Sentences are the result of a multiyear, cooperative law enforcement effort across numerous state and local jurisdictions

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced securing criminal sentences against the leaders of an organized crime trafficking ring that operated across California between 2015 and 2019. All five of the individuals arrested for their involvement in the ring — Jing Chiang Huang, Shu Mei Lin, Pengcheng Cai, Dafeng Wen, and Peishin Lee — have now been successfully prosecuted for crimes that included sex trafficking, labor trafficking, income tax evasion, money laundering, and conspiracy. The sentences ranged from 364 days to 10 years and eight months in state prison. The last sentencing occurred today before the Santa Clara County Superior Court.

“This case is an example of what the California Department of Justice does best,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. “We work collaboratively with our partners to leverage our collective resources across the state to keep our communities safe and hold people accountable for their crimes. Each and every day our prosecutors and special agents work to combat human trafficking and end the exploitation of vulnerable Californians. I’m extremely proud of what we can accomplish when we work together and I’m grateful to all of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who helped secure this important result. Let these sentences be a reminder: My office will vigorously prosecute those who violate the law and we will continue to stand up for all the people of California.”

“We are firmly committed to holding those accountable who commit human trafficking offenses,” said Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton. “The sentences announced today demonstrate that, through determination and collaborative work, we are disrupting organized human trafficking and keeping our communities safe.”

In 2019, the Office of the Attorney General charged Huang, Lin, Cai, Wen, Lee, and another individual who currently remains at large with more than a dozen felonies related to sex trafficking of multiple victims, tax fraud, money laundering, and more. The charges came after multiple joint takedown operations resulted in several arrests, where authorities also offered assistance to more than a dozen people caught up in the ring. As part of the scheme, the crime ring used Backpage.com to place advertisements for sex and deprived individuals of their liberty in order to force them to commit sex acts at multiple brothel locations. In addition, the ring was found to have committed labor trafficking by withholding at least one survivor’s passport and threatening future job opportunities.

The sentences against all five individuals were entered as early as May 2021 through today before the Santa Clara County Superior Court. They are the result of a multiyear, cooperative law enforcement effort across numerous state and local jurisdictions. Huang was convicted on one count of conspiracy to commit human trafficking, three counts of income tax evasion, and one count of money laundering, and sentenced to 10 years and eight months in state prison on May 26, 2020. Cai was convicted on one charge of sex trafficking, and was sentenced to eight years in prison on March 11, 2022. Wen was convicted of labor trafficking, and was sentenced to five years in prison on March 11, 2022. Lee was convicted of money laundering and being an accessory after the fact, and — after already serving time in jail and on home detention — was sentenced to an additional 364 days in jail on January 28, 2022. Lin was convicted of money laundering, and was sentenced to a total of 364 days in jail on February 25, 2022. 

The initial takedown was the result of a joint effort led by the California Department of Justice and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. The operation and ongoing investigation also involved the Burlingame Police Department, California Franchise Tax Board, Concord Police Department, Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, Contra Costa Safe Streets Task Force, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Fremont Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Milpitas Police Department, Newark Police Department, Oxnard Police Department, San Jose Police Department, San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office, Santa Clara County Human Trafficking Task Force, Santa Clara County Probation Department, Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office, Santa Clara Police Department, Sunnyvale Police Department, and Tacoma Police Department.

A copy of the amended complaint in the case is available here. More information about the California Department of Justice’s work to combat human trafficking and resources to support survivors is available here.