Spa Owner In Pawtucket Prostitution Sting To Forfeit $650K

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Lincoln woman arrested 16 months ago and accused of conspiring to operate sex-for-hire operations at Asian massage parlors in Pawtucket appeared in Providence Superior Court last week where she pleaded no contest to a state racketeering charge.

Grace Kwon, 57, was ordered to forfeit about $650,000 in cash proceeds and assets, with the proceeds to be divided in an 80-20 split between the Pawtucket Police Department and the Rhode Island Attorney General's office. She was also given a three-year suspended sentence with probation.

Kwon was arrested after Homeland Security raids were conducted on Nov. 25, 2019 at three Pawtucket locations: Far East Spa at 72 East St.; Harmony Spa at 11 Benefit St.; and Pleasant St. Massage Therapy at 88 Pleasant St. Those actions netted 19 arrests and and yielded an arrest warrant for Kwon. A separate March 2019 police raid at Harmony Spa and Far East Spa resulted in 13 arrests, but Kwon was not charged at that time.

Kwon, who operated the Harmony Spa and had connections to the Pleasant Street operation, was one of four indicted in March of 2020 on a slew of charges, including racketeering. It was the first time Rhode Island Attorney General F. Peter Neronha used the state Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute, known as RICO, to prosecute operators of illicit massage parlors.

The decision marked a change in strategy, reports The Boston Globe: instead of going after the female sex workers, Pawtucket detectives joined federal and state investigators in an effort to "follow the money." Also indicted by the Providence County Grand Jury were Jeanson Derrico of Flushing, N.Y., Yon Wood of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Jenny Yi of Attleboro, Mass. Kwon is the first of the four to enter a plea.

The Providence Journal previously reported on the spa operations. Male customers would be buzzed in to the Pawtucket spas day and night. About $60 covered a massage, with sex acts paid in cash and costing extra. The women, many of whom did not speak English, lived at the spas or at local apartments and were under constant surveillance. Investigators traced the supply of women back to a hub in Flushing, N.Y.

Some of the original charges naming the female workers were later dropped. Neronha issued a statement concerning his office's decision to prosecute Kwon and other alleged ringleaders on conspiracy charges:

“Among the most effective methods to halt and deter serious illegal conduct is to target criminals where it often hurts the most — their pockets,” Neronha said. “Here, we were able to seize and forfeit substantial assets from the defendant, who was profiting from illegal sex acts behind the scenes of an other wise legitimate business. I am pleased that we were able to shut down this operation, because of great investigatory work by the Pawtucket Police Department and our prosecution team.”