Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty to Role in Interstate Prostitution Ring

BOSTON – A Georgia woman pleaded guilty today in connection with her role in a long-running interstate prostitution ring. 

Susan Bashir, a/k/a “Susan Redmon,” a/k/a “Susan Redmond,” 41, of Stone Mountain, Ga., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce individuals to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering. U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs scheduled sentencing for Nov. 8, 2018. On March 15, 2018, Bashir was charged and arrested along with Jineok Kim, 38, of Watertown, Mass; Yoon I. Kim, 36, of Haymarket, Va.; Taehee Kim, a/k/a “Hyunsook Kim,” 46, of Haymarket, Va.; and Kyung Song, 52, of Lexington, Mass.

According to court documents, Bashir worked for the prostitution network from at least 2013 until March 2018. The prostitution network had multiple brothels in high-end apartments in Cambridge, Mass.; Atlanta, Ga.; and eastern Virginia. They advertised appointments with Asian women primarily on three websites: www.bostonasiandolls.com, www.exoticasiansatlanta.com, and www.redhotflowers69.com. The women advertised on the websites were moved from city to city within the network, working as prostitutes for the organization.

Bashir’s role in the scheme involved screening potential clients that called to book an appointment and then arranging logistics for the client to meet with one the advertised women. Bashir also updated the prostitution websites and calculated the payments for each prostitute based on the number of clients she had met with. In addition, Bashir collected the cash earnings from the women working at the Georgia brothels and made bulk deposits at ATMs, funneling the money into accounts allegedly controlled by Taehee Kim and Yoon Kim.

The charge of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, or coerce women to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution provides for a sentence of no greater than five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain/loss, whichever is greater. The charge of conspiracy to engage in money laundering  provides for a sentence of no greater than 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Andrew E. Lelling; Peter C. Fitzhugh Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston; Delany De Leon-Colon, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Branville G. Bard Jr. made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. D’Addio and Amy Harman Burkart of Lelling’s Civil Rights Enforcement Team are prosecuting the case. 

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.