City seeks shuttering of Barrio Logan massage parlor allegedly offering prostitution - San Diego Union-Tribune

[Christian Martinez]

The San Diego City Attorney’s Office is seeking to shut down a Barrio Logan massage parlor accused of engaging in prostitution.

City Attorney Heather Ferbert on Friday filed for an injunction against Green Massage, its owners and operators and Harbor Point Associates, which owns the strip mall where the parlor is located — on Main Street west of 32nd Street, just outside of Naval Base San Diego. The complaint alleged that the parlor was a hub for prostitution whose clients included Navy service members.

The city attorney is seeking the closure of the parlor and fines of $2,500 per violation, per day of the Red Light Abatement Law, public nuisance violations and unfair business practices.

“This case isn’t just about shutting down an illegal business, it’s about protecting vulnerable people from harm and exploitation,” Ferbert said in a statement.

Nicholas Carter, special agent in charge of the NCIS Southwest Field Office, said the business “has posed a threat to the safety and welfare of U.S. Navy personnel.”

An attempt to reach Green Massage by phone Friday was unsuccessful.

The parlor has been under investigation by the San Diego Police Department and the Navy Criminal Investigative Service since 2022, with the agencies receiving complaints about activities at the location.

“In investigating these complaints, NCIS personnel conducted surveillance operations at the Green Massage Spa and observed multiple males, believed to be active-duty military service members, entering and exiting the establishment within brief intervals,” Ferbert stated in the complaint filed in San Diego County Superior Court.

San Diego police and NCIS undercover officers performed multiple sting operations at the parlor between 2022 and 2024 during which officers posed as customers and were allegedly offered sex acts in exchange for money by employees.

The operations led to multiple arrests and citations, but in one instance, the employee ran out of the parlor through a back door and was not located.

Investigators also found advertisements, reviews and other postings about the parlor online and found indications that people had been residing at the parlor, including beds, cooking and kitchen supplies, according to the complaint.

In March 2023, the City Attorney’s Office sent Harbor Point and the parlor demand letters to cease the activities at the locations. Both Harbor Point and one of the parlor’s owners, Zi L Guan, both said that they had received the letters, the complaint said.

In an emailed response to the City Attorney’s Office, Guan apologized “for the prostitution activity occurring on the premises.”

“Guan indicated that he would eliminate the prostitution activity by taking charge of the business’s daily operations, hiring licensed workers, and training employees,” according to the complaint.

After that, in October 2023, San Diego police and NCIS conducted a sting operation during which “the female employee made a gesture which the officer interpreted as an offer to engage in sexual activity.”

“This type of business has no place in our neighborhoods,” San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl said in a statement.

Originally Published: April 26, 2025 at 7:00 AM PDT