Over the past year, Maine has seen a series of high-profile raids on Chinese-run massage parlors suspected of operating as fronts for sex trafficking and forced labor.
These operations, in at least two instances were being run by Chinese illegal aliens, have drawn significant attention from local and federal law enforcement.
From Rockland to Lewiston to Portland, these businesses, often branded as “Asian Massage” or similar, have been linked to organized crime, exploitation of vulnerable immigrants, and systemic coercion.
What follows is a summary of what law enforcement, in some cases with assistance from The Maine Wire, has discovered to date.
“Asian Massage” in Rockland
In Rockland, the Asian Massage parlor at 193 Park Street became the focus of a multi-agency investigation that led to the arrest of Tian “Adam” Tao, a 54-year-old Chinese national, on February 20, 2025.
Tao, charged with sex trafficking, was turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and is now facing deportation to China.
According to ICE, Tao is a citizen of China who entered the U.S. lawfully in 2016, but violated his terms of admission.
ICE said they were contacted to assist in the investigation into the massage parlor by police in Lincoln County in 2023, and developed information allegedly tying Tao to other illicit massage parlors in the area.
The Maine Wire identified Tao as the owner of the “Asian Massage” parlor through state records that showed the parlor was registered under his name as an LLC. Tao also appears to have been the registered agent for other massage locations around the state, including “Nirvana Spa Inc.” in Lewiston.
Rockland Police said in December after a raid at Tao’s parlor that they believed it was tied to New York-based organized crime.
In January, nearly a dozen men were charged with engaging a person for prostitution in connection to the investigation of Tao’s massage parlor.
Wen Xin Spa in Lewiston: Recording Equipment, Condoms, Human Trafficking Victims
In Lewiston, a similar story unfolded at Wen Xin Spa on Sabattus Street when Richard Qiu, a 58-year-old Brooklyn resident, was arrested in Boston on September 6, 2024, after a months-long investigation by Lewiston Police, aided by multiple federal law enforcement agencies.
Qiu faced charges of sex trafficking, forced labor, and criminal forfeiture for operating multiple parlors across Maine, including Xinye Spa in Bath, which was shut down in April 2024 for code violations.
A police raid at the Lewiston spa uncovered video recording equipment, condoms, and over $12,000 in cash, alongside two suspected trafficking victims.
Portland: Coercion and Deceptive Recruitment
In Portland, Changsheng Xiao, a 45-year-old from Flushing, New York, was arrested in April 2024 at his Ping Wellness Center on Forest Avenue.
Charged with aggravated sex trafficking and criminal threatening with a dangerous weapon, Xiao allegedly coerced women into prostitution, including threatening a 66-year-old woman with a gun.
Xiao’s operation appeared to use Chinese-language job boards to recruit women from New York, falsely advertising “formal” massage work with promises of $7,000+ monthly income in postings that include thinly veiled references to sex work.
Xiao also received a $20,705 Paycheck Protection Program loan in 2021, raising questions about how an alleged illicit business exploited federal aid.
A Not-So-“Cozy” Ellsworth Massage Parlor
Most recently, Chinese national who in 2023 was arrested for sexual assault at a massage parlor he owned in Ellsworth was taken into ICE custody on April 12.
Chunze Xu, 65, also listed as a New York resident, is being held at the Cumberland County Jail on an immigration detainer.
It was reported in July 2023 that Xu, owner of “Cozy Massage” at 4 Union St. in Ellsworth, was arrested on charges of unlawful sexual contact with penetration and assault.
The alleged victim, a 23-year-old woman, had reported to police that she had been sexually assaulted while receiving a massage at the parlor.
Maine state business records show that Xu was the registered agent of Union Spa Inc., a massage parlor located at 4 Union St. in Ellsworth.
