The third alleged leader in the sex ring prosecutors say attracted bigwig johns in Greater Boston and in eastern Virginia is finally scheduled for an initial appearance in a Massachusetts federal court.

Police arrested James Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif., on the same day of his co-conspirators, Nov. 8, 2023, but in the federal jurisdiction of California’s Central Division, where a magistrate judge in Los Angeles ordered him detained until he could be extradited to Massachusetts, according to that court’s records.

On Wednesday, Lee’s name appeared on the main Massachusetts federal court docket, where he is scheduled for an initial appearance at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the federal court in Worcester.

Lee and alleged criminal partners Junmyung Lee, 30, of Dedham and alleged ringleader Han Lee, 41, of Cambridge, face a charge each of conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity.

Junmyung Lee and Han Lee each had an initial appearance virtually before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy on the day of their arrests.

The charges against the three were announced at a press conference in the U.S. Attorney’s office in the federal court in Boston’s Seaport District on the day of their arrests. Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua Levy said the “brothel network” was a “booming” business where wealthy clients paid up to $600 for high-end prostitutes.

“Pick a profession, they’re probably represented in this case,” Levy said that day. “They are the men who fueled this commercial sex ring.”

The “potentially hundreds” of buyers have not yet been named, though a member of the Cambridge Police Department who is part of a Homeland Security Investigations task force submitted applications for complaints at Cambridge District Court against 28 alleged clients of the sex ring spanning Greater Boston and down to eastern Virginia on Dec. 19.

Prosecutors say a multiyear investigation revealed the trio managed websites advertising women for prostitution “under the guise of professional nude photo shoots, and established brothels in order to facilitate the engagement of commercial sex.” One of the websites was focused on Massachusetts and directed johns to one of at least four different high-priced apartments in Greater Boston for sex trade, whereas another did the same for johns in eastern Virginia, according to charging documents.

According to charging documents, James Lee procured the identities of other men and used those identities to lease the spaces where the brothels operated. A law enforcement affidavit filed in the case included scans of three driver’s licenses under different names and separate photos, but the feds say it’s the same man.

James Yun Lee, 68, of Torrance, Calif., allegedly seen here in three separate license photos the feds say he used in false identity documents, will be the third of the trio to make an appearance in federal court in Massachusetts during his hearing scheduled for next week. (Courtesy / U.S. District Court)