Mass. Social Security worker allegedly tried to pressure woman into prostitution

A Massachusetts man working for the Social Security Administration was arrested Monday and accused of trying to pressure a program recipient into prostitution, authorities said.

Dae Sung Kim, 35, of Auburn, is accused of attempting to entice a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution, said the office of Acting Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy, in a press release.

Federal prosecutors said that in March 2024, Kim visited the Social Security Administration office in Gardner in person with a woman seeking benefits after losing her job. He referred her to another Social Security office closer to her residence in another state, according to Levy’s office, but Kim later allegedly called the woman using the number he found in the computer system of administration.

“Kim reportedly indicated that he understood that she was in a difficult situation and stated that perhaps they could ‘find a solution’ that would benefit both of them,” Levy’s office said.

In a call later that month, the 35-year-old Social Security employee allegedly told the woman over the phone, in a call monitored by law enforcement, that they could “help each other”. He allegedly offered to pay her for sex and, in later text messages, told her to go to Massachusetts, offering her $100 to have sex in a car in a hotel parking lot.

Levy’s office said Kim was confronted by law enforcement while driving to the designated parking lot in October 2024.

Prosecutors say the charge of attempting to entice a person to travel in interstate commerce to engage in prostitution can carry a sentence of up to 20 years in prison.