Florida man admits to running multiple Western Pa. massage parlors as fronts for prostitution

HARRISBURG, Pa. — A Florida man who operated multiple Asian massage parlors in Western Pennsylvania and others in Virginia and Florida is facing a possibility of 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges.

David Williams, 41, pleaded guilty to racketeering, money laundering, transporting women for prostitution and harboring illegal aliens for commercial purposes last week, according to our news partners at TribLIVE.

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Williams was arrested by the FBI in August after a nearly three-year probe into the operation of multiple massage parlors he owned. The investigation started in 2017 after complaints were made to a national human trafficking hotline, according to court documents.

TribLIVE reported that during his guilty plea, Williams admitted operating Asian massage parlors that employed Chinese women illegally present in the United States who were offering sex acts at the parlors in return for money.

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He also admitted to using the now defunct website “Backpage.com” to run tens of thousands of dollars worth of ads to promote his businesses.

Search warrants were executed at six Western Pa. businesses, as well as multiple locations in Florida:

• Ci Ci Wellness - 639 Brown Ave., Turtle Creek, Pa.
• Thai Massage - 39 W. Main St., Carnegie Pa.
• Massage 10 - 6545 US 30, Jeannette, Pa.
• Thai Massage - 423 Chartiers St., Bridgeville, Pa.
• 1407 Peninsula Massage - 1702 Peninsula Dr., Erie, Pa.
• Undisclosed location - McKees Rocks

Many of the women who Williams employed were trafficked from Flushing, N.Y, according to the court documents.

The records from financial institutions also revealed that Williams and his conspirators laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars through bank accounts that were opened in others’ names in an effort to distance Williams from the illegal activity.

According to TribLIVE, Williams faces up to 10 years imprisonment on charges related to transporting women for purposes of prostitution and harboring them for financial gain. He also faces up to five years imprisonment for racketeering and up to 20 additional years imprisonment for engaging in a money laundering conspiracy.

He also could be fined up to $1 million.

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