Cambridge brothel network: ‘booker’ pleads guilty

If the brothel network that catered to the wealthy and well-connected in Cambridge and Watertown expanded, its leader hired Junmyung Lee to vet and log the growing list of men buying sex. Lee quickly got to work and was paid well: up to $8,000 a month as he managed the schedules of women who were shuttled from apartment to apartment and of men who paid to have sex with them.

When federal authorities disrupted the brothel a year ago, the cellphone that served as a brothel hotline that they found in Lee’s Dedham apartment contained more than 2,800 contacts, federal prosecutors said in court Wednesday as Lee admitted his role.

Lee, 31, pleaded guilty to two federal charges through a plea deal with the government: conspiracy to operate an interstate prostitution ring, and conspiracy and participation in a money laundering conspiracy to conceal proceeds. Lee, dressed in a black suit, answered all questions for the judge briefly but politely.

“Guilty,” he said in a clear, carrying voice. By his agreement, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Weinstein, the government agrees to recommend that he be sentenced at the low end of the possible guideline, although the details of that range have yet to be calculated.

Lee will have to forfeit $200,000 he received from the proceeds of the illegal work, as well as a Corvette he bought with ill-gotten gains, Weinstein said in court.

Lee was released on bail and must wear a GPS monitoring device. He will be sentenced on February 12.

The case has attracted national attention since Lee and two others were arrested last November when federal authorities raided the brothel network operating out of luxury apartments in Cambridge, Watertown and Eastern Virginia near Washington, DC. Federal authorities said the client list included elected officials, professors, lawyers and government contractors with security clearances.

Currently twenty-eight men are facing state charges for purchasing sex from the brothels, but their names remain withheld and their cases on hold while the state’s highest court weighs arguments over whether their initial hearing should be held in public or behind closed doors are held.

Advocates told the Globe The case highlights the harsh reality of an industry in which women are isolated and exploited by wealthy men with the resources to fight for secrecy. None of the women selling the sex in the brothels have been charged. That’s what the authorities said they are the victims.

In September, Han “Hana” Lee, who prosecutors say was the leader of the brothel network, pleaded guilty to the same charges as Junmyung Lee, although she did so without a plea deal. She will be sentenced in December.

James Lee, the third person charged, is expected to have a hearing in December to review his plea, court records show. He is a 69-year-old California resident who authorities say coordinated the network’s properties and also faced fraud related to COVID-19 government assistance.

None of the Lees are related, prosecutors say.

The trio recruited women, many of whom were Asian, and moved them between apartments and cities on the East Coast, prosecutors said. They kept the women isolated while they ran the brothel ring, and they advertised the women online, saying they would perform a series of sex acts for customers. Han Lee started the network no later than July 2020; she brought in Junmyung Lee around January 2022 to act as the “booker,” Weinstein said.

Junmyung Lee was compensated for booking appointments and new clients, Weinstein said. He also checked men to ensure they were not members of law enforcement and would not be violent towards the women.

To date, no men have been publicly named accused of buying sex in the brothels.

Federal prosecutors have described an extensive and sophisticated network in which the Lees required customers to provide extensive documentation, including employment history and references, to sign up for the illegal service. The verification process meant customers had to identify their employers and provide references, court documents show. Customers were charged up to $600 per hour and in some cases purchased monthly memberships.

Sean Cotter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @cotterreporter.