SPRINGFIELD - The lawyer for Jian Song, accused of human trafficking, said Thursday his client thought his wife was running legitimate therapeutic massage parlors.

"It was his wife's business," lawyer Colin Keefe said, arguing against the $50,000 bail requested by the prosecution for Song.

Assistant Attorney General Elizabeth Vasiliades said when police raided the home Song and his wife share, there was $25,000 in cash, a $31,000 watch and other money orders.

Hampden Superior Court Judge Daniel Ford set the bail at $50,000 saying it could be argued later when Song is arraigned in Hampshire Superior Court on similar charges there.

Keefe said Song has just been able to post the $50,000 bail set in Eastern Hampshire District Court and to set another bail on the cases in Hampden Superior Court would be unfair. He said his client could die in jail given his serious heart condition.

Song and his wife, their daughter and a woman from West Springfield on Thursday in Hampden Superior Court denied charges of human trafficking, prostitution and money laundering.

The four were indicted as a result of an investigation into illegal massage parlors in Hadley, Northampton, Agawam and East Longmeadow.

The four are accused of trafficking as many as 10 women from New York to Western Massachusetts and to Framingham and then forcing them into a life of sexual servitude. The women were required to perform sex acts in exchange for money inside the massage parlors, and were forced to turn over most of the money they made to the accused, according to the Massachusetts attorney general's office.

The indictments were the result of a statewide operation in December targeting massage parlors that resulted in several arrests.

Denying charges Thursday were Song, 48, his wife, Feng Ling Liu, 50, both of Sunderland; her daughter Ting Ting Yin, 26, of New Hyde Park, New York, and Shuzi Li, 52, of West Springfield.

All are charged with trafficking in persons for sexual servitude, money laundering, deriving support from prostitution and keeping a house of prostitution. All but Li are also charged with conspiracy to traffic persons for sexual servitude.

Liu, Song and Yin were accused of bringing women to work as prostitutes in parlors they owned in Hadley, East Longmeadow and Framingham. They family owned Hadley Massage Therapy in Hadley, Feng Health Center in East Longmeadow and Massage Body Work in Framingham.

Li was accused of transporting women from New York City to work in parlors she owned, Pine Spa in Northampton and Agawam Massage Therapy in Agawam.

According to the indictments, 10 victims were identified by law enforcement during the investigation, and authorities while executing a search warrant found a significant amount of cash.

Women brought into the operation often lived in the businesses where they worked, and they were dependent on their employers for groceries, transportation and other needs. The defendants are accused of advertising their services online and setting up appointments with customers, according to officials.

Attorney General Maura Healey issued a statement that said, "Far too often, we are finding that these body works establishments operate as fronts for human trafficking."

She said her office, local and state police would continue to "take down these criminal enterprises and disrupt these business models that are based on making a profit off of the sexual exploitation of human beings."

All defendants but Song have pleaded not guilty in Hampshire Superior Court, Vasiliades said. Song will be arraigned there soon.

Ford allowed her motion to consolidate the Hampden Superior Court cases with the Hampshire Superior Court cases for Li, Liu and Yin. That effectively moves all the Western Massachusetts charges to Hampshire Superior Court.

Vasiliades said she will make the same motion as soon as Song is arraigned in Hampshire Superior Court.

Li and Liu have posted $100,000 bail from the Hampshire Superior Court case, and Yin has posted $20,000 bail. The prosecution didn't ask for any additional bail for them on the Hampden Superior Court cases.

Ford, hearing Liu had posted $100,000 bail, asked why she had a court appointed lawyer. Her lawyer said the bail was gathered from family in China.

Vasiliades said jail calls between Song and another person show he said, "I can't believe they took the watch."

She said presumptive testing showed semen and sperm at the massage parlors.

Keefe said he believes "a series of johns" will be called by the prosecution but none will be able to testify about any activities by Song.

He said Song is the only Chinese-speaking person at the Hampshire County Correctional Center. He has been hospitalized several times while in jail.

Song can only communicate with anyone there when employees use the telephone interpretation service, Keefe said.

Keefe said Song came to the U.S. on a visa in 2011 and met Liu. He went back to China, then came here again on a visa, married Liu and got a green card, Keefe said.

"His wife has basically been supporting him," Keefe said.

Vasiliades said Song is a signatory on an account used for a number of items and has a joint credit card used to pay for ads on Backpage for the massage parlors.