BOSTON – Federal prosecutors announced on Monday that a local Social Security Administration (SSA) employee faces charges for allegedly attempting to persuade a person to cross state lines to engage in prostitution.
The U.S. Department of Justice says it filed charges against Dae Sung Kim, 35, of Auburn, worked for the Social Security Administration (SSA) in Gardner. In March, Kim attended to an in-person visit from a woman that lives out of state and sought Social Security benefits after just losing her job.
Kim directed the woman to an SSA field office near her residence.
The complaint alleges that Kim later called the woman using the phone number he got from SSA’s records. He allegedly told the woman he understood her difficult situation and said that maybe they could “work something out” to benefit them both.
During a call monitored by law enforcement later than month, Kim allegedly made a similar statement before proposing to pay the woman for sex.
In later text messages, prosecutors say that Kim suggested the woman travel to Massachusetts to meet him for sex in a car at a hotel parking lot for $100.
In October, Kim allegedly travelled to that hotel parking lot, where law enforcement waited for him.
The charge of attempting to induce a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000.
Editor’s note: The information provided in this report is based on events as described by the U.S. Department of Justice. The claims within are allegations which may be challenged by the accused in court.
