Elmhurst Massage Parlor Part Of State Inquiry

ELMHURST, IL – An Elmhurst massage parlor was part of a sweeping investigation of a chain of such businesses in the Chicago area, the Attorney General's Office said Thursday.

The owners of the chain have each been charged with six counts of money laundering and three counts of promoting prostitution, the office said.

They are Yang Yuan, 37, of Aurora; Jianwei Zou, 62, of Naperville; and Guilan Sun, 64, of Aurora, authorities said.

The local massage parlor is YS Massage, 195 N. York St., which shares a wall with City Hall in downtown Elmhurst.

Last month, Elmhurst police arrested a masseuse at the local shop for a number of violations, according to a police report. Her pants were undone when officers showed up to arrest her, police said.

None of the local charges had anything to do with prostitution or money laundering.

The state charges are the result of a three-year investigation by several state and federal agencies, including Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, state police and the Naperville Police Department.

The investigation started after suspicious online ads connected to the massage parlors appeared, the attorney general said. Naperville police conducted several undercover operations, where officers were solicited for sexual acts, authorities said.

In a news release, the Attorney General's Office noted the assistance of the Elmhurst Police Department and others.

“While many believe these are victimless crimes, that is not accurate," Gabriel Gonzalez, Homeland Security Investigation's Chicago special agent in charge, said in the release. "Not only do the individuals being exploited suffer, but the community as a whole is endangered by the many associated crimes this type of illegal activity brings to their neighborhoods.”