A Milpitas tech businessman and wife stand accused of pimping, pandering, money laundering, and human trafficking following a two-year investigation into their alleged brothel business.
SFist noted the arrests on Thursday of 57-year-old David Davies and 38-year-old Larong Hu, and now the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office has revealed more details in the case against them.
Per KRON4, Davies and Hu are accused of operating at least six brothels based out of apartments in Milpitas and San Jose, and trafficking "dozens" of women from China, South Korea, and Eastern Europe. Along with the arrests on Thursday, authorities say they were able to rescue six women who were currently being pimped by Davies and Hu, but the couple allegedly had "rotated more than 100 sex workers before they were sent to other U.S. cities."
"People do not have the right to treat other people like pack animals," DA Jeff Rosen said in a statement. “This county will spare no effort to track down those who exploit others for profit and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law."
Investigators had apparently been on to the couple's sex-trafficking operation for a year and a half, as KTVU reports, and gathered evidence of its scope. Each apartment brothel, they say, serviced 10 to 15 men per day, all of whom would find the sex workers online and pay using Venmo or Paypal. As part of the bust, search warrants were served in San Jose, Milpitas, and Palo Alto, and sex work "paraphernalia" was found inside the apartments. Also, $2 million in cash was seized.
The women were allegedly sometimes locked in the apartments, and had their passports taken from them. They were also made to pay for their own food and living expenses.
Davies and Hu were taken into custody on the 100 block of Tiger Lily Street in Milpitas, which is the location of the Milpa Village Townhomes.
They were set to be arraigned on Friday and were being held on $350,000 bail.
Anyone who is a victim of human trafficking, or knows someone who is, should call 911 immediately or call the 24-Hour National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Callers can also reach the hotline by texting 233733 to initiate online chats. Human trafficking victims, whether U.S. citizens or not, are eligible for services including immigration assistance.
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