MAHONING COUNTY, Ohio — A ninth defendant has pleaded guilty in connection with a human trafficking sex ring in Ohio.
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Suk Hui Starr, 65, of Fort Worth, Texas, pleaded guilty to three counts of attempted money laundering and one count of possessing criminal tools in the Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, according to an announcement from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene.
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Under the plea agreement, she will forfeit $200,000.
Starr collected rent money from a group of co-defendants who engaged in human trafficking on property that she owned.
Although Starr was not directly involved in trafficking, she knew about the illegal activity and continued to accept rent payments from those responsible.
A sentencing date has yet to be scheduled.
In February, eight defendants pleaded guilty to charges tied to illicit massage parlors.
A case against an additional defendant, Kum Char Shugars, is pending.
The group operated a human trafficking ring that forced women into prostitution at two massage parlors in Warren, Ohio: the Tiger Spa and Sunny Spa.
Indictments filed in 2025 accused the group of confining women at the establishments, forcing them to live on the premises and perform sex acts for money.
The investigation was conducted by the Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Task Force, formed under Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission (OOCIC) and led by the Mahoning County Sheriff’s Office.
In March 2023, the task force and partnering agencies executed search warrants at the businesses as part of “Operation Saving Daylight,” a coordinated crackdown during which investigators seized large amounts of cash, financial assets, and business records.
The cases are being prosecuted by Yost’s Special Prosecutions Section.
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