Reports and online reviews raise concerns about illicit activity

by Phil Dodd  and  Cassandra Hemenway, courtesy the Montpelier Bridge

Two massage parlors that reportedly offer or have offered sexual services to male customers have been operating in Montpelier, one as a “spa” for the past six months and the other as a “bodywork” shop since 2015. But they may not be in business for long, and one may have already closed.

The newer massage parlor, Hawaiian Spa on Langdon Street, opened in August 2025 but appeared to be closed by early March, with doors locked and lights off. The other, Kang Yuan Bodywork on the Barre-Montpelier Road, will not be renewing its lease, according to one of its landlords.

Massage parlors that offer sexual services, often employing women who may be trafficked, are common in Vermont and across the country, according to the Vermont State Police. The Legislature is working on a bill that could make it more difficult for illicit massage parlors to operate in Vermont (see story on page 14). 

Illicit massage parlors may violate Vermont laws against prostitution, “lewd and lascivious conduct,” and human trafficking, according to Lt. Michael Studin, human trafficking coordinator for the Vermont State Police. The city of Montpelier joined most other municipalities in Vermont when it repealed its local ordinance against prostitution in August 2022, in part because it duplicated state law. 

Reporters for The Bridge had a hard time finding a phone number for Hawaiian Spa, and, as of press time, it did not have a website. An online search for the spa found a six-month-old (and now-deleted) Reddit thread with comments indicating sexual services were offered. The only place where The Bridge found a phone number associated with Hawaiian Spa is on a website called Rubmaps.ch — an online source for reviews of illicit massage and escort services. 

Both Hawaiian Spa and Kang Yuan Bodywork on Route 302 have multiple reviews on Rubmaps. Those reviews feature graphic details of sexual encounters at local spas and include information about workers’ ethnicity, age, and body size; types of sexual services offered; if there is room to park a semi-truck; fees; tips; and more. The Bridge has been unable to verify the authenticity of the reviews. 

The Bridge learned of three individuals (including one of Montpelier’s former acting city managers) who said they had reported alleged illicit activity at the Hawaiian Spa to the Montpelier Police Department. Police chief Eric Nordenson declined to comment when asked about it via phone messages and email. 

The Bridge made a public records request to see any reports to the police about both Hawaiian Spa and Kang Yuan. Nordenson denied the Hawaiian Spa records request, writing in an email to The Bridge: “Exempt from inspection Title 1 VSA 317 (5)(A),” citing an exemption in Vermont’s Public Records Act that refers to “records dealing with the detection and investigation of a crime.” 

Nordenson closed the Kang Yuan record request, writing “No records exist with the name Kang Yuan Bodywork at 384 River Street.”

Hawaiian Spa

Hawaiian Spa opened in the summer of 2025 at 20 Langdon Street and since then has had seven Rubmaps reviews, although one does not mention sexual services, and two appear to be fake based on The Bridge’s analysis. In the time since The Bridge started researching and reporting on the spa (starting in January), it may have closed. The Bridge investigated this apparent closure. Reporters called the phone number available on Rubmaps to no response and visited the Langdon Street location on several occasions, each at different times of the day, to find the door locked. Rubmaps has posted a “Closed” notice for the spa on its website, as well.

Juan Zhang, who is listed as the Hawaiian Spa zoning permit holder with the city of Montpelier, texted The Bridge in February that “there is absolutely no illegal activity in the store!” and “The claim that Rubmaps advertisers are trying to solicit business is pure nonsense! … The store is currently losing money every day because it just opened!”

Zhang told The Bridge that Hawaiian Spa only offered deep tissue, head, and foot massages. And in mid-February, Zhang also texted: “Our new store is currently in its soft opening phase. I will update all the services and prices in time.”

Zhang did not respond to a request to meet in person for an interview, nor to meet at the spa. 

Kang Yuan

Kang Yuan has 31 Rubmaps reviews dating back to 2015, all of them describing sexual services.

The Bridge worked with a private investigation firm to independently investigate allegations concerning Kang Yuan and Hawaiian Spa. Investigators were unable to book massages with Hawaiian Spa as it was closed, locked, and nobody answered the phone number (found on Rubmaps) there. 

One investigator got a walk-in appointment at Kang Yuan in early March. The investigator reported that he paid $50 for a 30-minute massage. However, he wrote in a report to The Bridge, “It did not seem like the woman was professionally trained and I noticed no benefits from the massage. After about 15 minutes, she began tickling my back with her nails. She then asked if I wanted “service.” I picked my head up and looked at her, at which point she repeated the question with a very clear handjob gesture. I said ‘no thank you,’ and she said I was a ‘good boy’ and asked if I had a girlfriend.”

