Trumbull County grand jury indicts eight women in human trafficking investigation - Cleveland.com

[Lucas Daprile, cleveland.com]

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Eight women are facing major charges after authorities say they broke up a human trafficking ring at two massage parlors in Warren.

The group’s leaders are accused of racketeering by forcing Korean women to stay at the spas for months at a time without ever leaving and ordering them to have sex with customers. They also are charged with laundering the profits.

A Trumbull County grand jury on Thursday issued an 83-count indictment against Tae Suk Hwang, 62; Dong Meliodon, 62; Suk Hui Starr, 64; Miock Dong Schaffer, 56; Chang Mi Hwang, 59; Young Hee Yoon, 56; Kum Cha Shugars, 75; and Young Sug Kim, 61.

The grand jury filed charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, human trafficking, money laundering and promoting prostitution.

Hwang faces the most charges, with 58 counts of money laundering and 14 counts of promotion prostitution, as well as the corrupt activity charge.

Meliodon faces 34 counts of money laundering and 14 counts of promoting prostitution, as well as the corrupt activity charge.

Hwang, the manager, and Meliodon, the owner, were the only two charged with human trafficking, according to the indictment.

“The crime ring allegedly trapped Korean women at the establishments for three months at a time, forcing them to live on the premises 24/7 and perform sex acts for money,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said in a statement.

Authorities said the crimes spanned more than five years. Twice in July 2022, police sent undercover officers into Tiger Spa, where Hwang would greet the officers and collect the $70 fee to get in, the indictment says.

In both cases, officers were taken to rooms with beds, not massage tables, and a sex worker would arrive and begin giving the officers a massage. The sex workers would then offer to exchange sex for money. Neither of the two women who offered officers sex was charged in the indictment.

Officers conducted a similar investigation at Sunny Massage Parlor, a Warren massage parlor associated with Tiger Spa.

The investigating officers rejected the women‘s offers. Rather, they collected enough evidence to know that the women would have performed sex acts if they had paid, said Dominic Binkley, a spokesman for Yost’s office.

The going rate for sex at the spas was typically about $140, which was kept by workers, plus the $70 for the “house fee,” which the business kept, the indictment said. While surveilling the spa, police saw an average of 25 to 30 customers per day.

It’s unclear exactly how much money the operation made, but police discovered a bank account with $184,700 they believe came from the human trafficking ring, the indictment said.

The court filing names another person, identified only as “Errand Man,” who was not charged alongside the eight women. The person supported the human trafficking operation by buying groceries for the women who lived and worked at Tiger Spa, picked up women from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport and did banking for the group, the indictment said.

One customer police interviewed said he discovered he could pay for sex at Tiger Spa in 2018 through a website.

In March 2023, the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force raided the spas, both of which are on West Market Street in Warren.

On Thursday, authorities again raided Sunny Spa, according to Yost’s statement. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer left a voicemail seeking comment from Sunny Spa, which is still listed as open. Tiger Spa is closed.

Court records do not show attorney information for the accused.

The defendants, all over the age of 50, have addresses listed in multiple other states, including Michigan, Texas and Georgia.

It’s unclear when and where the eight defendants were arrested. In a press release announcing the raids in 2023, officials said the investigation spanned six states.

“There is no humanity – only depravity – in holding a person against their will to profit from their suffering,” Yost said in the statement.

It’s unclear exactly what happened to the human trafficking survivors.

Mahoning County sheriff’s deputies led the task force that investigated the spas, and they were joined by state and federal officers.