Twelve suspected clients in a high-profile brothel case and their attorneys were in a Cambridge, Massachusetts, courtroom on Friday, and their identities were revealed. Twenty-eight men are accused of using high-end brothels out of luxury apartments in Cambridge, Watertown and in eastern Virginia. The public hearings are to determine whether there is probable cause to charge the men in the case. A Cambridge police lieutenant presented the court with narratives from investigators’ reports about how the men allegedly arranged and paid for appointments with sex workers. The attorneys were then given a chance to make a statement on their clients’ behalf. Two of the accused men appeared in person alongside their attorneys. In all of the cases called so far, the court magistrate found there was sufficient evidence to proceed with charges of sexual conduct for a fee against the men, and advised that a summons would be issued for a later date. Federal prosecutors say the clients include politicians, corporate executives, military officers, professors and scientists who often paid a monthly membership fee, in addition to $350 to $600 more hourly for prostitution services.Video below: Suspects identified in public hearingsThe men will potentially face misdemeanor charges in state court. They were identified in the court docket as:John J. Doran (Born in 1949)Kerry Hk Wu (Born in 1970)Boya Zhou (Born in 1997)David LaCava (Born in 1978)Mark Zhu (Born in 1996)Jason Zixuan Han (Born in 1995)Peter H. MacGillivray (Born in 1964)Yihong Zou (Born in 1994)Pablo Domingo Zou (Born in 1985)Jonathan P. Lanfear (Born in 1968)Pinhao Chao (Born in 1992)Patrick Walsh (Born in 1958)In 2024, a justice on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court said that the hearings for those accused of being customers should be open, affirming the decision of the clerk-magistrate, and the decision “promotes transparency, accountability and public confidence.”In November, a media attorney explained the significance of the ruling.”Often, these clerk hearings are held in the backrooms of clerk’s offices outside of the public’s ability to view them. This case will be an exception. They’ll be in a courtroom,” attorney Jeffrey Pyle said. There is another hearing next Friday and a third on March 28. About 10 men are expected in each session.The three people accused of operating the brothels have been charged in federal court.In September 2024, Han Lee, the woman accused of running the brothel, pleaded guilty in federal court.Lee and two others were indicted in 2024 on one count of conspiracy to persuade, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of money laundering, according to prosecutors.Junmyung Lee, 31, of Dedham, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in October to one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution and one count of money laundering conspiracy. James Lee, 69, of Torrance, California, was also charged in the case.The brothel operation used websites that falsely claimed to advertise nude models for professional photography, prosecutors allege. The operators rented high-end apartments to use as brothels in Watertown and Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Tysons and Fairfax, Virginia, prosecutors said.

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