The Bridge called Kang Yuan in February to interview one of its managers, but the person answering the phone said she did not speak English but did speak Mandarin. The Bridge attempted to find a Mandarin translator but was unsuccessful.

Steve Ribolini is one of the owners of the building where Kang Yuan is located. Ribolini said he was unaware of the Rubmaps reviews. Responding via email on Feb. 10, he stated “We have been in communication with our legal team for advice on the next steps.” 

On Feb. 24, Ribolini emailed The Bridge “My tenant called and she is not going to continue to lease on the Barre Road.” He did not say when Kang Yuan would be leaving.

Kang Yuan Bodywork is listed on the Vermont Secretary of State’s website with an “expiration pending” notice. The registrant named for Kang Yuan is Shu-Kang Bodywork, LLC, with Haiying Wang listed as the principal owner and Shijie Wei as the agent. The Bridge was unable to find contact information for Wang and Wei.

According to filings with the Vermont Secretary of State, the registered agent on file for Shu-Kang Bodywork is Lenny Noble Roya, located at 163 Barre Street in Montpelier, and the company’s leadership includes Randy R. Potter, who serves as manager and Wei Yan, who serves as member (owner).

The Bridge was unable to obtain contact information for Yan, but emailed Roya and Potter about Shu-Kang. They did not respond as of press time.

Reviews

Rubmaps.ch lists massage parlors across the country and posts customer reviews of them that can be read by anyone willing to pay $49 a month. According to the Vermont State Police, several other websites offer similar information.

Rubmaps reviews feature a form that asks customers to describe the experience, including the name of the masseuse, ethnicity, age, height, eye and hair color, breast size, and “ass.” The form also asks which sexual services were offered or delivered, and it includes a list of crudely worded phrases for sex acts. 

Most also describe the sexual experience they said they had, amount paid, and provide a personal review of the masseuse, who often — according to about 40 reviews read by reporters for The Bridge — does not speak much, if any, English. 

Rubmaps reviews for Montpelier’s Kang Yuan date back to 2015, while the reviews of Montpelier’s Hawaiian Spa, which opened at the end of last summer, start in October 2025. Many describe receiving a handjob, or a “happy ending.” Only one does not describe a specific sexual act, but praises the massage.

Trafficking and Illicit Massage

Other Vermont massage parlors deliver a full array of sexual services, according to Rubmaps reviews. They typically employ Chinese or Korean women who may have been trafficked, according to Lt. Michael Studin. 

Several purportedly illicit massage parlors in Vermont have been raided by law enforcement over the years. One example includes Rainbow Therapeutic Wellness in Brattleboro, which was raided by the Vermont State Police in 2022. One person there was charged with profiting from prostitution, according to reporting in VTDigger, and human trafficking was suspected. The charges were ultimately dismissed, according to a report in the Brattleboro Reformer, and the spa re-opened shortly after being shut down, according to Studin. He says the police need more legal tools to go after illicit massage establishments.

“Human trafficking is a serious and heart-rending issue for society and, if proven true, poses legal and moral obligations. For the workers, the absence of legal status forces them into an intolerable servitude, probably unforeseen, and the violation of human rights,” noted Noriko Matsumoto, PhD, a senior lecturer at the UVM Department of Sociology, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies, in an email to The Bridge.

Not a New Story

In 2013, Seven Days ran a series of articles about illicit massage parlors in Chittenden County. For one story, a reporter patronised four massage parlors and was offered sexual services by Korean women in three of them.

“It wasn’t necessary to ask, hint, flash a fifty or even nod suggestively toward my crotch,” the reporter wrote. “It was just assumed that my massage would close with the proverbial happy ending.” The reporter declined the sexual services, which he said “caused confusion, embarrassment, and, judging from the looks on the women’s faces, fear.”

The June 5, 2013 article cited a nonprofit organization concerned about trafficking, the Polaris Project, that said at the time there were as many as 4,000 brothels in the U.S. “disguising themselves as legitimate spas and massage parlors.”

“[T]he women, who are predominantly Asian, are expected to work from 10 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week,” Seven Days reported. “It’s not uncommon for one woman to service six to 10 men a day. Surveillance cameras are used not only to keep an eye on the customers but also on the women, to prevent them from fleeing.”

Citing the Polaris Project, the article reported “fake massage businesses control women through many means, including psychological abuse, threats, document confiscation, isolation, debt bondage, or capitalizing on language barriers or the unfamiliarity of the women to their immediate surroundings. Physical abuse and violence may also be present.”

