Owners accused of running prostitution service out of massage parlors face forfeiture

IOWA CITY — Prosecutors have filed a civil forfeiture on two houses in Iowa and Alabama — valued at nearly $1 million — owned by an Iowa City couple who are accused of providing prostitution services out of their massage parlors.

Both of the properties were bought with cash from illegal proceeds made at two Paradise Spa massage parlors at 1901 Broadway St., Suite 2, and 805 S. First Ave., Suite 3, in Iowa City, according to a forfeiture document unsealed late last month. The businesses made about $2.6 million from January 2020 through September 2025, the document states.

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Owners Junping Ren, 56, and husband Zhenshi Liu, 60, were charged in September with ongoing criminal conduct, money laundering, pimping, pandering for prostitution and prostitution.

Liu also was charged with third-degree sexual abuse, according to a criminal complaint. He is accused of sexually assaulting a client May 1.

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

Ren was charged in December for tampering with a witness. According to a criminal complaint, she tried to influence a witness not to testify against her at trial.

The forfeiture document states Yang Liu and his wife, Nan Jiang, who hasn’t been charged, are listed as the owners for the house in Iowa City and another in Birmingham, but Ren and Zhenshi Liu contributed cash to pay for the properties.

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The house in the 4000 block of Preston Lane in Iowa City, was purchased in September 2023 for $349,000 in cash. No mortgage or loans were obtained to purchase the property.

Ren contributed $30,000, Jiang paid $51,342, and Yang Liu paid $260,000 toward the purchase, according to the document.

Neither Ren nor Zhenshi Liu filed a claim for the property with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office.

The Birmingham house in the 3000 block of Iris Drive was purchased in May for $600,000 in cash, according to the document. No loans or mortgages were obtained.

Ren contributed $378,079, Zhenshi Liu paid $64,000, and $85,000 came from Jiang toward the purchase.

Neither Ren nor Zhenshi Liu filed a claim for the Alabama property with the Johnson County Attorney’s Office.

Both properties received notice of seizure for forfeitures in September and notices were served on Ren, Zhenshi Liu, Yang Liu and Jiang, according to court documents.

Prostitution, money laundering investigation

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 providing prostitution services out of two massage parlors.

According to criminal complaints, the female employees told police they worked seven days a week, more than 12 hours a day and were 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 stated.

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.

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 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 the Iowa City and Birmingham homes — in order to hide the proceeds of the parlors, complaints stated.

In the tampering case, Ren is accused of contacting the victim and his wife, more than once, between Oct. 4 and Dec. 7, attempting to influence their testimony against her. Ren sent text messages, threatening to come to his home. Ren also sent a text stating “There are receipts for the gift you give me.” Another text stated, “The check you gave me is just my money — it’s not money laundering.”

Ren also sent another message — “When police ask you, you have to protect me. You have done nothing wrong. You can say you don’t know anything they ask you,” the complaint stated.

On Dec. 7, Ren showed up at the victim’s church, sat next to his wife and asked her if she knew about the victim’s testimony and his involvement in Ren’s case, in an attempt to influence the victim and his relationship with his wife, court documents stated.

According to the complaint, Ren had been warned on Nov. 25 by police investigators to stop contacting witnesses in the case.

Trish Mehaffey covers state and federal courts for The Gazette

Comments: (319) 398-8318; trish.mehaffey@thegazette.com