San Diego, CA – A former San Diego police officer has been sentenced to over two years in federal prison for his central role in a prostitution scheme that operated out of illicit massage businesses. Peter Griffin, 79, pleaded guilty to charges related to operating five businesses for the sale of commercial sex under the guise of therapeutic massage services. The operation ran from 2013 to August 2023 and involved incorporating the businesses with state agencies, advertising online, exploiting women, and profiting from the illegal enterprises.
Prosecutors revealed that Griffin, a retired detective, attorney, and private investigator, used his connections as a former police officer to further his criminal activities. Despite once being a member of the Vice Operations Unit tasked with dismantling these types of businesses, Griffin operated his own illicit massage businesses for nine years. He owned and operated several businesses, including “Genie Oriental Spa,” “Felicita Spa,” “Blue Green Spa,” “Maple Spa,” and “Massage W Spa,” with three co-defendants managing each location.
In addition to leasing storefronts, Griffin and the other defendants rented and bought residential properties for the employees and secured credit card processing equipment for the businesses. Most of the employees were non-English speaking immigrants from Korea and China who were pressured into performing illicit commercial sex services. Griffin used his experience from law enforcement to evade authorities and maintain the illusion of legitimacy for his businesses.
The former police officer also used his status and resources to intimidate victims into remaining silent about their involvement in the illicit massage business. He even flashed his badge to a local officer who responded to a citizen complaint regarding one of Griffin’s storefronts. Griffin abused his private investigator license to obtain personal information about his customers and employees.
Griffin was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, while his co-defendants received six months each. The investigation into the enterprise involved multiple federal, state, and local agencies, including the San Diego Human Trafficking Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigations.
This case serves as a reminder that no one is above the law, and authorities encourage anyone with information about human trafficking to report it to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
