A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging two Chinese Nationals with offenses related to operating five illicit massage businesses, including Centralia, Mt. Vernon, and Vandalia.
57-year-old Jianhong Hu Allbright of Shoals, Indiana, and 25-year-old Yalong Cao of Schaumburg, Illinois, are each facing one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and one count of money laundering conspiracy related to employees engaging in prostitution at the Oriental Home Spa & Massage in Centralia, Sunflower Spa in Mount Vernon, and Oasis Massage Spa in Vandalia. The other two massage parlors are Rose Spa in Harrisburg and Oriental Massage Parlor in Corydon, Indiana.
Allbright is also facing one count of transporting an individual to engage in prostitution.
US Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft says massage parlors engaged in prostitution are not the romanticized fantasy from the movie “Pretty Woman”—they are criminal enterprises that create and exploit financial dependency to trap immigrants and others, coercing them into degrading subjugation. He says the Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute sex trafficking and work to vindicate the rights of vulnerable victims across southern Illinois.
According to court documents, the charged conduct occurred between March 2022 and June 2024.
Allbright is accused of managing the parlors’ day-to-day operations, including arranging transportation and providing supplies for the female employees to engage in commercial sex acts. The pair is accused of advertising the illicit acts at their massage parlors on websites.
Cao is facing charges for allegedly recruiting employees to engage in prostitution and collecting the proceeds.
Money laundering conspiracy convictions are punishable by up to 20 years’ imprisonment and fines up to $500,000. Convictions of transporting an individual to engage in prostitution are punishable by up to 10 years’ imprisonment and fines up to $250,000, and convictions for conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. are punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment.
The Illinois State Police Trafficking Enforcement Bureau, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and the Illinois Department of Revenue are working the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karelia Rajagopal is prosecuting the case.
