LOCKPORT, N.Y. — The federal raid of a Lockport spa business — reported exclusively Tuesday by 2 On Your Side — is related to a six-month criminal investigation into prostitution and commercial sex acts that allegedly occurred at the South Transit Road business.
Papers filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday revealed the FBI and Niagara County Sheriff’s Office investigation targeted Linian Song, the operator of New Elegant Shiatsu Spa at 5714 S. Transit Rd.
Federal agents arrested Song, who had her first appearance in federal court Wednesday, on an interstate racketeering charge. Prosecutors allege that Song was a key figure in a prostitution scheme stretching from Rochester to Buffalo with links to China.
Niagara County Sheriff’s deputies began investigating the spa after receiving complaints of prostitution in September 2023, according to papers filed in federal court. They said their investigation revealed that New Elegant Shiatsu was operating as an “illicit massage business.”
“Investigators conducted surveillance of New Elegant Shiatsu and conducted several interviews of customers,” the criminal complaint stated. “Multiple customers indicated to NCSO Investigators that each paid cash for a massage, and at the end of the massage, the spa employee performed a sexual act on the customer.”
Police stepped up their investigation by going through Song’s trash when she threw garbage bags into a dumpster and by tracking her Toyota RAV4 as it traveled between the Lockport spa and another business – S Wellness Spa on S. Clinton Avenue in Rochester – they say was also operated by Song.
Prosecutors say a phone number associated with the Lockport business and registered to Song traced back to several escort websites. 2 On Your Side confirmed that the phone number was used on advertisements depicting young women in suggestive positions.
“The advertisements associated with these phone numbers reference sexual services or coded language that I know based on my training and experience to be associated with sex acts,” FBI Special Agent Justis Nelson wrote in an affidavit.
GPS tracking on Song’s vehicle also revealed that she picked up an “unidentified female” at Buffalo Niagara International Airport in December 2023 and also made trips to businesses in New York City on days that new employees began work.
In late February, Niagara County sheriff’s deputies made a made a traffic stop of Song’s Toyota and one of the employees provided “a driver’s license issued by the People’s Republic of China.”
Immigration records showed that both women in the vehicle were Chinese citizens who illegally entered the United States through Mexico in 2023, according to the complaint. They were stopped by border patrol agents in San Diego, Calif., and were issued notices to appear in court for unlawful entry.
Song is being held pending a hearing later this week. She has been assigned a federal public defender for her appearance, court records stated.
According to the feds, Song did not have a license to practice massage in New York State.
2 On Your Side reached out to Song's public defender, John Morrissey, who declined comment.
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