A Crown Point couple was sentenced to two years probation each after they admitted they didn’t pay taxes on their massage parlors.
Guan Yu, 47, a man and Wujiao Liu, 48, a woman, both pleaded guilty Friday in court to two counts of failure to remit taxes held in trust, both level 6 felonies. Yu was originally charged in November 2023 with promotion of human trafficking, a Level 4 felony; promoting prostitution, a Level 5 felony, and failure to remit taxes held in trust, a Level 6 felony, according to a nine-page affidavit. Liu was originally charged with the same, plus money laundering, and battery against a public safety official, both Level 6 felonies.
Under the terms of the plea deals, the convictions are entered on their records as a misdemeanor, documents show.
Their case took a new turn earlier this year, when $30,000 allegedly was discovered missing from a storage locker accessible by members of the Winfield Police Department, according to Post-Tribune archives. Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter requested that the Indiana State Police investigate the discrepancy in funds.
An Indiana State Police spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of its investigation.
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Winfield Town Marshal Robert Byrd issued a report in May that stated Frank Martinez, the Civil Forfeiture attorney for the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office, contacted him on April 22 about the location of $97,014.37 in cash and a 2017 Porsche Cayenne that were seized via search warrant in 2023. Those searches led to a criminal case against the couple who owned Jade Massage, 9001 E. 109th Avenue in Winfield, and Relax Massage, 1451 Summit Street in Crown Point.
During the hearing, Deputy Prosecutor Arturo Balcazar said it was a “long road” with “multiple meetings,” including the Indiana Department of Revenue. The tax charges were “most likely” what could actually be proven at trial, he said.
Defense lawyer Mike Woods said there were signs the prosecution couldn’t prove the sex trafficking charges. That was “exacerbated” by “recent developments” with the “primary (police) agency,” he said — alluding to the money that allegedly went missing.
Yu, his client, “did not understand” he needed to pay taxes on the businesses, Woods said, noting “ignorance” was not “a defense.”
Co-counsel Ben Murphy, representing Liu, echoed Woods’ comments, saying there were “obviously evidentiary concerns.”
Liu, speaking through a Mandarin interpreter, on behalf of herself and her “husband,” told the court they were “ignorant” and “tried to consult” on the tax issue, but were not given correct advice.
Judge Gina Jones said she wanted the couple’s “understanding” to not repeat sex trafficking allegations or failure to pay taxes.
“I should not see charges like these (in the future),” she said.
Near the hearing’s end, Woods asked for additional accommodations.
Jones rejected his final request — to allow the couple, who he said are U.S. citizens, to visit relatives in China.
Let’s “wait and see” how they do on probation, the judge told him.