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WARREN -- A human trafficking case involving a multistate operation through massage parlors has been turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents for further investigation, a judge ruled Thursday during an arraignment in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court.
The decision follows charges against eight individuals all set to appear in court again July 10, accused of running a crime ring in Ohio and beyond.
Miock Dong Schaffer, 56, of Norwalk, Ohio, appeared for arraignment before Judge Ronald Rice alongside her attorney, Roger Bauer.
Schaffer pleaded not guilty to one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, nine counts of money laundering, and one count of promoting prostitution. Her bond was set at $50,000, with her passport forfeited, according to the Trumbull County Prosecutor's Office.
The indictment names Schaffer among eight defendants charged with 83 felony counts for operating Warren's Tiger Spa and Sunny Spa on West Market Street. The Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, under the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission, conducted "Operation Saving Daylight." In March 2023, search warrants yielded cash, financial records, and evidence of Korean women coerced into prostitution and forced to live on-site, per Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.
Seven other individuals have been arraigned in connection with the case, facing a combined 83 felony counts. They include:
• Tae Suk Hwang, 62, of Saginaw, Michigan, arraigned May 15 on 74 counts, including human trafficking, money laundering, and promoting prostitution. Bond set at $50,000.
• Dong Meliodon, 62, of Duluth, Georgia, arraigned May 8 on 41 counts, including money laundering and promoting prostitution. Bond set at $100,000.
• Suk Hui Starr, 62, of Fort Worth, Texas, arraigned on 15 on charges including money laundering and promoting prostitution.
• Chang Mi Hwang, 59, of Duluth, Georgia, arraigned May 8 on charges including pattern of corrupt activity and promoting prostitution. Bond is set at $100,000.
• Young Hee Yoon, 56, of Warren, arraigned May 8 on charges including promoting prostitution. Bond is set at $50,000.
• Kum Cha Shugars, 75, of Dallas, Texas, arraigned May 8 on charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and promoting prostitution. Bond set at $100,000.
• Young Sug Kim, 61, of New Waterford, Ohio, arraigned June 24 on charges including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and promoting in prostitution Bond set at $50,000.
All defendants face allegations of running a network that coerced Korean women into prostitution, per Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.