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WEST VALLEY CITY — A second person has been charged in connection with an alleged prostitution operation in West Valley operating as a massage parlor.
An arrest warrant was issued Wednesday in 3rd District Court for Fenglian Qin, 44, of Monterey Park, California, on charges of engaging in a pattern of unlawful activity, a second-degree felony; exploiting prostitution, a third-degree felony; and aiding prostitution, a class A misdemeanor.
In August, the owner of K.K. Spa, 3411 S. Redwood Road, Larry Echols, 60, of Murray, was charged with the same crimes.
The investigation began in March of 2023 when an investigator with the Utah Division of Professional Licensing went to the business after "he discovered that multiple girls employed by K.K. Spa were unlicensed to provide massages," according to charging documents. While there, he observed one of the employees naked and engaged in a sex act, the charges state.
In March of this year, West Valley police sent multiple undercover officers to the business. Each was offered sex acts by the women who were allegedly supposed to be giving massages in exchange for money, according to the charges.
Investigators also discovered that multiple women from the business were staying at a hotel next door. In May, multiple search warrants were served and more than $33,000 in cash was seized.
During the investigation, police also found Qin allegedly helped reserve rooms at the hotel for the women.
"Correspondence between Qin and (Echols) also shows that Qin provided multiple instructions to (Echols) in relation to paying the bills of the establishment, paying for the hotel room, transporting women, and instructions on how to carry large quantities of cash through TSA," charging documents state.
"(Qin) actively participated in and ran a business that exploited and abetted prostitution including arranging for housing and other necessities for the women working at the establishment, instructing the co-defendant Larry Echols regarding paying for them," prosecutors noted in their charges.
After the search warrants were served, investigators believe she fled to California.
