Doctor accused of attempting to purchase underage sex slave, offering cash or bitcoin

COLUMBUS, Ohio (TCD) -- A 26-year-old former resident at Miami Beach’s Mount Sinai Medical Center was arrested for attempted sex trafficking after the FBI conducted a months-long investigation.

WCMH-TV reports that nearly a year ago, a woman, whose name was not disclosed, met Alan Li through a dating website in Columbus. The two reportedly met up one night, and she told him that she was trafficked at a young age.

Several months after their date, Li contacted the woman on March 12 via Snapchat, according to WCMH. During their conversation, Li allegedly messaged the woman, telling her he had a friend who wanted to meet young girls and was willing to pay.

A criminal complaint obtained by WCMH said Li told the woman his friend would make a Snapchat account, but instead, Li created a second profile on the social media app pretending to be someone named Michael Chen.

Investigators reportedly discovered that Li would log out of his Snapchat account and onto Michael’s profile from the same IP address registered to his home.

Posing as Michael Chen, Li allegedly told the woman he liked young girls, messaging "Ideally 8-15."

On March 16, WCMH reports the woman called Mount Sinai, where Li worked, and told them what Li had said on social media. The conversation history between the two on Snapchat stopped on March 12 and reportedly picked back up on March 22.

During an investigation, an FBI online covert employee took over the woman’s Snapchat account to continue the conversation with Li.

Li allegedly asked about what girls were available, and the undercover FBI agent said, "Got a 9, 12 and 15 depending on what kind of service you want." Li responded, "Full service bareback available?" And he added, "Ok let’s do the 12."

In the Snapchat negotiation, Li agreed to pay $500 for one hour with the 12-year-old, WTVJ-TV reports. When the agent asked to be compensated through CashApp, Li reportedly offered to pay in cash or bitcoin because he didn’t want to provide his Social Security number to use the CashApp payment service.

According to WCMH, during the Snapchat conversation, Li said he had an underage sex slave girl in the past, telling the agent she was 13, and they had a live-in arrangement. Li also allegedly inquired about buying the 12-year-old child to live with him permanently as a sex slave for $20,000.

The undercover agent arranged a meeting with Li and agreed to meet on April 12 at a hotel with the 12-year-old, WCMH reports. Li reportedly canceled the meeting after becoming nervous, and the two fell out of contact from April 16 to April 28. Arrangements were allegedly made a couple times, but the meetings always fell through.

According to WCMH, agents had been conducting in-person surveillance on Li, and he was arrested May 12. He is held in the Federal Detention Center in Miami, records show.

In a statement obtained by WTVJ, Mount Sinai said, "Mount Sinai’s top priority is the safety of our patients, visitors and employees. The individual is no longer employed with the medical center. Mount Sinai Medical Center cannot comment further on matters regarding ongoing investigations and legal proceedings. To the extent that we are aware of an incident, the appropriate authorities are contacted immediately and have our full cooperation."

According to WCMH, Li, a former Ohio resident, graduated from the University of Virginia School of Medicine before moving to Florida.

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