RICHMOND, Texas – Workers at a Fort Bend County massage parlor have been accused of prostitution after a bust by investigators.
The sting operation happened at Yes Massage on Crabb River Road in Richmond.
Fort Bend County sheriff's deputies made a surprise visit just after 1 p.m. when they arrested Yan He, 53, and Jie Li Swindall, who offered sex for money to undercover officers earlier in the day, officials said.
"We started receiving complaints from people that live around here and then we conducted a more thorough investigation and found out what they’re doing," said Sheriff Troy Nehls.
The Yes Massage parlor had been operating in the middle of a suburban strip center for about two years. It is largely unnoticed, sitting among dental offices, fast-food shops and a dry cleaner. An after-school learning center is just two doors down. A Montessori school sits directly behind it, but most neighbors weren't suspicious until police showed up Tuesday.
“It was kinda weird 'cause we would see a lot of men come in here but it would be quick, like, 10-15 minutes,” said Fabbi Gomez, who works at a sandwich shop next door to the massage parlor.
Ashley Digirolamo, who manages a pizza restaurant, said it was disturbing to find out what police say was happening there.
“It’s kinda surprising hearing that something like that was going on next door,” Digirolamo said.
Yan He has previously been arrested for prostitution in another massage parlor raid in Aug. 2017. Nehls said that, in the last two years, his officers have shut down about a dozen strip center massage parlors that were fronts for prostitution, which is a growing business in suburban Fort Bend County.
"We did have actually have a guy reach out to us and file a complaint because he walked into one of these businesses and they offered to give him more than what he was looking for and he found it very offensive," Nehls said.
He said the landlord has agreed to evict Yes Massage after the deputies' visit Tuesday.
Yan He and Swindall are being held in the Fort Bend County Jail, with each bond set at $5,000.