A string of violent robberies targeting spas in the Boston area has culminated in prison sentences for the perpetrators. Li Wen Tang, 33, of Malden, Mass., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 78 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Tang pleaded guilty in April 2024 to two counts of robbery affecting commerce, after a jury convicted one of Tang's co-defendants, Alfeu Barbosa, for the same offenses earlier in March, according to a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
On the evening of June 12, 2022, Tang feigned being a customer at Balance Reflexology Spa in Brookline only to facilitate an armed invasion moments later by co-defendants Barbosa and Jonas Nunez. The assailants assaulted the sole employee, binding her with duct tape and forcibly demanding that she disclose the location of the money. The trio escaped with roughly $500 and the employee's cell phone, as captured on surveillance. That same night, a similar crime was committed by Barbosa, Nunez, and an associate of Barbosa's at May's Spa Massage in Stoneham, where victims were likewise terrorized and robbed, this time netting about $600 plus various personal items.
Barbosa faced the law after a jury found him guilty, leading to a sentence of 121 months in prison and three years of supervised release, handed down on July 17, 2024. Nunez has already pleaded guilty and received a sentence of 23 months and a subsequent three-year term of supervised release, as reported on April 18, 2024.
The investigatory efforts leading to the successful prosecution of these crimes were widely collaborative. The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston Division, led by Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen, played a key role, with additional support from the FBI in New York, the Massachusetts State Police, and local police departments from Brookline, Stoneham, Boston, Wakefield, and New York City. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke A. Goldworm and Robert E. Richardson from the Major Crimes Unit handled the prosecution. The acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy praised the multi-agency collaboration for its effectiveness in shedding light to bring and to prosecute the individuals behind these heinous crimes.
