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Ruimei Li, massage parlor owner, pleads guilty in Martin County prostitution case

Ruimei Li
Posted at 4:44 PM, Oct 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-04 18:47:53-04

MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Ruimei Li, the owner of one of several spas targeted in a widespread prostitution investigation earlier this year, pleaded guilty to multiple charges Friday morning in Martin County.

Li, 48, allegedly ran the Bridge Day Spa in Hobe Sound, one of four spas in the county targeted in the investigation.

Li pleaded guilty to racketeering, operating a house of prostitution, deriving support from proceeds of prostitution, permitting prostitution, and engaging in prostitution. The State Attorney's Office dropped a charge of money laundering.

Li was sentenced to five years probation, ordered to pay $150,000 in investigative costs, and ordered to give up her massage license. She is also prohibited from owning or being associated with any massage businesses.

Li is the seventh woman in Martin County to plead guilty in connection to working at or operating a massage parlor accused of engaging in prostitution.

SEE ALSO: Inside the investigation: New evidence released in Martin County spa prostitution case | Sneak-and-peek warrants unsealed in Martin County spa busts

The investigation into allegations of prostitution at massage parlors unearthed four day spas accused of prostitution in Martin County, as well as a fifth in Jupiter, the Orchids of Asia Day Spa.

The Orchids of Asia Day Spa is the massage parlor investigators claim New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft visited on two occasions. Kraft faces two charges of soliciting prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty and denies the allegations.

The four defendants charged in the Orchids of Asia Day Spa case have all pleaded not guilty to their various charges.

Last May, a judge tossed surreptitiously recorded surveillance video from inside the spa. The judge ruled that Kraft had "reasonable, subjective expectation of privacy" when he entered the spa.

That ruling is currently under appeal.