A Singaporean woman residing in the United States has been added to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) “worst of worst criminal aliens” list following her conviction for running a prostitution ring masked as legitimate massage parlors. Jing Emtage, 54, was arrested in May 2023 alongside her husband, Gerald Emtage, 49, after a multi-year investigation that began in 2021.
Jing Emtage is currently detained at the Northwest Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing center in Washington. The investigation led to the closure of nine massage parlors operated by the couple and the rescue of 23 women who had been trafficked and coerced into providing sexual services.
On July 25, 2025, Jing Emtage was sentenced to two years and two months in prison on seven counts of promoting prostitution in the second degree. Her husband received a 38-month prison sentence for the same charges. Both were also handed concurrent 12-month sentences for money laundering offenses.
Court documents reveal that the couple initially operated legitimate massage therapy businesses. According to a sentencing memorandum submitted on behalf of Jing Emtage, the pair faced financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which allegedly led them to engage in illegal activities. However, prosecutors described a contrasting narrative, alleging that the couple generated substantial profits by exploiting dozens of women who were held at the parlors. Authorities noted that the Emtages lived in a property valued at over US$1 million while no documented wages were paid to the women working under duress. At their time of arrest, law enforcement officials seized more than US$600,000 in cash.
Jing Emtage relocated to the United States in January 2018 after operating a massage therapy business in Singapore. She reportedly met Gerald Emtage and married him in 2019, according to the defense memorandum.
The Seattle branch of ICE confirmed in August via social media that Jing Emtage is awaiting deportation proceedings.
The DHS’s “worst of worst criminal aliens” list, launched in December 2025, currently includes 46,275 individuals and catalogs convicted “criminal illegal aliens” arrested during President Donald Trump’s second term. Jing Emtage is the third Singaporean to be placed on the list. The first was Amos Yee, who was deported to Singapore in March after serving a prison sentence in the U.S. for child pornography and sexual grooming offenses. Earlier this year, a second Singaporean, Lim Seok Pheng, was added for suspected money laundering; Lim later cooperated with authorities by providing information about associates involved.