The mas­sage par­lors hid­ing a mul­ti­mil­lion-dol­lar traf­fick­ing indus­try

For near­ly a decade, a hus­band-and-wife team oper­at­ed a net­work of mas­sage busi­ness­es stretch­ing across New Jer­sey and New York. These seem­ing­ly inno­cent store­fronts con­cealed broth­els where women were expect­ed to pro­vide sex­u­al ser­vices to cus­tomers from morn­ing until midnight.The case, which end­ed in guilty pleas in late May, offers a glimpse into a lit­tle-known cor­ner of the com­mer­cial sex trade: the illic­it mas­sage busi­ness. The pros­e­cu­tion also comes as the Jus­tice Depart­ment sig­naled it intends to con­tin­ue mak­ing human traf­fick­ing a pri­or­i­ty under the Trump admin­is­tra­tion. Ear­li­er this month, act­ing Attor­ney Gen­er­al Todd Blanche appoint­ed vet­er­an fed­er­al pros­e­cu­tor Ali Ser­a­no to lead the department’s anti-human traf­fick­ing efforts.
“End­ing human traf­fick­ing and the exploita­tion of chil­dren has been and remains one of the high­est pri­or­i­ties of the Depart­ment of Jus­tice,” Blanche said in announc­ing her appoint­ment. “With [the] appoint­ment of Ali Ser­a­no, we are send­ing a clear and unmis­tak­able mes­sage to preda­tors: we are com­ing for you.”
What is the illic­it mas­sage busi­ness?
Illic­it mas­sage busi­ness­es, or IMBs, oper­ate under the appear­ance of legit­i­mate mas­sa …