Woodbury Madam Pleads Guilty

Hyun Ok Yoon Ung of Woodbury, the lead defendant charged in connection with a criminal ring which sold so-called “party packs,” involving cocaine and prostitutes, and laundering the illegal proceeds through front businesses that included a clothing wholesaler, a wig wholesaler, a limousine service and a beauty supply wholesaler, has pleaded guilty to promoting prostitution. A joint undercover investigation by the Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the New York Police Department busted 18 individuals, including Hyun Ok Yoon Ung, in January, at a time when the gang was marketing its services to a high-end clientele coming to the New York metropolitan area for the Super Bowl.
Hyun Ok Yoon Ung was arrested as part of “Operation Out of Bounds,” an 11-month investigation utilizing undercover investigators, physical and electronic surveillance and analysis of business records. The Attorney General’s Organized Crime Task Force and the New York Police Department determined that the defendant and her co-conspirators, targeted wealthy out-of-town customers as prospective clients, especially before and during large events in the tri-state area. For example, just 10 days before this year’s the Super Bowl, a text message was blasted to frequent customers noting that “new sexy & beautiful girls R in town waiting for u.” The criminal ring also promoted its prostitution business with numerous advertisements on the internet and public access television. In addition to selling sex, the ring sold cocaine to the same customers. Transcripts of conversations that were intercepted by electronic surveillance revealed that the ring used various code names for cocaine, including “party,” “powder,” “maek” or “Maekjoo,” a Korean term for beer and “Soojaebi,” a Korean noodle and vegetable soup. Intercepted conversations also revealed that prostitutes would bring cocaine with them to meetings with johns who had ordered the drugs in advance. This is what they referred to as “party.”
Ung, 41, faces a prison term of 1 to 3 years when she is sentenced on Oct. 24. She has also agreed to forfeit more than $700,000 in proceeds from her criminal business. Cases against the other defendants are pending.