Kansas man sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for attempting to organize massage parlor prostitution front

WICHITA, Kan. — A central Kansas man was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison for his role in setting up what he believed was a massage parlor intended for use as a prostitution front business.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Wichita Police Department.

In April, a federal jury convicted Kay Tee, 51, of Wichita, on one count of attempting to entice a person to cross state lines to engage in prostitution, one count of using a telephone in furtherance of prostitution, and one count of money laundering.

Court records show that Tee was arrested May 28, 2015, at the Wichita airport when he drove there to pick up a person he believed was buying a Wichita massage parlor that was a front for prostitution. In fact, the person Tee had talked with several times on the phone was one of two undercover informants working with federal investigators. In recorded conversations, Tee identified the extent of sexual services various parlors were performing and explained how he had helped other individuals establish parlors in Wichita.

Tee tried to collect fees from both undercover informants — one posing as a buyer and the other as a seller — in return for helping to arrange the sale. He also offered to provide additional services in exchange for additional compensation, including advertising on Backpage.com, filing city paperwork, and doing taxes for the massage parlor. Examples of Tee’s ads on Backpage.com were presented at trial.