BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A woman who pleaded not guilty in state court to running a prostitution parlor in Minot has now pleaded not guilty to similar charges in federal court.
Thirty-two-year-old Trina Nguyen is accused of operating a sex business in Dickinson after posting bond on the state charges filed in 2013.
Her co-defendant also appeared in federal court Monday, but 32-year-old Loc Tran didn't enter a plea. Tran asked for a Vietnamese interpreter, and Magistrate Judge Charles Miller granted the request.
Tran and Nguyen face federal charges including racketeering and extortion stemming from allegations that they lured women from California to work as prostitutes in western North Dakota. State charges were dismissed when federal prosecutors took jurisdiction in the case.
Trial for Nguyen is scheduled to begin March 3 in Bismarck.