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Sentencing concludes saga of Acucare, E’ville’s most notorious massage parlor

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One of these days when the new development at 3900 Adeline is complete, people will talk about the legend of Acucare Oriental Spa. Even after the well-publicized raid in 2005, Acucare existed for nearly a decade until the historical brick building was demolished last year. It was only after this that details of a sting operations were unveiled. The sex trafficking operation was suspected of generating upwards of a million dollars in annual revenue.

A bit of closure was administered yesterday as State Attorney General Kamala Harris announced that one of the perpetrators was sentenced to ten years in prison and ordered to pay nearly $44,000 in restitution. Harris has made the fight against human trafficking a priority for her administration and in 2012 released an extensive report titled The State of Human Trafficking in California [PDF] outlining the growing prevalence of this crime in our state. The report analyzes the challenges California faces addressing this crime because of our large economy, significant immigrant population and vast borders.

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Attorney General Kamala D. Harris Announces 10-Year Sentence for Defendant in Emeryville Sex Trafficking Case

PRESS RELEASE: State of California Department of Justice – Office of the Attorney General

Attorney General Kamala D. Harris today announced that Jimmy Gong Lee, 55, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison and must pay restitution in the amount of $33,861.26 for his role in an Emeryville, California-based sex trafficking ring.


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“The defendant sold young, vulnerable women as commodities,” said Attorney General Harris. “This sentence brings a perpetrator of this heinous crime to justice, and sends a clear message that sex traffickers will be swiftly prosecuted. I thank our DOJ agents and our local, state and federal partners for their continued commitment to fighting trafficking in communities across California.”

On May 22, 2015, Jimmy Gong Lee and Tom Loi, 59, pled guilty to multiple felony charges. Lee pled to conspiracy to commit pandering, two counts of bribery, and three counts of tax fraud and Loi pled to conspiracy to commit pandering and two counts of bribery. Loi will be sentenced in October.

The defendants are two of the four suspects (Jimmy Gong Lee, 55, Tom Loi, 59, Wei Kuang, 56, and Rong Liu, 37) arrested and charged with operating a sex trafficking ring out of Lee and Liu’s business, Acucare Oriental Massage, in Emeryville, California.

Charges are still pending against Kuang and Liu.

The arrests and sentences are the result of a joint investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the California Attorney General’s Tax Recovery and Criminal Enforcement Task Force (TRaCE), the Emeryville Police Department, the Mariposa County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Northern and Eastern Districts of California.

The joint investigation revealed that Acucare Oriental Massage operated as a front for a brothel where young Asian females were used for commercial sex and replaced every two weeks. Lee and Liu owned the business while Kuang operated the front desk, collecting money from “customers” and providing condoms.

When authorities became suspicious of the business, an undercover Emeryville Police Captain posing as a corrupt police officer was paid a total of $24,000 in bribes by Loi to allow for the business’s continued operation. On June 5, 2014, California Department of Justice and HSI agents issued warrants for both Acucare Oriental Massage and Lee’s residence, recovering $69,000 cash and evidence that Lee, Liu and Kuang were operating a brothel. Lee, Loi, Kuang and Liu were arrested and charged for conspiracy, pimping, pandering, bribery, and tax fraud on December 12, 2014.

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Rob Arias

is a third generation Californian and East Bay native who lived in Emeryville from 2003 to 2021. Rob founded The E'ville Eye in 2011 after being robbed at gunpoint and lamenting the lack of local news coverage. Rob's "day job" is as a creative professional.

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