Their sign says “Foot Spa”. The website promises patrons they’ll “relax, refresh, and rejuvenate with our licensed masseuses.”
But an undercover cop says that lady never touched his foot when he went there Thursday, November 16, 2023, and signed up for her services.
The crime: The masseuse wasn’t licensed, an Asst. District Attorney told Judge Norman Sammut at the arraignment of Queens resident Guo Qin Guan in a Nassau County criminal courtroom Thursday.
Guan, 60, is charged with a Felony for “Unauthorized Practice of Profession” — providing massages without a masseuse license. That’s required by law in New York State.
In a sworn court statement, Port Washington Police Detective Charles Kouvel said an undercover cop was sent to Foot Kiosk Spa at 938 Port Washington Blvd. in Port Washington, N.Y., Nov. 16, 2023, and took her up on her offer of “an unlicensed massage for the sum of $35.”
He said Guan proceeded to give the cop “an illegal massage for 30 minutes”, “manipulating, tapping and massaging” his “back, arms, shoulders, legs and buttocks.”
The investigator is not identified.
NY Education Law Section 7801 licenses Massage Therapy treatment for “improving muscle tone and circulation” by “stroking, kneading, tapping and vibrating with the hands or vibrators.”
Police said there is no record of a masseuse license issued in NYS for someone with that name.
It is unclear, however, if this was just a case of confusion. Immigrants can change their name when they become citizens, but some government documents can still reflect the name they used to have. Clerks, meantime, mis-spell foreign names on occasion — errors that are never corrected.
Maybe Guan really does have a license.
She pleaded Not Guilty to the “practicing profession without a license” charge, a Felony. If convicted, she could go to prison for four years.
New York State law warns in a public description of License Requirements: Any use of the title “massage therapist” or “masseuse,” “masseur,” or any derivation of the title, within New York State, requires licensure as a massage therapist.
Guan was released on her own recognizance by Judge Norman Sammut. She is due back in court Dec. 13, 2023.
