The Franklin Common Council voted Tuesday to launch a formal license hearing that could strip On the Border Gentlemen’s Club of its ability to operate, after a criminal complaint accused the business of keeping a place of prostitution. The move follows a multi‑year probe involving federal and local investigators and lands just as the club enters its annual licensing season. Residents who spoke at the meeting were split between urging patience for the courts and demanding decisive action from city leaders.
The criminal complaint filed in Milwaukee County names HB & H Holdings LLC, the company that operates On the Border, and lays out allegations that recruiters and managers coerced women into commercial sex, collected their earnings and, in some cases, used violence and intimidation. The charging document specifically lists Count 17 as "keeping a place of prostitution" tied to manager Brian R. Hopkins and describes victims being forced to turn over thousands of dollars on some days. Documents obtained by the criminal complaint and reporting on the club at the center of the investigation provide the details.
How the city responded
City leaders took up the club’s licensing at two recent council sessions after a June 2 deadlock, and on June 16 members voted to begin the administrative hearing that could end the business's permits. The city's packet lists H, B & H LLC d/b/a On The Border among applicants for Class B Combination and Entertainment & Amusement licenses for July 1, 2026–June 30, 2027, and notes the committee may enter closed session to consider the applications. Local reporting captured the tie vote and the plan to revisit the licenses, as reported by FOX6, and the city's licensing packet from the City of Franklin details the agenda.
In a statement to TMJ4, Mayor John Nelson said, "This is a criminal complaint. No one's been convicted of anything but the optics are not good," while emphasizing the need to respect due process. At the meeting, a couple of residents spoke in defense of the club and its owner, and others urged the council to wait for the courts to run their course.
Legal process and implications
Beginning the hearing sets in motion an administrative review spelled out in the city's meeting materials, which can include closed deliberations followed by public action and, if warranted, suspension or revocation of licenses. The License Committee agenda specifically notes the option to enter closed session and to reenter open session to act on matters discussed therein, per the city packet. Those administrative remedies function separately from criminal charges, but a council finding against the business could remove local permission to operate and bar reissuance for a period set by ordinance.
What’s next
For now On the Border remains on the city's licensing schedule and is listed to operate starting July 1 while the administrative process unfolds. Prosecutors say the probe began in 2020 and expanded into a multi‑agency investigation that produced arrests last December; those criminal cases will continue independently of Franklin’s licensing review. The council or the License Committee will set hearing dates and post notices on the city calendar, and local outlets have full coverage of the charging documents and council action.
