Police in Alcoa say a quiet airport plaza storefront was hiding more than soothing spa music. Two women are accused of running a massage business that investigators allege doubled as a prostitution operation inside a medical suite once tied to a late local doctor.
Officers arrested Xinjuan Lin and Jiaying Cai on June 17, charging both with promoting prostitution and impersonation of licensed professionals. The women were booked into the Blount County jail. Court documents cited by The Daily Times say the two were allegedly scheduling and providing massages at Serene Spa in Suite E of an Airport Plaza storefront.
Those filings, according to The Daily Times, list Lin’s bond at $20,000 and Cai’s at $10,000, along with the charges of promoting prostitution and impersonation of a licensed professional. The paper also reports that the suite where Serene Spa operated had been registered to Dr. Phillip Haggerty, who died in December 2025, and that calls to the practice number are now routed to Southeast Spine and Pain Associates.
How the doctor’s name ended up on the door
Dr. Phillip Haggerty is listed as a medical director for Anesthesiology and Pain Management Consultants, with connections to a pain-practice address in Alcoa, according to provider listings and federal registration records. Tennova lists Haggerty along with an Alcoa location, and the practice’s NPI profile includes a secondary suite in Airport Plaza. Those records help explain why the medical office where Serene Spa set up shop remained associated with Haggerty’s name and practice even after his death.
Charges, state law and what happens next
Under Tennessee law, promoting prostitution is codified at T.C.A. 39-13-515 and is generally treated as a felony-level offense. Impersonation of a licensed professional falls under T.C.A. 39-16-302, a separate statute that targets people who present themselves as credentialed when they are not.
The text of the prostitution statute is available through Justia, while an opinion from Tennessee Courts offers guidance on how the impersonation law is interpreted and applied in real cases.
Court filings cited by The Daily Times indicate Lin and Cai made their initial appearance in front of Blount County General Sessions Judge William Brewer. Both defendants are scheduled to return to court on June 25 at 1:30 p.m., when prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to start sorting through the details of what unfolded inside that airport plaza suite.
