A woman is suing the San Juan County Sheriff's Office over claims that her civil rights were violated during a prostitution sting at her Farmington massage parlor.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that an attorney for Asian Massage owner Wei Lu filed the filed the lawsuit this month in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque.
According to the lawsuit, deputies violated Lu's civil rights by targeting her based on her ethnicity because other massage parlors and salons in Farmington were not targeted in the sting. The suit also states the sheriff's office wrongfully arrested her and took her money and belongings.
Lu was charged with two misdemeanors for not displaying and having the proper massage parlor license. Those charges were later dropped.
San Juan County Sheriff's Capt. Brice Current called the lawsuit "frivolous."
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.