HOUSTON – As the state continues to crack down on massage parlors serving as undercover brothels, one massage owner has agreed to shut down 10 of his establishments suspected of human trafficking in the Greater Houston area and quit the industry.
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According to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR), a six-month emergency closure was issued for Ok Foot Spa, located on Post Oak in early September. This came after an investigation by the Houston Police Department found employees “provocatively dressed” and were not licensed massage therapists, but “were providing sexual services,” the TDLR said.
The owner, Yu Shang Chen, was later charged in March in the Harris County Criminal Court for employing the unlicensed massage therapists and police suspected those employees may have been trafficked.
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Further investigation found that Chen was involved with other massage parlors that had complaints filed for employing unlicensed massage therapists or had employees arrested for onsite prostitution.
Due to a new executive order, the TDLR was able to stop the massage parlor from conducting business.
TDLR officials said Chen recently agreed to a settlement preventing him from owning or managing any massage establishments as well as working as a massage therapist/instructor in Texas.
The agreement also revokes licenses for the following massage establishments under his name:
- Ok Foot Spa, 9909 S. Post Oak Rd., Houston, TX
- Relax Foot City, 12989 Bellaire Blvd., #14A, Houston, TX
- D & B Foot Massage, 17440 FM 529 Rd., #104, Houston, TX
- 59 Spa d/b/a Heavenly Massage, 11422 Southwest Fwy., #400, Houston, TX
- Aini Massage, 3410 FM 2920, #80, Spring, TX
- Hearty Foot Healing, 101 Rosamond St., Houston, TX
- Lucky Foot Massage Parlor, 5950 FM 1960 Rd. W., Ste. C, Houston, TX
- A&H Massage, 24811 Katy Fwy., Ste. 350, Katy, TX
- F Massage, 13821 Breck St., Ste. G, Houston, TX
- S&F Spa, 2808 Hwy. 6, Ste 1A, Houston, TX
Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring can contact the National Hotline for Human Trafficking at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733). If the situation is an emergency or you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and alert the authorities.
You can also file a complaint on a TDLR-regulated business that you suspect may be participating in human trafficking.