NRCC blankets Ron Kind’s district with billboards highlighting massage parlor scandal
The National Republican Congressional Committee today launched five billboards in La Crosse, WI highlighting Ron Kind’s recent massage parlor scandal.
Here is a photo of the billboard design:
NRCC Comment: “Wisconsin voters deserve to know Ron Kind made tens of thousands of dollars from a massage parlor that advertised on human trafficking websites. Kind needs to come clean on what he knew and when about his tenant’s ties to illicit activity.” – NRCC Spokesman Mike Berg
Background
Fox News: “A U.S. congressman from Wisconsin made thousands of dollars by renting a property to a massage parlor that advertised on websites that list spas where people can pay for sex, Fox News has learned. Rep. Ron Kind, a Democrat, disclosed between $15,001 and $50,000 in rental income from a building he rented in La Crosse in 2018 and 2019. He has yet to file his 2020 financial report.” (Fox News)
The agent for the massage parlor in Ron Kind’s building ran a Minnesota massage parlor where a masseuse was arrested for prostitution. “Asian Sunny Massage’s articles of organization show that Jie Yang is the current registered agent of the Wisconsin parlor. Jie’s listed Minnesota address in the form is the same address that is shown in Florida state documents for Chunyan Yang, who appears to be her mother and is the former registered agent of Impression Spa prior to its name change to Asian Sunny Massage. Impression Spa’s ads are still posted online at BodyRubsMaps. Public records show that Chunyan ran a massage parlor in Plymouth, Minn., where a masseuse was arrested for prostitution in 2017 — one year prior to opening the parlor in the space the company rents from Kind.” (Fox News)
The massage parlor in Kind’s building advertised on websites known for promoting sex work. “Posts on the salon’s Facebook page, which still uses the name Impression Spa, show screenshots from apparent advertisements the spa has made on websites known for promoting sex work. Several posts show a screenshot of an advertisement for the salon on AssortList using photos of Asian women, a site similar to Craigslist that has an ‘adult’ category that lists escorts, body rubs, “adult jobs” and more. The salon is also promoted on other illicit sites. One advertisement promoted the grand opening of the salon on April 18, 2018 on BodyRubsMaps, a site that self-describes itself as “the best alternative” to Backpage, a former website that was seized by the federal government in 2018 for serving as a marketplace for buying and selling sex. The salon is also featured on RubMaps, which USA Today described as ‘Yelp for sex spas.’” (La Crosse Tribune)