A man who managed the clientele of a high-end Cambridge brothel chain has pleaded guilty

Junmyung Lee, the man accused of screening and arranging clientele for a chain of high-end brothels in Cambridge and Watertown, pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to charges of conspiring to force women into prostitution and money laundering.

Lee, 31, is the second of three people who allegedly ran the brothel chain to plead guilty to the charges. Cambridge resident Han Lee — the alleged ringleader of the operation — admitted his guilt at the end of last month.

A hearing for the third conspirator, James Lee, is expected to take place in December. Three people are not related.

The men are accused of running brothels out of luxury apartments in Massachusetts and Virginia, mostly trafficking in women of Asian descent. The brothels in Cambridge and Watertown allegedly catered to influential clients, including elected officials and professors, although none of the clients have been publicly named.

The Massachusetts Superior Court of Justice ordered in February to end a hearing on suspected clients of a Cambridge brothel. will be public. However, at the beginning of September, the court heard the arguments of the representatives of the alleged sex buyers regarding the appeal against the decision. Generally, probable cause hearings are held in camera unless the case is in the public interest.

During Wednesday’s hearing, federal authorities said they found a cell phone in Chunmyung Lee’s apartment that contained more than 2,800 contacts of people connected to the brothel network. Lee allegedly earned up to $8,000 a month driving and transporting women between apartments for paid sex.

Lee’s sentencing is scheduled for February 12. He was released on his own recognizance but must wear a GPS monitoring device.

—Staff writer Sally E. Edwards can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @sallyedwards04 or in streams @sally_edwards06.

— Staff writer Asher J. Montgomery can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on X @asherjmont or in streams @asher_montgomery.