Arrests at Las Vegas spa tied to money-laundering investigation, police say
Arrests at a spa earlier this month were connected to a federal search warrant and an “on-going money laundering investigation,” records obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal indicate.
The Metropolitan Police Department’s criminal intelligence section helped the FBI serve a federal search warrant on the Midnight Rose Spa on Aug. 8, according to a police report released by the Las Vegas Justice Court this week. The spa is located at 953 Desert Inn Road and is not licensed as a massage establishment in Clark County, police said.
Five women admitted to being employed at the spa and not having a massage license in Clark County, police said, and were arrested.
“FBI Las Vegas can confirm an investigation,” the FBI said in a statement. “To preserve the integrity and capabilities of the investigation, the FBI cannot share any details of the ongoing process.”
A woman who answered a number listed for the spa on Tuesday said she did not know why the FBI raided the business and declined further comment.
The woman arrested were Cheng Cheng Liu, Ji Ming Li, Binxu Jiang, Hongxia Chen and Yanhui Li, according to police. Each faces a charge of acting as a massage therapist without a valid license.
The spa also has faced disciplinary action by the Nevada Board of Massage Therapy, which cited it for operating without a certificate in March, according to records. The citation carried a $1,000 fine and a $150 administrative fee.
Attorney Kirk Kennedy appealed the citation in an April letter that stated he represented Cheng Cheng, the owner of the spa. He did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The board heard the appeal and declined to reverse the citation at its May meeting, according to minutes.
An investigator for the board said at the meeting that the citation was issued after a Metro report about “massage being offered at the establishment.”
Elisabeth Barnard, the board’s executive director, said Tuesday that the board may issue additional citations based on police reports.
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
