Two people on the run for felony charges in Chelan County are suing their would-be captors.
A lawsuit from 60-year-old Linhui Yan and 44-year-old Yan Yang claims the Columbia River Drug Task Force improperly seized almost $135,000 from their bank accounts.
The husband-and-wife team are accused of leading organized crime, money laundering and promoting prostitution.
The couple is linked to two massage parlors in Wenatchee that detectives say are fronts for prostitution and human trafficking. They also own owned massage parlors in Kennewick and Tacoma.
Source: Chelan County Sheriff’s Office. Yan Yang.
Yan Yang.
The task force served search warrants on two Wenatchee parlors: Lin Massage on the 400 block of North Mission Street and Angel Massage on the 300 block of North Chelan Avenue.
A third parlor in Kennewick was also investigated as part of undercover operations.
The joint operation involved the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Wenatchee Police Department, East Wenatchee Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Department, Kennewick Police Department, South Sound Gang Task Force, Department of Corrections, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security.
Yan and Yang claim the Columbia River Drug Task Force through the Chelan County Sheriff’s Office improperly seized a passport, cell phones and checks in addition to at least $134,190 from their numerous bank accounts.
The couples’ lawsuit claims a notice of seizure was not provided to them prior to the process of seizures.
It says the task force took some of the mail from their bank accounts, causing their failure to send correspondence to their banks.
Yan and Yang are seeking the return of all of their property, real or personal, and are demanding the task force show cause of why the properties were seized and why they’re being held.
They’re also seeking “additional discovery” that has not been provided to their attorney.
In addition, they’re asking for compensation for attorney’s fees and court costs.
Law enforcement’s search for Yan and Yang grew cold in late March when the years long investigation by the joint task force failed to locate the couple.