Three arrested after Iowa City police investigate massage parlors for human trafficking

An Iowa City couple and their son have been arrested after a police investigation into two massage parlors owned by the couple, where police say employees were providing sex acts to clients.

Junping Ren, 56, and Zhenshi Liu, 60, both of Iowa City, are charged with ongoing criminal conduct, money laundering, pimping, pandering for prostitution, and prostitution. Zhenshi Liu is additionally charged with third-degree sexual abuse.

  Buy Photo

Their son, Yang Liu, of Hoover, Alabama, is charged with ongoing criminal conduct and money laundering.

A joint investigation involving the Iowa City Police Department and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation found that between January 2020 and September 2025, Zhenshi Liu and Ren were selling prostitution services out of two massage parlors they owned in Iowa City, according to a news release from the Johnson County Attorney’s Office.

  Buy Photo

Both massage parlors were called Paradise Spa, and were located at 1901 Broadway St., Suite 2, and 805 S. First Ave., Suite 3.

According to criminal complaints, the female employees of the massage parlors told police they worked seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., and they got paid $70 per hour or per massage. Of that money, $40 went to Zhenshi Liu and Ren, and $10 was paid to the business for “room and board.”

The female workers were never seen by investigators outside the businesses in public, the complaint states.

Multiple men were interviewed after leaving the parlors. They admitted to receiving sex acts from the workers, including from Zhenshi Liu and Ren, or reported being offered sex acts for an extra charge during their massage, according to complaints.

Zhenshi Liu also is accused of sexually assaulting a client on May 1, 2025.

Ren and Zhenshi Liu have owned multiple other massage parlors in Iowa, and ads for Ren’s services were found on a website known for female escort services, according to complaints.

The couple also is accused of laundering $2.6 million is cash proceeds from the massage parlors, with help from Yang Liu, who police say laundered $1.5 million through his personal accounts.

The couple mixed cash and check deposits to avoid transaction reporting requirements and made large purchases in cash — including two residential properties, costing $941,342.01 — in order to hide the proceeds of the parlors, complaints state.

All three suspects were arrested Tuesday and Zhenshi Liu and Ren had their first appearances in court Wednesday morning. Zhenshi Liu is being held on a $22,000 cash-only bond, and a no-contact order has been filed on behalf of the victim of the May sexual assault. Ren is being held on a $47,000 cash-only bond. Yang Liu had not yet had his first appearance in court as of Wednesday afternoon.

The Iowa City Police Department and the DCI were assisted in their investigation by the Johnson County Joint Emergency Communication Center, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, police departments in Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, University of Iowa, Coralville and Altoona, and the Wapello County Sheriff's Office, according to the press release.

“Local advocacy agencies were also used to provide assistance and will continue to work with the victims in this investigation,” the release states.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com