36 Defendants Guilty of Participating in an International Thai Sex Trafficking Ring

Posted on December 13, 2018

WASHINGTON –

A jury convicted five defendants on Wednesday for their roles in operating a massive international sex trafficking organization that was responsible for coercing hundreds of Thai women to engage in commercial sex acts across the United States.

The following defendants were found guilty after a six-week trial:

Michael Morris, 65, of Seal Beach, California

Pawinee Unpradit, 46, of Dallas, Texas

Saowapha Thinram 44, of Hutto, Texas

Thoucharin Ruttanamongkongul, 35, of Chicago Illinois 

Waralee Wanless, 39, of The Colony, Texas

 Thirty-one defendants previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the sex trafficking organization.

“More than two years ago, my office filed the first federal indictment against a criminal organization that relied on the sexual exploitation of women for their own financial gain,” said U.S. Attorney Brian MacDonald.  

“The defendants convicted yesterday participated in a massive yet brutally efficient criminal enterprise that trafficked hundreds of vulnerable Thai women for sexual exploitation and used sophisticated money laundering techniques to conceal and sustain itself,” said Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.  

“Sex trafficking is a horrific crime that seeks to erode the human dignity of victims,” said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband for the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division.  “I want to thank U.S. Attorney Erica H. MacDonald, the District of Minnesota’s Anti-Trafficking Coordination Team, HSI St. Paul, IRS Criminal Investigations, the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service, and other law enforcement and local partners for their hard work on this case which dismantled an extensive transnational trafficking enterprise.  The Department of Justice will bring the full force of the law against perpetrators of sex trafficking crimes.”

“The cruel and illegal actions of the defendants tear at the fabric of our community, causing trauma, fear and anguish both seen and unseen,” said St. Paul Police Chief Axtell.  

As proven at trial, officials maintained that this criminal organization compelled hundreds of women from Bangkok, Thailand, to engage in commercial sex acts in various cities across the United States, including Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Atlanta, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Houston, Dallas, Seattle and Austin.  

Courtesy U.S. Justice Dept

The trafficking victims were often from impoverished backgrounds and spoke little or no English. They were coerced to participate in the criminal scheme through misleading promises of a better life in the United States and the ability to provide money to their families in Thailand, according to officials.

Once in the United States, the victims were sent to houses of prostitution where they were forced to have sex with strangers – every day – for up to 12 hours a day, at times having sex with 10 men a day.  

The victims were isolated from the outside world.  They were not allowed to leave the houses of prostitution unless accompanied by a member of the criminal organization.  The victims moved around the United States between houses of prostitution in multiple cities.  They and their families in Thailand were threatened. 

The organization also engaged in widespread visa fraud to facilitate the international transportation of the victims.  Traffickers assisted the victims in obtaining fraudulent visas and travel documents by funding false bank accounts, creating fictitious backgrounds and occupations, and instructing the victims to enter into fraudulent marriages to increase the likelihood that their visa applications would be approved.  

Traffickers also coached the victims as to what to say during their visa interviews.  While working to obtain visa documents, traffickers gathered personal information from the victims, including the location of the victims’ families in Thailand.  This information was later used to threaten victims who sought to flee the organization in the United States.

The organization dealt primarily in cash and engaged in rampant and sophisticated money laundering in order to promote and conceal illegal profits.

The organization used “funnel accounts” to launder and route cash from cities across the United States to the money launderers in Los Angeles.  

To date, investigators have been able to recover $1.5 million in cash and $15 million in money judgments secured through plea agreements. 

During the extensive investigation, law enforcement traced tens of millions of dollars to the organization.  Indeed, at trial, there was testimony that more than $40 million was sent to Thailand by one money launderer alone.

Defendants:

MICHAEL J. MORRIS, 65

Seal Beach, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Sex trafficking by use of force, fraud, and coercion, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to use a communication facility to promote prostitution, 1 count

PAWINEE UNPRADIT, 46 

Dallas, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to use a communication facility to promote prostitution, 1 count

SAOWAPHA THINRAM, 44 

Hutto, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to use a communication facility to promote prostitution, 1 count

THOUCHARIN RUTTANAMONGKONGUL, 35 

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to use a communication facility to promote prostitution, 1 count

WARALEE WANLESS, 39

The Colony, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to use a communication facility to promote prostitution, 1 count

CHATARAK TAUFFLIEB, 52

San Jose, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PEERACHET THIPBOONNGAM, 58

Los Angeles, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

GREGORY ALLEN KIMMY, 38

Hutto, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

WILAIWAN PHIMKHALEE, 40

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

KANYARAT CHAIWIRAT, 52

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PORNTHEP SUKPRASERT, 42

Huntington Beach, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

MULCHULEE CHALERMSAKULRAT, 41

Huntington Beach, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

BHUNNA WIN, 51

San Diego, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Unlicensed money transmitting business, 1 count

NATCHANOK YUVASUTA, 50

Los Angeles, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

NATTAYA LEELARUNGRAYAB, 47

Los Angeles, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PEERASAK GUNTETONG, 61

North Hollywood, CA

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

VEERAPON GHETTALAE, 57

Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

MATTHEW MINTZ, 27

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit alien harboring, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

MOHIT TANDON, 38

Burr Ridge, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

RICHARD ALEXANDER, 53

DeKalb, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit marriage fraud, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

TANAKRON PATRATH, 60

Houston, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PANWAD KHOTPRATOOM, 47

Houston, Texas

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

CHABAPRAI BOONLUEA, 44

Winder, Ga.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

NOPPAWAN LERSLURCHACHAI, 37

Lomita, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Sex trafficking by use of force, fraud, and coercion, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

WATCHARIN LUAMSEEJUN, 48

Unknown

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PANTILA RODPHOKHA, 33

Mount Prospect, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

SOYSUDA SIANGDANG, 34

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

ANDREW FLANIGAN, 53

Winder, Ga.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

TODD VASSEY, 56

Lahanina, Hawaii

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

THI VU, 50

Atlanta, Ga.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

JOHN ZBRACKI, 61

Lakeville, Minn.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

JOHN NG, 41

Cottage Grove, Minn.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to commit transportation to engage in prostitution, 1 count
  • Conspiracy to engage in money laundering, 1 count

PATCHARAPORN SAENGKHAM, 43

Los Angeles, Calif.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to enter the United States by means of misrepresentation and concealment of facts, 1 count

CHANANCHIDA SENASU, 42

Dallas, Tex.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to enter the United States by means of misrepresentation and concealment of facts, 1 count

YADAPORN PANNGOEN, 32

Chicago, Ill.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to enter the United States by means of misrepresentation and concealment of facts, 1 count

CHONTHICHA SOICHAISONG, 38

Austin, Tex.

Convicted:

  • Conspiracy to enter the United States by means of misrepresentation and concealment of facts, 1 count