Tacoma owner of four Tri-Cities massage shops and his wife accused of sex trafficking

A Tacoma man suspected of sex trafficking is listed as the owner of as many as 13 massage parlors across the state, including four in Kennewick.

Linhui Yan, 60, is the owner of the Clearwater Avenue storefront raided by Kennewick police and federal agents Wednesday morning, according to court documents. It’s unclear if the other three businesses are still operating.

The Clearwater Avenue business was targeted for a search after a visit by an undercover officer in February, according to the documents.

He said he was greeted by a woman who at first gave him a massage and then offered sex acts.

It was part of a 7-month investigation led by the Wenatchee-based Columbia River Drug Task Force.

As a result, arrest warrants were issued for Yan and his wife, Yan Yang, 43, in Chelan County Superior Court. Each is charged with an organized crime operation, money laundering and promoting prostitution.

Investigators have not said if they have been arrested yet.

The Chelan County Court documents offer more details on the investigation that spanned from Kennewick to Tacoma.

Dispatch system

The massage locations appeared to operate under a dispatch system in which a customer would call a central number and give their location, said the documents. And then the customer would receive a text with the location of the nearest parlor.

Investigators believe they trafficked in women from outside of the country, who were required to live inside the business storefront and Yan would bring them weeks-worth of groceries at a time to live on.

In at least one case, a witness reported seeing stacks of dirty dishes and food inside the business.

Task force Detective Nick English said in the court documents that it’s common for the women who are used for prostitution to be kept isolated, moved from location to location, and not allowed to keep any money.

“The owner has total control over the victims because they have no resources to leave the massage parlor,” English wrote. “They can’t purchase their own place to stay and can’t afford to even buy their own food. Since they have the basic necessities of life taken away, they are at the mercy of the person who is exploiting them in order to survive.”

According to the Washington State Attorney General’s Office, the state is a “hotbed for the recruitment, transportation, and sale of people for labor.” That can range from mail-order brides, to sex workers to domestic workers.

Wenatchee task force

The task force first became involved in the investigation in August when a Wenatchee business owner reported the neighboring massage parlor appeared to be involved in prostitution.

She told investigators that Yan and Yang acted strange even before the Mission Street location opened. They painted the walls hot pink and weren’t interested in replacing the “filthy” carpet.

“(The business owner) said it was extremely weird,” English wrote in his court affidavit. “She said as a woman she would never step foot in an establishment like that. She explained if she had to get undressed and get a massage in that sort of environment she would be ‘sketched out.’”

When the Wenatchee shop opened, the parlor didn’t have its business name outside, and the windows were covered. The only thing listed outside was a sign that said “massage.”

According to the Washington State Department of Revenue, the business was named “Lin’s Massage.”

An advertisement with suggestive images and offering sexual services appeared in online searches for the business, according to court documents.

The neighbor said Yan showed up a week earlier with enough groceries to feed a family of four.

The business owner and a customer reported hearing what sounded like sex coming from the massage parlor and reported it to the property manager.

Shortly after that conversation, Yan appeared with construction equipment and it appeared he soundproofed the wall that was in common with the other business.

Washington businesses

A Department of Revenue search turned up 12 locations licensed to Linhui Yan named either Lin’s Massage or Angel Massage, including the Clearwater Avenue location that was raided Wednesday.

The list includes three other locations in Kennewick, including another location on Clearwater Avenue and spots on Volland Street and Vista Way. There were also locations in Seattle, Graham, Olympia, Marysville and Federal Way.

The other Tri-Cities locations apparently were not searched this week, and it’s unclear if they are operating.

Most of the massage businesses listed in the court documents were on a website that investigators described as being like the “Yelp” of illicit massage parlors.

As they were investigating the Mission Street shop, law enforcement was tipped off about another massage parlor on Chelan Avenue in Wenatchee, according to court documents.

The building owner told investigators that she discovered a mattress in the business when she was doing maintenance work. Yan told her he didn’t know why the bed was in the building.

And even though no one was supposed to be living in the building, Yan had previously insisted on keeping a bathtub inside what was previously a house.

They also heard from someone who went to that massage business by mistake and saw dirty dishes and appliances used for cooking food.

The man realized he was at the wrong business when he walked into the room with a picture of a naked Marilyn Monroe lit by a red light, said the documents.

This story was originally published March 3, 2023 at 5:00 AM.