(Image Credit: IMAGN) The Kentucky Sentate gavel rests on the wooden sound block in the Kentucky Senate chambers before the first day of Concurrence began at the state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. March 13, 2025.
Torrance, California – Authorities have sentenced a Torrance man to more than two years in federal prison for his role in operating a high-end, multi-state prostitution network and fraudulently obtaining over half a million dollars in COVID-19 relief funds. James Lee, 70, was sentenced to 27 months in prison and three years of supervised release by a federal judge in Boston. In addition to the prison term, the feds ordered Lee to pay $569,123 in restitution for the COVID-related fraud and forfeit $63,000 in proceeds connected to the prostitution conspiracy.
Lee was one of three individuals charged in November 2023 for operating a network of brothels across the greater Boston area and eastern Virginia. From January 2022 to November 2023, Lee conspired with Han Lee of Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Junmyung Lee of Dedham, Massachusetts, to manage the illegal business, which involved renting high-end apartments and using them as fronts for prostitution. James Lee acted as the legal tenant or used false and stolen identities to lease the properties. He maintained direct contact with the property managers and served as an intermediary between them and the women working in the brothels.
The operation was structured to avoid detection. Lee’s partners vetted clients and had to provide personal information before booking appointments. Once approved, they were given access to services through a disguised website. Clients made payments in cash, and then someone in Lee’s organization laundered the profits through personal bank accounts, peer-to-peer transfers, and money orders structured to evade federal reporting requirements. These funds were used to cover rent and utilities at the brothel locations, hiding their criminal origins.
Alongside the prostitution operation, Lee exploited the COVID-19 pandemic to secure fraudulent relief funds. Between March 2020 and September 2021, he used stolen and fabricated personal information to apply for loans through federal pandemic relief programs, including the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. He submitted falsified tax documents and fake business records to support the applications. The scheme yielded more than $580,000 in fraudulently obtained funds, which were funneled into accounts under false pretenses.
Lee pleaded guilty in February 2025 to charges including conspiracy to coerce travel for prostitution, conspiracy to launder money, and wire fraud. His co-defendants also received prison sentences earlier this year. Han Lee was sentenced to four years and ordered to forfeit more than $5.4 million, while Junmyung Lee received a one-year sentence and was ordered to forfeit $200,000 in illegal earnings.
Federal authorities led the investigation and prosecution in Boston with assistance from law enforcement in California and Virginia.
