photo by: Nick Gerik

Serenity Health Spa, 2201 W 25th St., Suite M, is pictured Tuesday, June 5, 2018.

A woman who owned two Lawrence massage parlors has admitted that she ran a prostitution business at the locations, federal officials have announced.

Weiling Nielsen, 54, pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Stephen McAllister said in a news release. Nielsen operated Naima Asian Massage and Serenity Health Spa, both in Lawrence, as well as Jasmine Massage in Topeka.

Nielsen advertised sexual services on the internet and, along with her husband, deposited cash in bank accounts and purchased money orders for deposit in bank accounts in California, McAllister said in the release.

Nielsen has agreed to pay $650,000, which represents the proceeds from the prostitution business, as part of her plea agreement, McAllister said.

Sentencing is scheduled for May 15, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office is recommending three years of federal probation for the crime, McAllister said.

Nielsen and her husband, Erik Nielsen, operated Naima Asian Massage from 2010 to 2015 and Serenity Health Spa from 2015 until being indicted, according to the Journal-World’s previous reporting on the indictment, which was unsealed in June 2018.

The couple were originally charged with two counts of conspiracy, two counts of bank fraud, five counts of money laundering, and one count of racketeering all stemming from the unlawful prostitution activity. Tuesday’s release did not mention the status of the case against Erik Nielsen.

According to the indictment, the couple allegedly bought and sold California properties worth millions of dollars while falsely representing their occupations to lenders.

On loan applications they said they were managers of a restaurant in Lawrence — indicating on one application that they made a combined $14,000 per month from the restaurant — but the phone number they listed for the restaurant was actually the number for the illegal massage parlor in Topeka, the indictment said. Kansas Department of Revenue records for the restaurant, which wasn’t named in the indictment, didn’t report either of them earning wages there.

Serenity Health Spa was located at 2201 W. 25th St., suite M. An address was not listed for Naima Asian Massage.