agents and licensing inspectors allegedly found 25 violations, including operating without a license, provocatively dressed workers and employees living on site.
Inspectors found clothing, groceries and other signs that Chinese women were working and living in the parlor, according to court documents. The women had immigration work permits.
Documents noted investigators utilized the Google Translate phone app to communicate with the women in Mandarin.
Inspectors reported that the business allegedly lacked required records and paperwork filled out by clients.
More: Chinese women found living at El Paso massage parlor that advertised on erotic websites
In February 2019, a California man married to a Chinese immigrant wrote to the El Paso District Attorney's Office reporting that a Chinese immigrant friend of his wife reported that in 2018 she had worked at unlicensed parlors in El Paso, where women were forced to live on site, held against their will and forced to perform sex acts.
The woman was afraid to come forward, fearing retribution and because she had an expired travel visa, stated the letter, which was in court filings. The letter mentioned Health Massage and a spa in East-Central El Paso.
Documents show the investigation included undercover prostitution arrests, repeat licensing inspections and the questioning of customers leaving the location.
Undercover visits
On May 14, 2019, an undercover DPS special agent posing as a customer went to Health Massage, according to a complaint affidavit filed by the agent.
Once in a private room, the undercover agent was told massages cost $50.
Using hand gestures, the agent asked the masseuse if she offered "boom boom," meaning "full service," or sexual intercourse, and "yum yum," referring to oral sex, documents state.
The woman allegedly replied that "boom boom" would cost $100. The agent left, claiming that he didn't have $100 but that he would be back. The woman was later arrested on a prostitution charge, according to the complaint.
More: El Paso massage parlor with unlicensed, provocatively dressed therapists shut down
On Aug. 13 of this year, another undercover agent allegedly was told that a one-hour massage would cost $60 plus another $40 for manual sexual stimulation. The agent left, claiming he had to get more money, documents state.
FBI, DPS interview
On Aug. 9, an FBI agent and DPS special agent in Mandarin interviewed Zhang, one of the owners, who told them that she arrived in El Paso in July.
After arriving from China, she previously worked as a nanny in California and had lived in Oklahoma before arriving in El Paso, documents state.
In the interview, Zhang told the FBI that she and a business partner in China purchased Health Massage for $10,000 in August.
According to an interview summary, Zhang allegedly admitted providing manual sexual stimulation to customers two times.
She told agents that she maintained control of her Chinese passport and was free to come and go as she pleased, never felt threatened or abused and that she resided in the massage parlor because she didn't have money or time to look for a place to live.
On Monday, the Texas DPS arrested Zhang on a charge of prostitution, according to El Paso County Jail records. She was released that same day on a $300 cash bond.
The offense date is listed as Aug. 13, the day of an undercover sting at the massage parlor.
Daniel Borunda may be reached at 915-546-6102; dborunda@elpasotimes.com; @BorundaDaniel on Twitter.
Other shut downs: El Paso strip club The Cabaret closed down permanently amid prostitution complaints
More: Fish Bar closed by court order amid allegations of rampant underage drinking, violence
Read or Share this story: El Paso massage parlor accused of offering sex services by Chinese women shut down