Fullerton Charges 10 Women Over Fake Massage Credentials

Fullerton police said Tuesday they arrested 10 women on suspicion of falsifying their credentials to work as massage technicians.

Police Sgt. Joe Klein said the vice squad began investigating in March after a detective spotted discrepancies in applications by people seeking licenses to work as massage technicians in Fullerton.

He noticed that several applicants “had certificates from one or a couple of these colleges,” Klein said. “The names were the same, but the signatures were different. He got a little suspicious and contacted Consumer Affairs.”

Investigators found that 25 of the 160 applications they have examined so far are either false or counterfeit, Klein said. Warrants were issued and 10 suspects were arrested in their homes Tuesday, he said.

The women were booked at the city jail on misdemeanor charges related to the false documents, he said. All were released on bail ranging from $5,500 to $10,000 each. Warrants are still outstanding for 15 people on suspicion of committing similar offenses.

Since April 1999, he said, there have been 15 arrests at massage parlors in the city in connection with prostitution, sexual assault or pimping and pandering.

Klein said the city’s municipal code requires a person to complete 300 hours of training at a certified massage therapy school to qualify for a license. The City Council gave preliminary approval Tuesday for changes in those requirements. One proposal is to increase the number of required hours to 500 and to require both written and practical exams for those seeking licenses.