Man Accused In 2023 Wenatchee Prostitution Raid Finally Arrested

One of two suspects accused of running a prostitution operation out of a Wenatchee massage parlor is in jail. 

Chelan County prosecutors brought charges against 61-year-old Linhui Yan in February of last year, but he and his wife were nowhere to be found. 

Chelan County Sheriff's chief of special operations Ryan Moody says Yan was finally located Wednesday. 

"Our detectives received a call from a Pierce County deputy saying that they knew the location of Mr. Yan and wanted to confirm that we would be able to transport him back to Chelan County if they were able to place him under arrest," said Moody. “We definitely said we would, so they placed him under arrest and held him” 

Moody said two officers then traveled to Pierce County to bring Yan back to Chelan County. 

He’s currently in Chelan County jail with no bail until his first court appearance. 

Yan is charged with Leading Organized Crime, Money Laundering, and Promoting Prostitution in the Second Degree. 

Moody says there’s a reason Yan was on the run for so long. “To the best of our knowledge, shortly after we served our search warrants at the multiple locations across the state, they fled the country,” Moody said. 

Moody says Yan and his wife likely went back to their home country of China before he returned to the U.S. He said 44-year-old Yan Yang is likely still out of the country. She is charged with the same crimes as Yan. 

The charges were initially brought in February of 2023 after a yearlong investigation by the Columbia River Drug Task Force into Lin Massage in the 400 block of North Mission Street and Angel Spa in the 300 block of North Chelan Street.  

A massage parlor owned by Yan and Yang in Kennewick was also part of the investigation. 

Yan and Yang were living in Tacoma and Yan's license was in Pierce County.  

Detectives said the two parlors in Wenatchee were fronts for prostitution and human trafficking.   

According to court documents, Detectives were given a tip about suspected prostitution at the parlors with at least four different women serving as prostitutes. The filing said sexual favors for money were offered to undercover officers.  

The court documents also say an advertisement with suggestive images and offering sexual services appeared in online searches for the business.  

Yan and Yang filed a lawsuit against Chelan County last May claiming the Drug Task Force improperly seized a passport, cell phones, and checks in addition to at least $134,190 from their numerous bank accounts. The lawsuit remains open. 

More recently, the Washington state Department of Health in January announced the indefinite suspension of the massage therapist license for Yan, saying he failed to respond to its inquiry over felony charges against him.