The owner of four brothels allegedly turned into secret skin care spas in Ventura and Orange counties has been arrested and charged, officials said.
The 45-year-old owner was arrested at his Yorba Linda home and charged last week with nine counts of racketeering, embezzlement, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office and a jury. He pleaded not guilty, all of which were recorded as criminal charges.
He is being held in the county jail in lieu of $100,000 bail and is scheduled to be arraigned on Dec. 2 in Ventura County Superior Court.
Sheriff’s officials said two local businesses were in the Thousand Oaks area: Swan Spa in the 100 block of North Rancho Road and Star Spa in the 400 block of North Ventu Park Road. Those in Orange County were identified as the Victoria and Four Seasons spas, both located in Lake Forest.
None of them were providing legitimate skin care services, sheriff’s Detective Nan Jiang said Wednesday.
Jiang said the number of customers at each location was entering double digits every day. Detectives learned that several men were suspected of buying sex for sale but no one was arrested because it would have interfered with the investigation, he said.
Jiang said 10 brothel workers were identified, all of them adults, but could not say how much money was being taken from the businesses. These workers were given assistance by the Interface Children & Family Services agency, he said.
Agencies involved in the enforcement action were identified as the FBI, multiple units of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office, the Ventura County Human Trafficking Task Force and law enforcement officers in Thousand Oaks.
Kathleen Wilson covers court, mental health and local government issues for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
This article originally appeared on the Ventura County Star: Brothels reportedly used skin care facilities in Thousand Oaks.