A former San Diego police officer and three others were charged in an indictment with crimes related to owning and operating five illicit massage businesses in California and Arizona.
Peter Griffin, 78, a former Vice Operations Unit Detective for the San Diego Police Department, was arrested early Thursday morning. Defendants Kyung Sook Hernandez, 58, and Yu Hong Tan, 56, were also taken into custody Thursday and appeared in federal court today. A fourth defendant remains at large.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, the businesses sold commercial sex under the guise of offering therapeutic massage services. Griffin owned and operated the businesses with Kyung Sook Hernandez, Yu Hong Tan, and the fourth defendant at various times between 2013 and August 2022, according to the indictment.
“Their alleged criminal scheme included using cell phones, the internet, and banking channels to register their businesses; advertise commercial sexual services online; employ multiple women to perform commercial sexual services in the businesses; manage the illicit businesses’ finances, and benefit financially from their illegal enterprise,” the U.S. Attorneys office wrote in a statement.
