|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Livermore police arrested a local couple suspected of human trafficking and money laundering on Wednesday morning, following a yearlong investigation into their massage parlor businesses, according to department officials.
Anna Lingling Huang, 49, and Brian Scott Jones, 50, were arrested without incident and booked on charges of human trafficking, money laundering, tax evasion and pimping and pandering, according to the Livermore Police Department.
The couple had been running two separate massage businesses in the city, Elite Foot and Back located at 122 South Vasco Road, and Paradise City Foot and Back at 51 Wright Brothers, as well as several more in Tracy and Brentwood, police said.
“Based on the investigation, we believe Anna Huang is involved in commercial sexual exploitation, and money laundering. We believe Brian Jones is complicit in the sexual exploitation and money laundering, and he has also committed tax evasion,” Livermore police said on social media.
Livermore police and other law enforcement agencies, including the Pleasanton Police Department and Alameda County District Attorney’s Office, issued search warrants for six locales in three different cities, Livermore among them. According to LPD, the investigation began last year “as a result of complaints from the community of suspected prostitution occurring at two separate massage business in Livermore.”
A detective was assigned to the case and coordinated several undercover operations; according to LPD, “based on those operations, the detective began to suspect additional illegal activity was occurring, to include sexual exploitation” and continued to investigate further.
Police said the investigation is still active and they are “currently conducting interviews and following up on additional evidence.” Identified victims have also been offered social services and other resources. No court date has been announced yet and police did not say whether the arrestees will be able to post bail.