A Highlands Ranch couple operated a number of brothels in the Denver area, using Korean prostitutes brought into the country by “brokers” who arranged passports and visas for them, according to federal documents unsealed Wednesday.
Arrested late Tuesday after an eight- month investigation by federal and state officials were Wai Chong Kong, 38, and his wife, Kit Chi Ho, 43, of Highlands Ranch, both identified as citizens of China.
They are each charged with transporting people to engage in illegal sexual activity, said Jeff Dorschner, spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office in Denver. If convicted, the couple could face up to 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The couple allegedly advertised the women’s services online. The ads included pictures of nude or scantily clad women and listed prices of $140 for 30 minutes and $180 for one hour.
State and federal investigators staked out apartments where the brothels were located and interviewed men after they left. The men confirmed they paid for sex with women, court documents say.
Two brothels were located in Denver, one in Glendale and a fourth in Greenwood Village.
Also arrested and facing a similar charge is Kah Poh “Michelle” Cheah, 28, of Thornton.
Cheah, according to investigators, was the owner of the China Town Express restaurant in Boulder before it went out of business earlier this year.
Women’s stories similar
They originally worked as prostitutes in Korea before paying thousands to come to the United States.
In his applications for the apartments where the prostitutes allegedly operated, Kong said he worked at the China Town Express.
Cheah allegedly placed the ads and was the person who went to local jails and bonded prostitutes out after they were arrested.
Authorities said in court documents that prostitutes who were arrested gave similar stories. The women had originally worked as prostitutes in Korea. They paid brokers anywhere from $8,000 to $18,000 to arrange their travel to the United States on student visas.
Once in the United States, they obtained the phone number of a woman in Denver, identified by authorities as Ho, and asked her if they could come to Denver to work for her. They said their initial earnings in Colorado were used to pay off the brokers who had brought them into the country.
Investigators checked the trash at the Highland Ranch and Thornton homes, according to court documents.
At Cheah’s Thornton address, they allegedly found ledgers showing that for one of the Denver brothel operations, the “house take” per customer was usually $50 and that six men usually showed up there each day, documents said. The total “house take” would be $300 for the day.
The prostitutes told investigators that Kong and Ho charged them $20 a day for room and board.
Link to Bay Area brothels
Police say a man who may be married to one of those arrested ferried prostitutes among California brothels.
Authorities also allege that there is a connection between the Denver operation and brothels in the San Francisco Bay Area. Cheah’s Thornton home is registered to a man by the name of Kwor Chou, and the couple share a common bank account, according to the federal affidavits.
Surveillance in Colorado and California showed that Chou spent almost all his time in Pacifica, Calif., a San Francisco suburb. When stopped by California officers driving a car with Colorado license plates, Chou said the car belonged to his wife in Colorado. The car, according to investigators, is registered to Cheah.
California detectives said they saw Chou use the car to transport prostitutes among numerous California brothels.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Glendale and Denver police departments, the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department and several California police agencies.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
