WA suspends license of owner of 4 Tri-Cities massage parlors over felony charges
The massage therapy license of the owner of four Kennewick massage businesses has been indefinitely suspended after he was charged with leading organized crime, money laundering and promoting prostitution.
Linhui Yan, of Pierce County, owns 13 massage clinics in Washington state and was charged with felonies related to Lin Massage in Wenatchee., according to the Washington state Department of Health.
The state took action this summer to suspend his license pending further proceedings and then made the suspension indefinite when he did not contest the action, the Department of Health said in a news release Friday.
State documents show he owns Lin’s Massage businesses on Vista Way and North Volland Street in Kennewick and Angel Massage on Clearwater Avenue. He also had a second Clearwater Avenue business that was raided in March as part of a human trafficking investigation led by the Wenatchee-based Columbia River Drug Task Force.
It was not clear Friday which of his businesses in Kennewick and the rest of the state are currently operating.
Tougher Kennewick massage ordinance
In June the Kennewick City Council approved a new city ordinance that took effect in September to help police investigate and shut down illicit massage business and make prosecution of them easier.
The new regulations are designed to be an efficient way to shut down illicit businesses by giving police more oversight of them, making more than a single initial offense a gross misdemeanor with hefty fines and making owners ineligible to apply for a new city license to reopen.
Service providers must be Washington state Department of Health licensed massage therapists or certified reflexologists, have their licenses displayed at the business and be at least 18.
The ordinance also limits hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Previously several of the businesses operated around the clock with phone numbers posted at doors to allow appointments to be made at any time.
City officials said as the new ordinance was considered that they believed there were 31 possible illicit massage businesses in the Tri-Cities, with 17 of them in Kennewick.
Massage business owner investigated
The Wenatchee-based task force became involved in the investigation that led to felony charges against Lin in August 2022 when the owner of a neighboring business reported a massage parlor on Mission Street appeared to be involved in prostitution.
She told investigators that Yan and his wife, Yan Yang, acted strangely even before the Mission Street location opened. They painted the walls hot pink, covered the windows and weren’t interested in replacing the “filthy” carpet.
The neighbor said Yan showed up to the business a week earlier with enough groceries to feed a family of four.
An advertisement with suggestive images and offering sexual services appeared in online searches for the business, according to court documents.
The business owner and a customer reported hearing what sounded like sex coming from the massage parlor and reported it to the property manager.
Shortly after that conversation, Yan appeared with construction equipment and apparently soundproofed the wall adjoining the other business.
