ALBANY, N.Y. (WNYT) – A woman from Rotterdam admitted Tuesday to using her massage parlors to operate a prostitution business.
Qingquin Xie, aka “Coco,” was arrested back in August after raids at Moon Spa in Rotterdam and 64 Sun Spa in Waterford.
Prosecutors said in the court documents that sex services at the businesses were advertised online with girls in suggestive clothing.
Xie, 30, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Albany on Tuesday to violating the federal Travel Act. She admitted using her cell phone to “promote, manage, establish, and carry on a business enterprise engaged in prostitution.”
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Prosecutor Katherine Kopita outlined the facts of the case. In addition to the spas in Rotterdam and Waterford, Xie also operated another Moon Spa in East Greenbush and two Albany spas – Everyday Health Center and Best Healthy Spa.
Kopita said that from about July 2023 until her arrest, Xie advertised these businesses on a specific website that caters to customers seeking sex services. The advertisements said that employees would have sexual contact or sex with customers.
Xie provided her cell phone on the advertisements.
“Customers had to contact her to make appointments,” Kopita said.
Investigators saw the advertisements and began video surveillance of Xie. They obtained a search warrant to raid the East Greenbush Moon Spa in October 2024.
Xie was watching the raid through a video monitoring app on her phone, according to Kopita. Then, the prosecutor said Xie walked to a bank, withdrew $17,000 and traveled to New York City. That business closed after the raid.
When she returned, Xie opened the two Albany spas in January and April.
Customers were charged $70 for one hour of services or $50 for a half hour. The worker was paid $10 for each hour-long session and nothing for the half hour, according to Kopita.
They also had to pay $20 per day to Xie for living expenses. They could keep any tips they earned, she said.
It was a cash-only business and when she was arrested, Xie had bags of cash in her car, Kopita said.
Speaking through a translator, Xie said that she is a citizen of China and has been in the United States for about 2 ½ years.
Sentencing is scheduled for March 18. Prosecutors are recommending a term of 10 to 16 months in prison. She will also have to forfeit the business proceeds.
Kopita said Xie also could face “adverse immigration consequences.”
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