Another Defendant Pleads Guilty in Mahoning Valley Human Trafficking Case

(WARREN, Ohio) - A ninth defendant pleaded guilty today in connection with a Mahoning Valley human trafficking sex ring, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and Mahoning County Sheriff Jerry Greene announced.

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 Trumbull County Common Pleas Court. She will forfeit $200,000 under a plea agreement.

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 Cha Shugars, is pending.

The group operated a human trafficking ring that forced women into prostitution at two massage parlors in Warren: the Tiger Spa and Sunny Spa. Indictments filed last year accused the group of confining women at the establishments, forcing them to live on the premises and perform sex acts for money.

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 conducted the investigation. 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.

Yost's Special Prosecutions Section is prosecuting the cases.



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