Chinese National to Stand Trial on Human Trafficking Charges in Michigan

Attorney General Dana Nessel. Office of the Attorney General of Michigan

A 60-year-old female Chinese national will stand trial for allegedly engaging in human trafficking through the operation of multiple Detroit-area massage parlors.

According to a Jan. 7 announcement by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, Huazi Piao was arrested in December 2024 for allegedly conducting “commercial sex operations” in at least two massage parlors in Wayne County.

Nessel said the arrest was the result of an investigation launched last summer into an alleged international human trafficking ring that eventually “led to the liberation of several women from the horrors they endured.”

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security, Michigan State Police, and the St. Clair Shores Police Department, as well as several other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, cooperated with prosecutors from the Michigan Attorney General’s office in carrying out the successful bust and indictment, Nessel said.

Last year, Michigan ranked 12th in the nation for most human trafficking cases, with three reported cases of human trafficking per 100,000 people.

Michigan’s large cities, such as Detroit and Grand Rapids, its extensive state and interstate highway system, vast agricultural land, and many border crossings into Canada make the Great Lakes State an attractive location for human trafficking.

It is estimated that 199,000 instances of human trafficking occur in the United States every year. The vast majority of victims are female, and one in every five victims is believed to be a child.

Children are most often used for begging, sex, and the production of child pornography, as well as other forms of forced labor.

Mississippi leads the nation with almost eight reported instances of human trafficking per 100,000 residents, followed by the District of Columbia with just over six.

Massachusetts had the fewest reported cases with 1.32 per 100,000 residents.

Piao is scheduled to appear in the Third Circuit Court of Wayne County on Jan. 13.

According to a report in the Detroit News, as of Jan. 7, circuit court records did not list an attorney for Piao.

6 Felony Counts

Piao is charged with two counts of keeping a house of prostitution (a five-year felony), one count of accepting earnings from prostitution (a 20-year felony), one count of conducting a criminal enterprise (a 20-year felony), one count of conspiracy to commit a criminal enterprise (a 20-year felony), and one count of money laundering (a 10-year felony).

“Far too many in our communities fall victim to human trafficking and endure trauma that leaves lasting scars,” Nessel said.

A large and growing worldwide criminal industry, human trafficking is a modern form of slavery that exploits men, women, and children by forcing them into domestic servitude, other types of labor, and prostitution for very little, if any, compensation, according to the Michigan Attorney General’s website.

Michele Isbister, board chairperson of Hope Against Trafficking. Courtesy of Michele Isbister

Fostering and then exploiting drug dependency is often used as a means of enforcing control over a victim, as are threats, physical abuse, debt bondage, and deception.

Victims are also often inhibited from seeking help from law enforcement due to an inability to speak English and a lack of immigration documentation.

Though human trafficking had been going on for years in the state, it was not until 2006 that Michigan lawmakers recognized the problem and passed the first law banning the abusive conduct.

Since then, a series of amendments have enhanced restitution for human trafficking victims.

In 2011, changes empowered victims to not only sue for recovery of all actual costs associated with their bondage but enabled them to seek restitution for the value of the years of their lives lost due to the crime.

Safe harbor provisions were added to the existing law in 2014, as well as a standing Human Trafficking Commission within the Department of Attorney General. The statute of limitations in human trafficking cases was also lengthened and a forfeiture provision was added to strip ill-gotten profits from convicted offenders.

Recovery Assistance Lacking

Philanthropic organizations have long bemoaned the lack of safe-haven facilities to shelter victims who escape their captors.

Board President Michele Isbister of the Michigan organization Hope Against Trafficking told The Epoch Times, “There is a significant shortage of safe homes for survivors, leaving many without the stability and support they need to recover.”

According to Isbister, Hope Against Trafficking accepts no state or federal funding. It provides female survivors with a secure two-year residential program that includes counseling, workforce development, financial literacy training, household skills training, and access to other personal care services.