A pink-haired Queens woman who investigators say juggled three cell phones outside a Flushing supermarket is now at the center of a federal case linking her to an alleged Allston and Brighton brothel network.
Prosecutors say Zengzeng "Bella" Liu, 41, was identified after agents traced a phone associated with a suspected brothel operation to the FoodPlus supermarket in Flushing. Surveillance video there allegedly showed Liu, her hair dyed pink, handling three phones and using messaging apps. Federal filings accuse her of working as a dispatcher who recruited women from East Asia to staff residential brothels in Allston and Brighton.
According to a detention affidavit filed in U.S. District Court, a grand jury returned a four-count indictment on June 24, 2026. Liu is charged with persuading an individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, along with multiple counts tied to the use of interstate facilities in aid of racketeering.
The affidavit identifies alleged brothel locations at 83 Gardner St. in Allston and at units in Stadia 50 (50 Hichborn St.) and 365 Western Ave. in Brighton. Task-force officers executed a search at the Gardner Street apartment in November 2025 and reported finding two sex buyers, three women, condoms and nearly $15,000 in cash. A later search of a residence in Flushing allegedly turned up about $49,000, tax records, a money counter and a safe. Prosecutors told the court they view Liu as a potential flight risk and are asking that she remain detained pending trial.
How investigators say the ring worked
Investigators say the operation advertised on Chinese-language sex-for-a-fee websites along with at least one English-language listing. Customers were allegedly funneled through a single "Target Mobile Phone" that coordinated appointments. According to the detention affidavit, the group used WeChat chats and overseas intermediaries to recruit women from Japan, Vietnam, China and the Philippines to work in Boston-area apartments.
One undercover officer quoted in the filing says that during a WhatsApp video call, a caller asked, "Are you trying to come see the girls?" and negotiated a $600 rate. Phone-data warrants later placed the Target Mobile Phone in the area of the FoodPlus supermarket at 44-24 Kissena Boulevard in Flushing, where surveillance video allegedly showed the same pink-haired woman with three cell phones, actively using WeChat. Court documents describe a system in which customers were steered to private apartments and couriers periodically arrived to collect cash.
Surveillance and the Queens arrest
Task-force officers say they followed the woman they spotted on store surveillance into a nearby apartment building and then to a high-rise, gathering additional surveillance footage and financial records that helped them zero in on a Queens resident.
Working with FBI agents, New York City officers and state troopers, investigators executed arrest and search warrants in late May. Liu was taken into custody at that time, prosecutors allege.
Evidence, alleged money flows and local impact
Prosecutors describe what they call an organized money pickup system, in which couriers collected cash from customers at the Allston apartment and returned the proceeds to the dispatcher known as "Bella." Agents also say they found an illegal mahjong parlor in one of Liu's apartments and that surveillance documented dozens of customers coming and going on busy weekends.
What comes next
Liu remains under federal indictment and is the subject of a detention motion in U.S. District Court in Boston, with prosecutors indicating that additional charges or arrests could follow as the investigation continues. For broader context on trafficking prosecutions and the difficulty of proving coercion in Massachusetts, see an analysis by the Northeastern University Law Review.
