WHITE PLAINS. N.Y—Putnam Valley residents Hong Ru Lin (a.k.a. “Bruce”) and Kena Zhao (“Angela”) have both been sentenced to a year and a day in prison followed by supervised release after being convicted of violating the Travel Act by running a series of illicit massage parlors in Mahopac, Queens, and Yonkers. The couple also forfeited more than $1.3 million in proceeds from their prostitution operation, according to prosecutors.
The Travel Act is a federal law prohibiting the use of interstate or foreign commerce to further unlawful activities—including prostitution.
According to a press release from the Southern District of New York, Zhao, 46, and Lin, 51, ran three spas that offered customers sex for money starting no later than 2020—including one in Mahopac “incorporated in 2020.”
A federal indictment from the fall of 2023 alleges multiple examples of employees of their facilities offering customers “commercial sex,” federal officials said.
“Hong Ru Lin and Kena Zhao operated an extensive prostitution business, using massage parlors as a front for their illegal activities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim. “Today’s sentences hold them accountable for their actions. This office will continue to investigate those who sponsor illegal prostitution, even when it takes place behind the doors of seemingly legitimate businesses.”
Prosecutors said Lin and Zhao ran “several massage parlors in Putnam, Westchester, and Queens counties” that served as fronts for prostitution. They managed a roster of women who provided sexual services to customers and used cell phones and private chatrooms to run the operation.
“This included assigning workers to customers, tracking earnings, and setting performance targets for the women,” prosecutors said. “On at least one occasion, Zhao personally participated in a massage session where a sexual act was offered to a customer.”
Carmel police said a Mahopac massage parlor operating on South Lake Blvd., known as RPY Spa, has since been closed down. It was unclear if Lin and Zhao were involved in other spas in the area.
In addition to their prison sentences and the $1.3 million money judgment, both Lin and Zhao were sentenced to two years of supervised release and have agreed to forfeit assets, including the bank accounts of their massage parlors and cash proceeds from their business.
Kim praised the work of the FBI’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office. He also thanked the Carmel Police Department, the Westchester County Police Department, and the Yonkers Police Department for their assistance in the investigation.
The case was prosecuted by the Civil Rights Unit of the Criminal Division and the White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan W. Allison, Jamie Bagliebter, and Margaret N. Vasu handled the prosecution.
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