Pair Sentenced For North Reading, Boston Brothel Scheme

NORTH READING, MA — Two people were sentenced to prison time on Wednesday on human trafficking charges linked to brothels in North Reading, Boston, Cambridge and Quincy. Pingxia Fan, 42, of Boston and Timothy Hayes, 53, of Gloucester, were found guilty on human trafficking and money laundering charges after a joint investigation and takedown by the Attorney General’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Boston Division.

They were sentenced to five to six years each in state prison.

Fan and Hayes were arrested in May 2017 after an investigation that started in North Reading. The AG’s Office began an investigation after a referral from the North Reading Police Department, which did an initial investigation into a brothel in town.

The investigation found that Fan and Hayes ran a sex trafficking and money laundering operation involving five different brothels—two in Quincy, and single locations in Boston, Cambridge, and North Reading, according to the AG's office. The pair used several cars to move sex trafficking victims, money and supplies.

Fan and Hayes arranged for women to meet with men at the brothel locations to perform sex acts in exchange for cash. Fan and Hayes kept most of the money.

“These defendants made hundreds of thousands of dollars by exploiting numerous victims who were confined to the brothels day and night,” said AG Healey. “This case is a reminder that human trafficking exposes people to unimaginable trauma and abuse.”

The pair were found guilty on the following charges:

Pingxia Fan

• Trafficking Persons for Sexual Servitude (5 counts)
• Deriving Support from Prostitution (5 counts)
• Keeping House of Ill Fame (4 counts)
• Money Laundering (3 counts)

Timothy Hayes

• Trafficking Persons for Sexual Servitude (5 counts)
• Deriving Support from Prostitution (5 counts)
• Keeping House of Ill Fame (4 counts)
• Money Laundering (3 counts)