CLEVELAND — Five people who were indicted for promoting prostitution at massage parlors across Northeast Ohio appeared in court Friday for their arraignment.
The Cuyahoga County Grand Jury indicted six people for promoting prostitution: Jia Yue Dong, 42; Cui Rong Chen, 44; Fei Wang, 41; Yan Wang, 41; Chengqiang Yu, 48 and Robert Swartz, 50. A Medina County Grand Jury indicted 50-year-old Yulian Fu on promoting prostitution charges.
Dong, Chen, Fei Wang, Yu, Swartz all pleaded not guilty and were given a $10,000 cash surety bond with the condition of a GPS monitoring device.
Yan Wang was supposed to be arraigned with the other defendants, but his case wasn't on the docket.
Authorities believe the defendants promoted and helped to orchestrate illegal sexual acts inside the massage parlors.
It is unclear who the mastermind of the operation is. However, court and city permitting records suggest that Jia Yue Dong – who also goes by Tony – has been involved numerous massage parlors in several Northeast Ohio suburbs that drew the consternation of local officials.
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