November 15, 2018
Carson City, NV – Today, Nevada Attorney General Adam Paul Laxalt announced that the Clark County Grand Jury returned a 36-count felony indictment against five defendants including Jeff Yu-Kuang Lin, Thomas Burnett Leitzen, Jr., Tony Matthews, Stan Li and Alan Christopher Russell for their roles in running unlicensed businesses operating as illegal houses of prostitution. The charges include Racketeering, Racketeering Conspiracy, both category “B” felonies, Pandering, a category “C” felony, Living from the Earnings of a Prostitute, Placing Person in House of Prostitution and Money Laundering, all category “D” felonies.
According to the indictment, the defendants owned and/or operated two houses of prostitution under the facade of the massage parlors Mango Spa and Japanese Spa and/or Jade Spa. Members of the enterprises would induce women to engage in acts of prostitution with paying customers, accept the earnings from known prostitutes and live off the earnings of these acts of prostitution. Additionally, the defendants counseled the prostitutes on how to avoid and detect law enforcement. Through these unlawful actions, the businesses obtained upwards of $3,000,000. The charged conduct was committed between January 2014 and July 2018.
“With convictions, initiatives and legislation to protect our vulnerable populations from human trafficking, sexual assault, elder abuse and domestic violence, my office continues to look for innovative ways to pursue individuals and businesses seeking to exploit members of our communities,” said Laxalt. “My office is proud to work with our local law enforcement partners to obtain this indictment in an effort to protect women from being exploited for profit and to hold these defendants accountable for their actions.”
Eighth Judicial District Court Judge Linda Bell issued five arrest warrants for the defendants. The defendants are scheduled for their initial appearances before the court on November 26th at 9:00 a.m. in Department 28.
The individual charges listed in the indictments include the following:
- Jeff Yu-Kuang Lin (36 counts): One count of Racketeering, one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, four counts of Pandering, four counts of Living from the Earnings of a Prostitute, four counts of Placing Person in House of Prostitution, and 22 counts of Money Laundering;
- Thomas Burnett Leitzen, Jr. (19 counts): One count of Racketeering, one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, four counts of Pandering, four counts of Living from the Earnings of a Prostitute, four counts of Placing Person in House of Prostitution and five counts of Money Laundering;
- Tony Matthews (10 counts): One count of Racketeering, one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, two counts of Pandering, two counts of Living from the Earnings of a Prostitute, two counts of Placing Person in House of Prostitution and two counts of Money Laundering;
- Stan Li (5 counts): One count of Racketeering, one count of Racketeering Conspiracy, one count of Pandering, one count of Living from the Earnings of a Prostitute and one count of Placing Person in House of Prostitution;
- Alan Christopher Russell (8 counts): One count of Racketeering, one count of Racketeering Conspiracy and six counts of Money Laundering.
An indictment is merely a charging document; every defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law. To view the indictments against Jeff Yu-Kuang Lin, Thomas Burnett Leitzen, Jr., Tony Matthews, Stan Li and Alan Christopher Russell, click on their respective links.
This case was investigated by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Special Investigations Section and is being prosecuted by the Office of the Nevada Attorney General’s Criminal Prosecution Unit.
RUSSELL, ALAN CHRISTOPHER |
LEITZEN, THOMAS |
(Photos courtesy of the
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)
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