Malden man, 33, sentenced in violent armed massage spa robbery cases

Receives 7 1/2 years in federal prison for role in robbing two women employees in Brookline, Stoneham

A 33-year-old Malden was sentenced to over seven years in federal prison on Wednesday in Boston federal court for his role in the armed robberies of two businesses in which he and two others beat, dragged and duct-taped victims. Li Wen Tang, of Malden, was sentenced on Wednesday by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 78 months in prison and three years of supervised release.

In April of 2024, Tang pled guilty to two counts of robbery affecting commerce, after a jury convicted one of Tang’s co-defendants, Alfeu Barbosa, in March of 2024 for the same offenses. Barbosa was arrested and charged in June 2022. Tang and Jonas Nunez were later arrested and charged in August and September 2022. All three defendants were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury.

On June 12, 2022, at approximately 8:51 p.m., Tang entered the Balance Reflexology Spa in Brookline – pretending to be a customer seeking a massage. Because the victim was the only employee in the spa that night, she locked the door before taking Tang into the back room to begin the massage. Tang asked the victim if there was anyone else in the spa and that if there was, he would like to see them. Almost immediately after the massage had begun, Tang claimed that he no longer wanted a massage because his stomach was upset and demanded a refund. The victim employee stated she had to call her boss to approve the refund.

While the victim employee was on the phone in the lobby, Tang unlocked the front door and two masked men – later identified as Barbosa and Nunez – entered the business carrying firearms. One of the men hit the victim employee in the face, knocking her to the floor and put a gun to her head. Barbosa and Nunez then pulled the victim by her hair into the back hallway, where they instructed her to be quiet.

There, the men proceeded to bind the victim’s wrists and ankles with duct tape and gag her. As they were doing this, Barbosa and Nunez repeatedly yelled at the victim, asking, “Where is the money?” The men ransacked the spa for roughly three minutes before locating and stealing approximately $500 and the victim employee’s cell phone and then exiting. Surveillance footage revealed that all three men had arrived in the same vehicle parked nearby, which they drove away in together following the robbery.

Later that evening, at approximately 10:19 p.m. on June 12, 2022, Barbosa, Nunez and an associate of Barbosa committed a similar robbery of May’s Spa Massage in Stoneham. Specifically, they entered the business wearing masks and firearms and duct-taped several victims who were in the spa at the time. In addition to stealing approximately $600 in cash from the business and victims, Barbosa, Nunez and Barbosa’s associate took three cell phones belonging to three of the female victims present during the robbery, as well as a victim’s license, gift cards and credit and debit cards, before leaving in the same vehicle.

Nunez pled guilty and was sentenced on April 18, 2024, to 23 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Barbosa was convicted by a federal jury and sentenced on July 17, 2024, to 121 months in prison to be followed three years of supervised release.

Assistance in prosecuting this case was provided by the FBI in New York, the Massachusetts State Police and the Brookline, Stoneham, Boston, Wakefield and New York City Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Luke A. Goldworm and Robert E. Richardson of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.