The owner of a Houston massage establishment, which was shut down by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) in late May due to suspected human trafficking, has consented to permanently close all eight of his massage establishments and to exit the massage industry.

TDLR issued an emergency closure order on May 30 against Hsin Wei Chen and Foot Reflexology Star. This was the first emergency closure executed under the authority of House Bill 3579, authored by Rep. Ben Bumgarner and sponsored by Sen. Phil King, passed by the 88th Texas Legislature.

“This emergency closure and the resulting settlement order should be a signal to human traffickers that we now have the tools to root out these destructive crimes against vulnerable people,” said Courtney Arbour, TDLR executive director. “Multiple teams across TDLR worked together to accomplish this outcome, and we’ll continue to work with our local law enforcement partners to bring these crimes to light and take action.”

Under the new law, effective since September 1, 2023, TDLR’s executive director can issue an emergency order to halt the operation of any massage establishment if law enforcement or TDLR believes human trafficking is occurring.

During a recent inspection, TDLR inspectors found reasonable cause to suspect human trafficking at the establishment located at 10801 Spring Cypress Road, Suite 12. An inspector identified several indicators typically associated with human trafficking in a massage establishment. Chen had a previous enforcement case with TDLR involving similar conduct.

Following the emergency closure order, Chen signed a settlement agreement that revokes his massage therapist license and the licenses of the following massage establishments:

- Foot Reflexology Star, 10801 Spring Cypress Rd., Ste. 12, Houston

- Sunny Foot Massage, 10950 FM 1960 W., Ste. B, Houston

- L&P Massage LLC, 2808 Hwy 6 S., Ste. IA, Houston

- A Massage d/b/a A Reflexology Massage LLC, 2570 I-10 E, Beaumont

- Heavenly Massage LLC d/b/a Heavenly Massage, 12989 Bellaire Blvd, Ste. 7 A, Houston

- Everlasting Bliss d/b/a Heavenly Massage, 12989 Bellaire Blvd, Ste. 7 A, Houston

- Ivy Massage, 1780 N. Major Dr., Beaumont

- Ly Massage, 17802 W. Little York Rd., Ste. D, Houston

The settlement order stipulates that Chen is prohibited from owning or managing a massage establishment or working as a massage therapist or massage therapy instructor in Texas for life. If Chen is found to be owning or operating a massage establishment or working as a massage therapist in Texas, TDLR may impose additional penalties.

Anyone who suspects human trafficking is occurring can contact the National Hotline for Human Trafficking at 1-888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733). In an emergency or if someone is in immediate danger, call 911 and alert the authorities.

Complaints about TDLR-regulated businesses suspected of participating in human trafficking can also be filed.