District Court in Gulfport on federal charges of transporting people across state lines to engage in prostitution, money laundering conspiracy and money laundering to conduct unlawful activity. Hwang, through an interpreter and her attorney, Jim Davis, entered a plea of not guilty to the charges, after which a bond hearing was held.
Assistant U. Grunwald said the FBI enlisted an inside informant in the form of a cab driver who served as a courier for the spa, which operated under the name Spa when the investigation began before later changing to JJ Spa.
The cab driver said he would shuttle women who worked in the spa to and from the airport and also made bank deposits for Hwang and other women who worked there. Grunwald added, however, that investigators don't believe that was all the money which went through the spa.
Other information in Grunwald's testimony included:. Hwang was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. Hwang was the only person at the spa arrested at the time, but Grunwald said Tuesday he understood that state charges had or would soon be filed against Hwang and three others.
During closing arguments of the bond hearing, Williams noted Hwang has "no ties to the community, lives alone, has no family in the United States, no ability to work at this point and has access to cash and other assets, which gives her the ability to leave this jurisdiction.
