Prostitution Charges Filed Against Sarasota Spa Employees: Sheriff

SARASOTA, FL — Two Sarasota spa employees were arrested earlier this month and face prostitution-related charges, according to a Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office news release.

Yueqing Gao and Guomel Xiong were taken into custody July 5 by Homeland Security Investigations on outstanding SCSO warrants.

The investigation leading to their arrests began in early 2022 when the sheriff’s office received complaints that Gao and Xiong were providing sexual services to customers at New Moka Spa in exchange for money, the agency said.

Investigators executed a search warrant at the spa in May, but both women had already left the United States.

They were taken into custody while reentering the country through John F. Kennedy International Airport and transferred to Riker’s Island Correctional Facility in New York City before being extradited to Florida last week, the sheriff’s office said.

Each woman was charged with one felony county of deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution. Gao also faces two misdemeanor counts of facilitating a prostitution business.

They were booked into the Sarasota County Correctional Facility when they arrived in Florida and released on bond.