A mother and her son have been charged in an alleged human trafficking case involving massage businesses in Novi. Minjie Wu, 54, and Ruize Wu, 28, face charges that include conducting a criminal enterprise and human trafficking resulting in commercial sexual activity. Oakland County officials discussed the case at a media briefing on Nov. 10, 2026.
The charges against each defendant include one count of conducting a criminal enterprise and one count of human trafficking enterprise resulting in commercial sexual activity. Both also face two counts of maintaining a house of prostitution, one count of third-degree money laundering and one count of filing a false tax return. Those charges are the same for the mother and son.
Minjie Wu faces an additional count of second-degree criminal sexual conduct. That charge accompanies the allegations involving the massage businesses, financial activity and tax filing. The case includes an allegation that she repeatedly subjected an undercover detective to unwanted sexual contact during an encounter at one of the businesses on Oct. 6.
The Oakland County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case from March 2025 through Oct. 7, 2026. During that period, investigators reported seeing women transported between two massage businesses and two homes in Novi. Authorities associated both residences with Minjie Wu and Ruize Wu.
The businesses identified in the investigation were Novi Natural and Health Massage and Commerce Massage. Investigators described movement of women between those locations and the two residences as part of the alleged operation. Their account linked the businesses and homes through the transportation they observed during the investigation.
According to the allegation involving the undercover detective, the Oct. 6 encounter took place at the Novi massage business. The detective had declined sexual services before Minjie Wu allegedly made repeated unwanted sexual contact with him. The encounter occurred one day before the stated end of the sheriff’s office investigation.
Officers executed search warrants at businesses and homes associated with the defendants. They found cash, gold bars and jewelry, along with business records, financial records, electronic devices and workers’ passports. Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald joined other local officials at the Tuesday, Nov. 10, briefing to discuss the charges against the mother and son.
