Toms River Spa Owners Indicted On Prostitution Charge: Report

TOMS RIVER, NJ — The owners of a former wellness center on Lakehurst Road have been indicted on prostitution charges, accused of running a brothel at the spa, according to a report.

James M. O'Brien, 60, and Nina X. Meng, 57, both of Berkeley Township, were indicted earlier this month on a single count each of prostitution, according to an Asbury Park Press report.

Toms River policearrested Meng in January 2017 after a four-month investigation into activities at Redwoods Wellness Center, 515 Lakehurst Road, Toms River, spokesman Ralph Stocco said at the time.

O'Brien initially refused to turn himself in to authorities. Al Della Fave, spokesman for the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, said O'Brien was initially charged by way of summons and remains free to await trial. He faces an arraignment on the charge within the next several weeks, Della Fave said. Meng also is free and awaiting arraignment, according to the Asbury Park Press report.

Meng had a township-approved license to operate a spa, approved for Redwoods Spa at the June 21, 2016, Township Council meeting. Redwoods was conducting business as a massage parlor, Stocco said, but was suspected of soliciting prostitution. Allegations of the prostitution were confirmed by way of the investigation as well as through the subsequent evidence gathered as a result of the search warrants, he said.

Redwoods actively advertised its massage business on a website that advertises escort services around the country, offering "amazing asian massage" and "four hands sweet massage," with charges of $60 per hour and $100 for a "four hands massage," according to the advertisement. The website's terms of service say it offers sexually oriented content but bars content that solicits "directly or in 'coded' fashion for ANY illegal service, including the exchange of sexual favors for money."

O'Brien, who previously lived in Staten Island, was disbarred as an attorney in New Jersey in 1999 after facing allegations he stole more than $188,000 from the estate of a client, according to a report by SILive.com.

Photos of Nina X. Meng and James O'Brien provided by Toms River police