Human trafficking suspects Xiu J. Chen (left) and Ronald Keplin (right) in Somerville District Court Tuesday, where they plead not guilty. (Sun photo by Lisa Redmond).

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SOMERVILLE -- After a seven-month probe, investigators seized a total of nearly $400,000 in cash from six massage parlors -- three in the Lowell area -- that were fronts for prostitution and from the two people accused of running them, according to prosecutors.
In Somerville District Court Tuesday, Xiu J. Chen, 32, of Medford, and Ronald Keplin, 57, of Woburn, each pleaded not guilty to charges of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, six counts of deriving support from prostitution and six counts of keeping a house of ill fame.
The human trafficking charges carries a five-year minimum mandatory prison sentence up to a maximum of 20 years in prison.
Attorney General Martha Coakley said authorities would continue to investigate and more charges could be coming.
Judge Neil Walker ordered Chen and Keplin each held on $250,000 cash bail with conditions that they surrender their passports, remain on home confinement, and wear a GPS monitoring bracelet.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for June 13 pending a possible indictment of the pair.
The high bail was ordered despite the defense attorneys for the suspects arguing that after investigators seized money from the businesses and froze their personal bank accounts, the business partners are virtually penniless and unable to post bail.
Defense attorney Cheryl McGilvray asked that Keplin be released on $5,000 to $10,000 cash bail arguing that the Woburn resident lives in apartment
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and supports a 15-year-old daughter. Chen's attorney Jacqueline Ellis asked for personal recognizance for her client, a U.S. citizen, who is married with an 8-year-old son and a 12-year-old daughter.
"She denies she any inappropriate operation of her businesses,'' Ellis said.
But Assistant Attorney General Deb Bercovitz countered by noting that Chen and Keplin wracked up massive profits with an average of 10 woman servicing 10 clients per day in these six massage parlors.
Chen and Keplin could have been in business dating back to 2011, according to Coakley's Office.
The Attorney General's Office named six massage parlors that have been shut down as alleged fronts: Bedford Asian Bodywork, also known as Bedford Wellness Center; Billerica Bodywork, also known as Shrine Spa and the Boston Chinese Club; Body Language in Wilmington; Mystic Health Center in Medford; Body Wellness Center in Reading; and Woburn Wellness Bodywork, also known as Asian Bodywork.
In a press conference at the Wilmington Police Department Monday, Coakley said state police officers assigned to the Attorney General's Office, along with local law enforcement and agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations division, executed search warrants at the six businesses operated by Chen and Keplin.
Chen was arrested in Reading and Keplin in Woburn, both without incident, Coakley said.
Coakley said Chen and Keplin allegedly recruited women from across the Eastern Seaboard to provide sexual services for money.
The pair coordinated recruitment of the women through such sources as Craig's List, advertised sexual services online, set up appointments for the encounters and managed the financial aspects.
The trafficking victims, Coakley said, were in their 20s and 30s. She did not identify where the women were originally from although most appear to be Asian. All appear to be in the country legally, but that investigation is ongoing.
The two also reportedly arranged for overcrowded housing for the women and handled their transportation to the massage parlors.
Coakley declined to comment on where the women had been housed but said they lived in "deplorable conditions" and were "kept and ordered to go and provide sexual services for pay."
During the seven-month investigation, investigators questioned customers who visited the business and learned massage parlors were fronts for prostitution.
According to Coakley's office, several other law-enforcement agencies provided assistance in the months-long operation, including the Middlesex Sheriff's Office, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and police departments from Acton, Burlington and Dracut.