Downtown Merchants 

Kang Yuan, in a nondescript building across U.S. Route 302 from the Wayside Restaurant, may have been largely unnoticed by many Montpelier residents. By contrast, the Hawaiian Spa is located in a prime downtown location and nearby merchants have wondered about the business, which has sometimes kept its curtains drawn. They have a group text about it, according to one shop owner.

The possibility that illegal activity might be occurring at the Hawaiian Spa became known among merchants after city resident Andrew Brewer received an anonymous voicemail. Brewer is the former owner of the building where the spa is located, and he was called by someone who thought he still owned it. He shared a transcript of the voicemail with The Bridge.

“The Asian massage parlor you have in there is doing sex work,” the message said. “… they offer you a cheap massage, and then, more or less, intimidate you if you are not willing to tip them or pay them for sex.” The person who left the message also said he would be contacting the police.

Brewer emailed a transcript of the voicemail to his city councilors Nov. 5, 2025, one of whom forwarded it to Acting City Manager Kelly Murphy. She forwarded it to the Montpelier Police Department the same day, according to emails shared by Brewer.

Bobbie Roehm of the Roam store on Langdon Street is not a fan of the spa. “Our street is for shopping,” she said. “This does not fit in and it is kind of seedy.”

Roehm noted she has “zero idea” of what actually happens in the spa, “but I feel if it is not legal, or there is trafficking, that bothers me.” She said when the spa first opened, she tried to talk to one of the women there, but “she did not speak English and she looked frightened.”

Jeff Thomson owns The Getup Vintage VT clothing store directly across the street from the Hawaiian Spa. “During the work day hours, no women ever come or go from the front door and it is kept locked,” he said. “I have only ever seen men knock on the front door … they often have sunglasses, hoods, or hats — incognito fashion.”

“If there is sex work happening in the spa and it is consensual, then I do not have a moral objection to the spa,” Thomson added. “However, I do believe that the city and state should step in and verify that workers are not being mistreated or coerced.”

Another Langdon Street merchant who asked to speak off the record said “everyone in town knows what is going on there: the cops, city hall, the merchants, and the landlords, but no one has done anything about it.” He said the spa is bad for Langdon Street and it makes the neighborhood unsafe for people like his young daughter.

City Permits

The Hawaiian Spa applied for zoning and building permits a little over a year ago. A handwritten note on one of the applications said the business would be a “spa and bubble tea/café.”

Communications with the city were handled by Kevin Towne, but the permit applicant is named as Juan Zhang of Burlington. The Bridge spoke to Towne, who said his friend, Zhang, is the actual applicant, but because she didn’t speak English fluently, he communicated with the city. 

Secretary of State records show that Zhang is president of Yiren Spa, Inc., and member/owner of Yiren Spa, LLC, in Colchester, which also has reviews of sexual services on Rubmaps. In a text exchange with Zhang, she did not mention or discuss Yiren Spa.

The city lost the permit paperwork for Kang Yuan during the 2023 flood, according to the city staff. 

The Landlords

The Bridge reached out to the landlords of these massage parlors to ask what they knew about them and to point them to the reviews The Bridge found online.

The building where Kang Yuan is located, 384 River Street, also houses the AAA office. The building is owned by “81 River Street Associates,” which the Vermont Secretary of State shows is a partnership of Mary Hood, Peter Hood, Alan Lendway, and Steve Ribolini. The Bridge only communicated with Ribolini, who said he was in touch with the other partners about the situation.

The building that houses the Hawaiian Spa is owned by Langdon Street Apts, LLC. The principals in that business are Lucky Boardman and Gabe Lajeunesse. Lajeunesse told The Bridge the pair had “heard things,” but had no direct knowledge of illegal activities. Boardman did not return phone messages.

After The Bridge emailed him Rubmaps reviews of the spa, Lajeunesse replied that he had shared that information with Boardman and added:

“I spoke to Officer Miller at Montpelier PD, and he requested that any information regarding criminal allegations be reported directly to the Police Department … As landlords we have legal responsibilities to both the community and our tenant and must rely on due process of our legal system. We encourage anyone with knowledge of anything illicit to cooperate with the police, as will we.”

Rubmaps and Human Trafficking

Rubmaps.ch has an Anti-Trafficking policy, in which it offers resources (most of which rely on U.S. government websites that have since been changed or removed) about how to identify a victim of trafficking and where to report suspected trafficking.

The policy, in part, states “In the event we become aware of any incident of trafficking, we take swift internal action and cooperate enthusiastically with state and federal law enforcement officials assigned to combating this vile abuse of human rights.”

Learn more about human trafficking:

• Polaris Project – Report human trafficking: 888-373-7888
• Operation Underground Railroad
• To report suspected trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-888-373-7888, or dial 911.
• In Vermont, contact Vermont State Police Lt. Michael Studin, 802-722-4600.