A woman accused of operating a high-end sex ring that catered to powerful clients in the Boston and Washington, D.C. areas is expected to plead guilty on Friday, nearly a year after the brothel network was busted by federal authorities. 

Court filings indicate that the woman, Han Lee, “intends to enter a guilty plea as to the charges lodged against her” at a hearing scheduled for September 27 at a federal district court in Boston. Ms. Lee is the accused leader and organizer of a trio that federal prosecutors said operated “an interstate prostitution network” with brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, in addition to Fairfax and Tysons, Virginia. Another defendant, Junmyung Lee, has a plea hearing set for October 30, while the third, James Lee, has a pretrial conference scheduled for October 29.

The trio is accused by prosecutors of renting high-end apartment complexes to use as brothels to “persuade, induce and entice women — primarily Asian women — to travel to Massachusetts and Virginia to engage in prostitution” since at least July 2020. Prosecutors said the brothel operators allegedly advertised the women on two websites, where “sex buyers” would need to be verified by providing their names, contact information, employer, and references. The brothels would provide customers with a “menu” of available women, sexual acts offered, and prices, which were anywhere from $350 to $600 an hour. 

Ms. Lee is identified as being the head of the prostitution ring, while the other two worked for her, in the affidavit, meaning that she allegedly recruited women to engage in sex, dropped off supplies, paid for rent and utilities, and “concealed over one million dollars in prostitution proceeds.” Investigators found items indicating that Ms. Lee had “lavish and extravagant spending habits,” the affidavit notes, adding that despite not being legitimately employed her apartment was full of luxury brand items including Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo. 

“This commercial sex ring was built on secrecy and exclusivity, catering to a wealthy and well-connected clientele,” an acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy, said in a press conference announcing that the sex ring had been busted. 

“According to the charging documents the buyers who made up this ring hail from an array of professions, they are doctors, they are lawyers, they’re accountants, they’re elected officials, they are executives at high-tech companies and pharmaceutical companies , they’re military officers, government contractors, professors, scientists,” he aid. “Pick a profession, they’re probably represented in this case.” 

A group of the sex customers in Massachusetts has been fighting in court to keep their identities shielded from the public and the press, asking Massachusetts’ highest court earlier this month to keep their “show cause hearings” private, as Reuters reported, as several news groups have been pushing to make the hearings public given the significant public interest in the case. 

Both federal prosecutors and Ms. Lee’s defense attorney, when reached by the Sun, declined to comment.