Singaporean massage parlour boss added to US ‘worst of the worst criminal aliens list’
Jing and Gerald Emtage received prison terms for promoting prostitution and money laundering across multiple massage parlours.
Quick Look
Jing and Gerald Emtage were sentenced to prison terms in Washington state for operating a prostitution ring across multiple massage parlours and money laundering.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The couple was arrested in 2023 following an investigation launched in 2021 into massage parlours across Washington state.
Jing Emtage, 54, was sentenced in July last year to two years and two months in prison on seven counts of second-degree promoting prostitution across multiple Washington state massage parlours she ran with her husband, Gerald Emtage.
Gerald Emtage, 49, was handed a jail term of three years and two months for the same offences following an investigation launched in 2021. Both also received concurrent 12-month sentences for money laundering.
According to prosecutors, the couple – who were arrested in 2023 – made “significant profits from the commercial sexual exploitation of dozens of women” while “living in a home valued at over a million dollars”.
While the defendants “hid hundreds of thousands of dollars in their home, there are no state records of any wages paid to their victims required to provide sexual services to strange men”, local news outlet Seattle Weekly reported, citing court documents.
Open Questions
- What will happen to the confiscated assets?
- Are there any additional co-conspirators being investigated?
