An ex-San Diego police officer and his three co-defendants have been sentenced for their involvement in a multi-year illegal massage business operation. Disguised as therapeutic massage services, these enterprises lucratively profited by taking advantage of immigrants and selling sexual services.
The Department of Justice press release states Peter Griffin, retired San Diego vice detective, attorney, and private investigator, received 33 months in custody for his central role in the illegal conspiracy. Thus co-defendants, Kyung Sook Hernandez, Yu Hong Tan, and Yoo Jin Ott, were all sentenced to six-month terms for managing the businesses and hiding the operations from law enforcement.
From 2013 to August 2022, the operation was active in California and Arizona, with establishments including "Genie Oriental Spa," "Felicita Spa," "Blue Green Spa," "Maple Spa," and "Massage W Spa" serving as fronts for the illicit network. The businesses involved in the network advertised sexual services online, recruited women for these services, and concealed the illegal profits.
Victims primarily originated from Korea and China, and most of them did not speak English. With their limited employment possibilities, the defendants could easily exploit these economically disadvantaged individuals. The employees were not only compelled to perform sexual services but also manipulated by the defendants, with one victim receiving instructions to “leave [her] morals in China” to “make the customers happy” when she attempted to resist.
Griffin's background brings a serious concern to this case. Having worked in the Vice Operations Unit of the San Diego Police Department, offering an oath to dismantle such businesses, he later ran and promoted these businesses for personal gain. With the skills he gained as a vice detective, attorney, and private investigator, Griffin used his position to shield these companies from law enforcement, hide evidence, force employees into sexual services, maintain a veneer of legality, and fend off regulatory inspections and investigations.
Griffin, on multiple occasions, attempted to use his ex-cop status to convince local authorities that the businesses were legitimate. He even showed his badge to an officer responding to a complaint about one of his illegal establishments and instructed an employee to stay silent about her employment at the massage parlor. His co-defendants would tell employees about Griffin’s law enforcement history and his supposed “connections,” reassuring them that he would protect the illegal businesses from detection.
The Department of Justice shares that San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit weighed in on the case stating, “Nobody is above the law. I am astonished that a person who once vowed to protect our community could exploit the vulnerable.”
