A 60-year-old Springfield man faces one or more federal felony charges resulting from an FBI investigation of Asian massage parlors and related allegations of human trafficking, prostitution and schemes to gain citizenship benefits for immigrants through sham marriages to Americans.
Federal Magistrate Judge Karen McNaught conducted the hearing and released Fraase on his own recognizance after Fraase's attorney, Daniel Fultz, entered a plea of not guilty for Fraase.
Though McNaught unsealed the contents of the indictment at the morning hearing, documents outlining the charges and other details of the case weren't immediately available because the federal court clerk's office for the Central District of Illinois hadn't yet received the judge's order to make documents public.
Illinois Times has learned Fraase and others connected with Asian massage parlors in the area are the targets of the FBI investigation.
Fultz, who said he and lawyer Mark Wykoff are representing Fraase, declined to comment on the indictment or an initial criminal complaint against Fraase.
Though Gregory Fraase's name hadn't yet appeared in the electronic case filing system used by the U.S. Department of Justice, he was arrested Feb. 8 by the U.S. Marshal Service and spent four days in the Macon County Jail before being released on his own recognizance, according to jail records.
People arrested by federal authorities generally aren't released until they have been charged, and judges can temporarily seal court records and conceal them from public view.
Initial criminal charges can be filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office and be made public or sealed. Charges also can become public when someone is charged in a different way – through a grand jury indictment.
Federal rules call for felony charges to be followed up with a grand jury indictment within 30 days unless a defendant waives the need for an indictment.
The office of Gregory Harris, the Springfield-based U.S. Attorney for the Central District of Illinois, declined comment on the case. The Springfield FBI office refused to speak with Illinois Times.
Fraase was arrested in his "take-home vehicle" while driving on his way to work as pretreatment supervisor for the Sangamon County Water Reclamation District, according to district Executive Director Gregg Humphrey.
Humphrey told Illinois Times that Fraase continues to be employed by the district, a unit of local government where Fraase has worked for 22 years.
Fraase, the brother of Republican Sangamon County Board member Harry "Tom" Fraase Jr., will be paid $98,134 in fiscal 2024, which ends April 30, district records indicate.
Humphrey said he hasn't been interviewed by the FBI in connection with Fraase's arrest or the investigation. The district hasn't been implicated in any alleged criminal activity, Humphrey said.
"There's no indication any wrongdoing was done on district time or with district equipment," he said.
Fraase represented Seven Carpenters LLC when the Springfield-based organization sought and obtained zoning approval from Springfield officials in fall 2021 for a zoning reclassification at 1560 Wabash Ave. to allow for a tattoo shop and a massage establishment now operating as Jade Spa.
The zoning change was approved by the Springfield City Council in November 2021. Fraase's address was listed in the 2000 block of North Eighth Street in the zoning application.
Fraase was listed as a Seven Carpenters manager in the organization's June 2022 annual report filed with the Illinois Secretary of State Office. He isn't listed as a manager in current online Secretary of State records.
Records indicate the current managers for Seven Carpenters are Jonathan T. Kinzer and Lui Jai, both of the 2400 block of South First Street.
Michael Durr, an attorney with the Springfield firm of Sgro, Hanrahan, Durr, Rabin & Reinbold, is listed as Seven Carpenters' agent. Durr didn't return a phone call seeking comment.
Sangamon County property records list three parcels owned by Seven Carpenters. They are the Wabash Avenue site of Jade Spa; 509 Dawson St., the address of A-1 Spa Massage; and 613 N. Seventh St., the address of Healthy Massage.
