Edward Y. Kim, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that Hong Ru Lin and Kena Zhao have been sentenced to prison for operating prostitution businesses at massage parlors in several New York counties. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas sentenced Zhao on January 10, 2025, to 12 months and one day in prison, while Lin received the same sentence today. The couple also forfeited over $1.3 million from their illegal activities.
Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim stated: "Hong Ru Lin and Kena Zhao operated an extensive prostitution business, using massage parlors as cover for their illegal activities. Today’s sentences hold them accountable for their actions. This Office will continue to investigate those who sponsor illegal prostitution, even if their criminal activities take place behind the closed doors of supposedly legitimate businesses."
The charges stem from activities between September 2020 and September 2023 when Lin and Zhao ran a prostitution operation out of multiple massage parlors they owned in Putnam, Westchester, New York, and Queens County. They managed a group of women performing sexual acts for customers and used cellphones and private chatrooms to coordinate operations.
In addition to prison terms, both Lin, aged 51, and Zhao, aged 46 from Putnam Valley, New York, were sentenced to two years of supervised release. They agreed to forfeit bank accounts associated with the massage parlors along with various assets and cash proceeds.
Mr. Kim commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office for their work on this case. He also thanked local police departments in Carmel Town, Westchester County, and Yonkers for their assistance.
The prosecution is being handled by the Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division along with the White Plains Division under Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan W. Allison, Jamie Bagliebter, and Margaret N. Vasu.