CARLISLE, Pa. — Cumberland County District Attorney Seán McCormack on Tuesday announced the arrests of more than 20 people concerning a series of recent undercover human trafficking investigations by the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force.
McCormack announced that 22 suspects have been arrested, with at least three more forthcoming.
The most recent arrests were in connection to the investigation of two Carlisle massage spas, which resulted in the arrest of Chuanxia Wang, 69, of Newport, Perry County, manager of Li's Asian Spa and occasional worker at GL's Massage Therapy.
Three more suspects, all from Flushing, NY, have been charged as a result of that investigation, McCormack said, though he has not yet released their identities.
“Unfortunately, human trafficking exists here in Cumberland County and today’s operation is part of our ongoing effort to root out human trafficking and to send a message that Cumberland County is not the place to set up one of these operations," McCormack said. "Cumberland County is 'Closed to Human Trafficking.'”
In addition to the massage spa investigation, dubbed "Operation: Closed2Trafficking," the Task Force is continuing an operation known as "Impact Demand," which is designed to target customers of the commercial sex trade.
Across nine iterations of "Operation: Impact Demand," a total of 85 suspects have been arrested, McCormack said.
“The fuel that feeds human trafficking is the money customers pay for commercial sex," McCormack said. "Operation Impact Demand is designed to curtail the supply of money going into the pockets of human traffickers.”
The details of the Task Force's most recent investigations are:
Operation Impact Demand 8
On October 23, the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an undercover prostitution detail in coordination with the Silver Spring Police Department, State Police, and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The following individuals were arrested for Promoting Prostitution as part of that detail:
- Naeem Ahmad, 33, of Camp Hill
- Michael Cassel, 32, of Carlisle
- James Williams, 53, of Millersburg
- Frantz Alteus, 50, of Dickson City, Lackawanna County
- Jeremy Herman, 54, of Mechanicsburg
- David Wholaver, 56, of Plain City, OH
Operation Closed2Trafficking
On November 6, the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force conducted a search warrant at GL Message, located at 1779 W Trindle Rd, Carlisle, in coordination with the PA State Police.
This search warrant was the result of several months of investigation and resulted in one immediate arrest with more arrests forthcoming.
One individual, from Flushing, NY, was arrested for Prostitution as a result of the investigation.
On November 19, the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force, as part of Operation: Closed2Trafficking, conducted a search warrant at Li’s Asian Spa located at 300 E, High St, Carlisle.
This search warrant was the result of several months of investigation and resulted in three immediate arrests with more arrests forthcoming.
Two additional individuals, from Flushing, NY, were arrested for Prostitution as a result of the investigation. Their identities were not released by authorities.
Impact Demand 9
On November 8, the Cumberland County Human Trafficking Task Force conducted an undercover prostitution detail in coordination with the Hampden Township Police Department, State Police, and Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office.
The following individuals were arrested for Promoting Prostitution as part of that detail:
- Travis Walters, 29, of Turbotville, Northumberland County
- Donald Miller, 57, of Dover, York County
- Jeffrey Nguyen, 34, of Harrisburg
- Jason Martin, 42, of South Fork, Cambria County
- Robert Kraft, 33, of Millerstown, Perry County (additionally charged for drug offenses)
- Matthew Peterson, 43, of Danville, Montour County
- Sebastian Klinger, 32, of Bellefonte, Centre County (additionally charged for drug offenses)
- Joseph Biddle, 54, of Tyrone, Blair County
- Robert Campbell, 38, of Harrisburg
- Christopher Striker, 34, of Lancaster
- Timothy Bricker, 62 (no home address listed)
- Juan Perez, 36, of Lansdale, Montgomery County
- Ravi Bastola, 40, of Mechanicsburg
