Three people have been arrested in connection with operating high-end brothels in Virginia and the Boston area that served an exclusive clientele of elected officials, military officers, government contractors with security clearances and myriad other professionals, according to federal investigators.

Since at least July 2020, prosecutors allege that Han Lee, 41, James Lee, 68, and Junmyung Lee, 30, ran brothels that advertised primarily Asian women under the guise that they were nude models selling their services to professional photographers. The three were charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.

The brothels’ clients, which prosecutors allege could number in the hundreds, also included tech and pharmaceutical executives, doctors, professors, lawyers, scientists and accountants, according to court filings, which did not name any of the alleged clients.

“Pick a profession; they’re probably represented in this case,” said acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua Levy at a news conference Wednesday. “They are the men who fueled this commercial sex ring.”

The clients, an affidavit alleges, paid the defendants as much as $600 to engage in sexual activities with women whose nude or seminude pictures, height, weight and other identifying features were advertised on two purported modeling websites. The women would meet their customers at one of nine locations, where monthly rent was as high as $3,664, according to the affidavit. The brothels were located in Cambridge and Watertown, Mass., and Fairfax and Tysons, Va., the affidavit stated.

The allegations mirror a sex service that for 13 years catered to Washington’s political elite, including a sitting senator. Known as the D.C. Madam, Deborah Jeane Palfrey was convicted of running that operation in 2008.

Records of her ring included the names of 815 clients, and in 2016, Palfrey’s former lawyer said her phone records “could be relevant” to the presidential election. A judge later blocked the release of those records.

Levy’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment about who some of the clients at the alleged brothels in Massachusetts and Virginia might be. The affidavit said authorities were not naming the clients because the investigation is ongoing.

According to the affidavit, both websites said they were not advertising sexual services, though investigators alleged otherwise.

“It is expressly not a site that in any way solicits, encourages, nor sanctions any paid sexual activity,” one website read, adding that the page was “created for entertainment purposes only.”

“This site does not promote a prostitution nor is this advertisement or any content therein an offer for prostitution,” the other read. “Money exchanged is for companionship only and anything beyond that is a choice made between two consenting adults and not contracted for by the site or its creator(s).”

Investigators said the women advertised on the websites were updated frequently, and sometimes cycled between the Virginia and Boston area locations. A number of women were listed as “coming soon” or “open,” indicating they’d be soon arriving at a brothel location, investigators said.

The three who were arrested hid the money they received from their business - hundreds of thousands of dollars - through transfers to peers, personal accounts, businesses and purchasing money orders, according to prosecutors. James Lee received money to travel from California, where he lived, to Massachusetts and Virginia to sign leases to the brothels, sometimes using false identities.

The trio also arranged transport for the women to and from airports, provided groceries to the women and allowed the women to stay the night in the brothels, which authorities allege enticed them to work in the prostitution business.

To make an appointment with a brothel, a prospective client had to go through a verification process that included filling out a form with their name, emails, phone numbers, employers and a reference, court filings alleged. They also had to submit a photo of themselves and credit card information, the filings added.

If approved, they would communicate via text message to book an appointment. Clients would receive a “menu” of options at the brothel, including what women and sexual services were available, court filings stated.

“If you get caught making direct deals with girls, we won’t accept any more appointments,” one text to a customer read, according to the affidavit. “Do not share with other girls.”

From the investigation, which included interviews with roughly 20 alleged clients, prosecutors found that the brothels operated from 10:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day.

Because of the high cost of the rental units, the types of professions the clients had and the price of the services, authorities believe the brothels are high end. Customers were identified through surveillance of the locations, phone records and interviews, according to court filings.

Han Lee, of Cambridge, and Junmyung Lee, of Dedham, Mass., appeared in federal court in Boston Wednesday. James Lee will appear in court at a later date after traveling to Boston from California. The charges the trio face carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison and fines up to $250,000.