MIAMI BEACH, Florida — Former Ohio native and Miami Beach doctor, Alan Li, 27, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 10 years of supervised release after pleading guilty to sex trafficking charges in federal court. Li was arrested by the FBI in May of 2022 and charged with attempted sex trafficking of a minor, attempted coercion, and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.
The FBI began investigating Li after a tip was called in by an Ohio woman alleging that Li had tried to buy underage girls as sex slaves. The woman had initially met Li on a dating/escort site and met him in person once. During their date, she told Li that she was trafficked at a young age. The two lost touch for about a year, but in March 2022, Li reached out to her on Snapchat, asking if she knew how to find young girls in the Miami area.
The woman allowed an FBI agent to take over her Snapchat account to communicate with Li. When Li contacted the woman for an update, the FBI employee gave him a phone number for an investigator posing as a “trafficker.” The two messaged back and forth a few times and discussed payment. Li agreed to $500 for one hour with a 12-year-old and asked if he could pay in cash or Bitcoin.
The woman told law enforcement that she believed Li and his friend Michael Chen were the same person and that she knew Li worked at Mount Sinai Hospital. She also alerted the hospital staff of Li’s actions.
Li’s guilty plea and sentencing bring closure to a disturbing case that highlights the danger of sex trafficking and the importance of reporting suspicious activity.