Permanent Injunction, $700,000 in penalties against massage business owner - WOAI

[mnews]

Beaumont — The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation says it has obtained a permanent injunction, $680,000 in civil penalties and more than $20,000 in fees and court costs against the owner of nine Houston and Beaumont massage establishments suspected of engaging in human trafficking, permanently barring Hsin Wei Chen, aka Andy Chen, from owning, operating, managing or working in any massage establishment in Texas.

Any unpaid part of the judgment will accrue additional penalties of 8.5 percent interest compounded annually.

The injunction against Hsin Wei Chen, aka Andy Chen, or Andrew Chen was granted by 201st State District Court Judge Jan Soifer in Austin on September, according to TDLR. Chen owned several massage establishments in Houston and Beaumont that had been ordered closed in a May 30 emergency order and an August 14 temporary injunction after TDLR investigators found indications that human trafficking could be occurring in them.

“When a licensee signs an agreed order to stop working in Texas after being accused of possible human trafficking, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation will hold them to their agreement. Anyone who violates an emergency closure order or a temporary or permanent injunction should expect serious consequences for their actions,” said TDLR Executive Director Courtney Arbour.

The injunction arose out of a May 30 emergency closure order against one of Chen’s establishments. TDLR inspectors had found several indicators of possible human trafficking, including people living in the establishment, incomplete client consultation documents and unlicensed massage therapists. Chen had a previous enforcement case with TDLR involving similar conduct.

TDLR was assisted in the court case by the Administrative Law Division of the Office of the Attorney General.

The original emergency closure order issued in May 2024 against Chen and his establishments was the first emergency closure ordered by TDLR under authority granted by House Bill 3579, authored by Rep. Ben Bumgarner and sponsored by Sen. Phil King, and passed by the 88th Texas Legislature. Under the law, which went into effect on Sept. 1, 2023, TDLR’s executive director can issue an emergency order halting the operation of any massage establishment if law enforcement or TDLR believes human trafficking is occurring at the establishment.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring can contact the National Hotline for Human Trafficking at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733). If the situation is an emergency or you believe someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and alert the authorities.

You can also file a complaint on a TDLR-regulated business that you suspect may be participating in human trafficking.