Justice is on the verge of closing one of America's biggest sexual exploitation cases. A Thai woman pleaded guilty to participating in a large sex trafficking ring in the United States in federal court in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Sumalee Intarathong, also known as Alice Spencer Warren, acted as the "boss" within the organization.
Intarathong was arrested by international security forces in Belgium six years ago and extradited to the United States in 2021. She is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking and one count of conspiracy to engage in money laundering, although there is currently no date for her sentencing. She faces a life sentence and a $750,000 fine, plus possible financial compensation to all of her victims.
The United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Andrew M. Luger, announced that Intarathong's plea concludes a multi-year process:
Today’s guilty plea marks the final conviction in a years-long international sex trafficking prosecution resulting in 37 convictions. Ms. Intarathong, worked directly with others at the highest levels in the organization to victimize hundreds of vulnerable women for her own financial gain.
Jamie Holt, a special agent with the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Bureau of Investigations, welcomed the fact that the culprit will be sentenced by the courts:
I’m proud of the HSI agents and law enforcement partners who helped bring Intarathong to justice. Intarathong’s heinous acts victimized countless individuals and their families. HSI will continue the work necessary to dismantle and destroy these human trafficking organizations while providing care and support to the victims.
This is how the defendant and the organization operated
Judicial investigations indicate that the sex trafficking ring sent women from Bangkok (Thailand) to various cities in the United States to work as prostitutes. Before flying to North America, each of the victims had a "bondage debt" of between $40,000 and $60,000 to settle. As the "boss" of the organization, Intarathong was in charge of organizing the trips and distributing the girls to brothels in the United States.
Through this network, Intarathong and the other defendants committed visa fraud to facilitate the transportation of the victims. The network was able to obtain personal information on each of the women, with was used to extort money from them if they did not comply or ran away.
In addition, court documents show theu laundered large amounts of cash to hide the profits they made.
