10 Indicted In $1M Prostitution Ring Run Out Of LI Spas: DA

HUNTINGTON, NY — A massage parlor owner and nine people were indicted after prosecutors said they operated a large-scale prostitution ring and illegal massage business enterprise out of four Suffolk County massage parlors, including three in the Town of Huntington.

Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said the individuals used the businesses as fronts for prostitution, unlicensed massages and money laundering from February 2025 through June 2026. The operation generated more than $1 million in illicit proceeds, prosecutors said.

The indictment names four corporate defendants, including Long Island Green Apple Spa Inc., Lavender Spa Salon Inc. and Huntington Spa NY Inc., all located in the Town of Huntington, as well as 192 Foot Spa Inc. in Flushing, Queens, prosecutors said

The investigation was conducted by detectives with the Suffolk County Police Department’s District Attorney Squad, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office and the NYPD, prosecutors said.

According to prosecutors, Xiaolan Gong, 59, of Flushing, owned and operated the four massage parlors and used them as fronts for an illegal prostitution operation.

From Feb. 1, 2025, through June 11, 2026, Xiaolan Gong, 59, of Flushing, owned and operated the four massage parlors and used them as fronts for an illegal prostitution operation, prosecutors said.

Eight female co-defendants — Xiaofang Cao, Meilan Zhou, Yuping Cheng, Shan Shan Gong, Yazhi Lyu, Xiaoxia Chen, Xiaomei Sun and Dongmei Yu — are accused of providing unlicensed massages and offering to perform sexual acts in exchange for cash to undercover law enforcement officers on multiple occasions during the investigation, prosecutors said.

New York State Education Law requires people who perform massages in New York to hold a massage therapy license, prosecutors said.

Gong and Lyu are also accused of submitting employment registration documents containing false statements to the New York State Department of Labor, prosecutors said.

Xiaoyi Liu, 57, of Bayside, the only male defendant charged in the indictment, is accused of depositing money into a bank account linked to one of the massage parlors and receiving funds from Gong, prosecutors said. Liu also drove several female workers to the businesses when Gong was away, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said multiple defendants encouraged patrons to pay in cash to conceal the true volume and nature of the transactions. Bank records for the businesses did not reflect their true earnings, prosecutors said.

The defendants collectively earned more than $1 million during the investigation, prosecutors said. They are also accused of engaging in a coordinated money-laundering scheme to conceal the origin of the funds.

The proceeds were used to further the operation of the illegal massage businesses, make mortgage payments on two residences and fund a brokerage investment account, prosecutors said.

Authorities seized funds from multiple banks and moved to freeze two properties that prosecutors said were used to launder money.

Search warrants were executed Tuesday at the four massage parlors and four residences, leading to the seizure of additional evidence, including cash and gold bars that prosecutors said were linked to the illicit operation.

“Behind the appearance of legitimate businesses was a criminal enterprise that generated more than $1 million through prostitution and illegal massages,” Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said. “This type of deception has no place in our communities, and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and dismantle these operations.”

Homeland Security Investigations New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas said the defendants “exploited vulnerable individuals” and turned businesses into fronts for prostitution and money laundering.

The defendants were arraigned Wednesday before Supreme Court Justice John B. Collins.

Xiaolan Gong, 59, of Flushing, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her remanded until her next court date. Gong is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Christopher Gioe.

Xiaofang Cao, 36, of Flushing, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her held on $250,000 cash, $2.5 million bond or $2.5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Cao is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Jason Bassett.

Meilan Zhou, 56, of Flushing, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her held on $250,000 cash, $2.5 million bond or $2.5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Zhou is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Ian Fitzgerald.

Yuping Cheng, 47, of Flushing, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her held on $100,000 cash, $1 million bond or $1 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Cheng is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Katherine Fernandez.

Shan Shan Gong, 35, of Flushing, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her held on $100,000 cash, $1 million bond or $1 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Shan Shan Gong is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by William McDonald.

Yazhi Lyu, 58, of Bayside, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered her held on $500,000 cash, $1 million bond or $5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Lyu is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Suffolk County.

Xiaoyi Liu, 57, of Bayside, faces a top count of enterprise corruption, a Class B felony. Collins ordered him held on $500,000 cash, $1 million bond or $5 million partially secured bond during the pendency of the case. Liu is due back in court Aug. 19 and faces up to 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison if convicted of the top count. He is represented by Danielle Papa.

Xiaoxia Chen, 41, of Flushing, faces a top count of unauthorized practice of a profession, a Class E felony. Collins ordered her placed on supervised release during the pendency of the case. Chen is due back in court Aug. 21 and faces up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Luigi Belcastro.

Xiaomei Sun, 52, of Plainview, faces a top count of unauthorized practice of a profession, a Class E felony. Collins ordered her placed on supervised release during the pendency of the case. Sun is due back in court Aug. 21 and faces up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Dan Fox.

Dongmei Yu, 38, of Hicksville, faces a top count of unauthorized practice of a profession, a Class E felony. Collins ordered her placed on supervised release during the pendency of the case. Yu is due back in court Aug. 21 and faces up to 1 1/3 to 4 years in prison if convicted of the top count. She is represented by Melissa Aguano.

The attorneys could not immediately respond for comment.

“This long-term investigation exposed an alleged sophisticated criminal network that generated over one million dollars in illicit proceeds, all while hiding in plain sight behind the doors of four massage parlors disguised as legitimate businesses,” Tierney said. “The defendants allegedly built a criminal enterprise with a coordinated money laundering scheme designed to conceal their profits.”