Intelligence experts warn sex ring operating out of Washington, D.C. and Boston was likely a foreign espionage scheme
As the disclosure of names connected to sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein dominate the news headlines, questions persist about the clients of another high-profile sex ring that intelligence experts have warned was likely a “honeypot” scheme to spy on American officials.
The ring involves six high-end brothels operating out of the suburbs of Washington, D.C., and Boston that were believed to be set up by a foreign nation as part of their espionage efforts. A 41-year-old South Korean woman was reportedly behind the operation, but intelligence officials believe that its ultimate goal may have been to provide intelligence to a country such as Russia, China or Israel.
A former CIA senior operations official shared his concerns with The Daily Mail in an exclusive interview. He told the publication: “Having the Koreans out front could have been a false flag to give China or another country plausible deniability if the plot unraveled.”
After a raid on the brothels in November, prosecutors plan to charge dozens of people in Massachusetts. The state’s Acting U.S. Attorney, Joshua Levy, said they are pursuing “accountability for the buyers who fuel the commercial sex industry.”
The three defendants who have been charged with running the sex ring are all U.S. nationals born in South Korea.
Lots of clues that espionage was the motivation
One aspect of the case that lends credence to the theory that espionage was a motivation is the fact that none of the defendants who set up and operated the ring live near Washington, D.C., nor do the sex workers, who were flown in from cities on the opposite side of the country, such as Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
While two of the defendants live in Boston, which could explain why they set up some brothel locations there, the third lives in Los Angeles and none have apparent connections to the nation’s capital. In fact, operating out of D.C. meant far higher costs for operating the ring as well as logistical issues that needed to be managed. Since it would have been less risky and far more practical to open all their brothels in Boston, where two of the defendants lived, it appears their objective was gathering intelligence rather than maximizing profits.
The sex ring’s clients reportedly paid rates upward of $600 per hour and included national security contractors, military officers, congressmen and others who possess security clearances, along with scientists, lawyers, professors and corporate executives. Two of their locations were a 15-minute drive from the Pentagon, CIA, White House and Congress.
Boston may have been a target because of the abundance of top-tier universities there, such as MIT and Harvard, some of which train military and government officials and develop reports for the CIA and Pentagon.
Spy agencies consider sexual promiscuity, extramarital affairs, marital problems, financial stress, and feeling undervalued by employers to be vulnerabilities they can exploit. In this operation, those who sought sex services were required to submit a membership application that included documentation such as government-issued identification, email and phone information, credit card records and employer information.
As difficult as it may be to believe, numerous military and political officials were willing to supply this information and then proceeded to have sex with strangers in an apartment that very well could have been bugged or set up to record them.
A retired foreign spy told The Daily Mail: “Finding idiots like this would be pure gold for an intelligence service running a honeypot.”
None of the sex ring’s clients have been charged or identified yet, but much like the Epstein case, their names could well be revealed soon as federal prosecutors have announced they will be seeking criminal charges.
Sources for this article include: