Federal authorities have accused nine Southern California residents of participating in a large-scale, international sex trafficking ring that abused and enslaved hundreds of Thai women who had been recruited with promises of a better life in the U.S.The nine defendants were among 20 people arrested Wednesday in Los Angeles, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Houston and Chicago in connection with the sex trafficking and money laundering operation, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Minnesota.An eight-count federal indictment unsealed Thursday charges Michael Morris, 63, of Seal Beach; Chatarak Taufflieb 51, of San Jose; Peerachet Thipboonngam, 57, of Los Angeles; Pornthep Sukprasert, 40, of Huntington Beach; Mulchulee Chalermsakulrat, 39, of Huntington Beach; Bhunna Win, 49, of San Diego; Natchanok Yuvasuta, 50, of Los Angeles; Nattaya Leelarungrayab, 45, of Los Angeles and Veerapon Ghettalae, 55, of Lake Elsinore.The ring operated from January 2009 to May 2017."The women did not have freedom of movement and, until they paid their bondage debts, were modern-day sex slaves," Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker said in the indictment.Traffickers obtained fraudulent visas for the victims and often coached them on what to say during their visa interviews, federal authorities said. They collected information from the women and later used it to threaten them if they tried to flee.The women were often poor and spoke little English, Brooker said. They were forced by traffickers into the sex trade, sent to brothels across the country and rotated from city to city.Until then, the organization owned the victims, he said."They typically did not have the ability to choose who they have sex with, what sex transactions they would engage in, or when they would have sex," Brooker wrote.According to the indictment, Morris and Taufflieb acted as "house bosses" and operated brothels, which were typically housed in apartments, hotels, homes and massage parlors.They advertised sex acts, coordinated the victims' travel with traffickers and collected payments, the court documents said.Typically, professional photographs were taken of the women and used to advertise on websites like Backpage and Eros. The women were encouraged to get breast augmentation surgery to make their appearance "more appealing," federal authorities said. The cost of the surgery was then tacked onto their debt.According to court documents, Morris and Taufflieb kept 60% of the women's earnings to pay themselves and traffickers.They were among nine bosses who ran houses in Los Angeles, Dallas, Austin and Chicago, Brooker said.The other Southland defendants — Thipboonngam, Sukprasert, Chalermsakulrat, Leelarungrayab, Ghettalae, Win and Yuvasuta — served as money launderers for the organization, according to the indictment. They controlled the flow of cash into their bank accounts to conceal the operation, federal authorities said.The defendants also ensured that payments were made to traffickers in Thailand to pay down the victims' debts, according to the indictment. They often recruited people to transport large sums of cash to Thailand. Cash was often hidden in items such as clothing and dolls.Federal authorities said tens of millions of dollars were laundered from Thailand to the U.S.