LUBBOCK, Texas — Shaoping Wen, 64, and Xu Wang, 41, a mother and son duo who ran elicit massage parlors in Lubbock and in eastern New Mexico, both agreed to plead guilty to federal charges, according to court records obtained on Friday.
The two were initially arrested back in March. In September, EverythingLubbock.com reported several new charges were brought against the duo in September. However, on November 7, Wen agreed to plead guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Interstate or Foreign Travel in Aid of Racketeering Enterprises. Wang agreed to plead guilty to Misprision of a Felony.
Federal court records said there were a total of eight parlors, three of which were in the Lubbock area. Two of the parlors were in Carlsbad, one in Roswell and one was in Clovis.
The women never left the massage parlors
Authorities started undercover operations after a concerned citizen reported potential human trafficking at a parlor in the Lubbock area. Court documents said the women who worked at the parlors were Chinese citizens. They were flown into the country to New York or California, then to Roswell. The women were taken straight from the airports to the massage parlors, and typically never left the business, according to court documents.