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From the outside, Relax Day Spa and Camino Massage Therapy presented themselves as massage parlors. However, authorities believe the two Mountain View businesses were actually part of a network of alleged brothels operating across the region.
In early December, local police agencies partnered with the FBI to raid the two storefronts, along with eight other establishments purporting to be massage parlors in cities including Cupertino, San Jose and Gilroy. The bust followed a monthslong investigation into a San Jose family that authorities allege was behind the enterprise.
Police arrested married couple Joseph and Binghua Bresee, who are suspected of being “at the heart of the illegal business,” the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said in a December press release. Officers also arrested Jiabao Huang, Binghua Bresee’s adult son, as well as a woman who prosecutors believe started as a sex worker before moving into a managerial position.
Joseph Bresee now faces 24 felony charges, including tax fraud, conspiracy, pimping and pandering. His wife is facing the same list of charges, as well as two counts of money laundering.
Huang is looking at eight felony charges, including conspiracy, pimping, pandering and tax fraud. The fourth defendant is facing three felony charges: conspiracy, pimping and pandering.
The court case is underway, with the next pre-trial hearing scheduled for early April. The defendants have yet to enter pleas, according to the district attorney’s office.
An attorney for Joseph Bresee told this publication via email that his client intends to “vigorously litigate these ‘allegations.’” Binghua Bresee’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment. Huang’s attorney declined to comment.
Agencies conduct monthslong investigation into ‘brothel network’
The investigation into the alleged brothel network, which is still ongoing, started in June 2025, when a Morgan Hill police officer noticed that one of the defendants had applied to open a massage parlor under a false name, the press release said.
Other agencies got involved, including the FBI and local police departments. Investigators found evidence connecting the Bresees to at least 10 active massage parlors. These businesses were found to be advertising on “well-known commercial sex/escort websites,” according to an investigative report included in court documents. In total, more than 2,400 commercial sex ads were located, the documents said.
By the end of November, a judge had authorized a search warrant for 10 of the businesses associated with the Bresee family, as well as the home of Joseph Bresee, Binghua Bresee and Huang. On Dec. 3, officers from multiple agencies carried out simultaneous searches of those locations, identifying 18 “commercial sex survivors” and five suspected “sex buyers” in the process, according to the investigative report.
Additionally, officers discovered about $62,000 in “bulk cash and cash wrapped in paper and plastic wrap” at the Bresee’s home, as well as $30,000 in cash located in a security deposit box belonging to Huang, according to court documents.
A forensic accountant with the district attorney’s office evaluated the financial records of the defendants and estimated that the Bresees and Huang brought in nearly $4 million in income from 2019 through 2024. Prosecutors note in court documents that due to the large sums of cash found, this figure is “likely a significant underestimate of the total money the Defendants made off their network of illicit businesses.”
Officers placed Joseph Bresee, Binghua Bresee and Huang under arrest and offered resources to the 18 workers who were found, the district attorney’s office said.
In the original Dec. 11 press release, the district attorney’s office wrote that the Bresee family had been operating brothels “that were trafficking dozens of women,” but did not provide details. When the Voice asked for more information, the district attorney’s office said that prosecutors are not currently pursuing human trafficking charges but described the pimping and pandering charges as being related to sexual exploitation.
Deputy District Attorney Monroe Tyler said that in recognition of the “economic, immigration and other coercive dynamics that drive these women into commercial sex work,” the county’s practice is to not charge sex workers.
“However, if the sex workers assume a managerial role that perpetuates this type of exploitation, then in those instances we will pursue charges,” Tyler wrote to the Voice.
In the case of the fourth defendant, Tyler confirmed that the district attorney’s office believes she was a sex worker who eventually became a manager and money courier for the Bresee’s operation.
“This is a common track in the illicit massage brothel industry,” Tyler wrote.
The defendant’s lawyer, Shawn Shahid Salehieh, told the Voice that he expects charges against his client to be dropped, describing her as a victim. As of last week, the district attorney’s office said it was still pursuing charges.
In terms of the five suspected sex buyers, Tyler declined to comment on specifics but said that it is typical for those caught soliciting commercial sex to be cited for a misdemeanor. In the case of first-time offenders, the court will typically allow the defendant to take online classes to get their case dismissed, he added.
The criminal case remains ongoing
Prosecutors sought to have Joseph Breesee, Binghua Bresee and Huang held in jail, Tyler said. However, the judge granted all four defendants supervised release, which means they are not in custody and didn’t have to post bail.
Sam Polverino, the attorney representing Joseph Bresee, stressed that the charges against his client are only allegations.
“Mr. Bresee has no criminal record and [is] in retirement from the car business,” Polverino said in an email. “He has been and continues to be an upstanding member of the community.”
The next hearing in the case is scheduled for April 1, at which point the court is expected to decide whether to approve a temporary order allowing the authorities to freeze the defendants’ assets during the legal proceedings, Tyler said.
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