A 60-year-old Springfield man charged in federal court with operating six “houses of prostitution” in Springfield wants to transfer his ownership interest in an office building to an Illinois State Police trooper who jointly owns the building.
The Illinois Times reports that Gregory L. Fraase of Springfield asked U.S. Magistrate Judge Karen McNaught for permission to transfer his interest in a vacant two-level building at 2040 Timberbrooke Drive to Nathan Shanks. Fraase said in a March 22 motion that he and Shanks jointly purchased the west-side Springfield property, previously used for offices and a physician office, at an auction in July 2023. Fraase said in the motion that he wants to get rid of his ownership interest, without charging Shanks anything for it, because of Fraase’s “recently changed financial situation.”
Federal prosecutors said in a court filing that they are “aware of only one change in the defendant’s financial situation, the fact that he no longer is profiting from violations of federal law.” Prosecutors said they object to the property transfer unless Fraase provides more information about it. Prosecutors noted that Fraase’s pretrial release conditions require that he not “dissipate his assets” without court permission. Fraase has 28 days to provide the court with more information about the proposed transaction.
Fraase was indicted March 5th by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy in connection with alleged prostitution at sites advertised as Asian massage parlors throughout Springfield.
The 39-year old Shanks is a master trooper with the Illinois State Police, according to data with the Illinois Comptroller’s Office. The Illinois Times reports he has not returned comment on the proposed property transfer.
Sangamon County property records obtained by the Times indicate Shanks and GLF Group LLC previously jointly owned the one-story building behind Famous Wine & Spirits that later would become Jade Spa, located at 1560 Wabash Avenue. Jade Spa was one of several Asian massage establishments raided by the FBI in early February. Shanks transferred his half-ownership of the Wabash Avenue building to the new owners, Seven Carpenters LLC and GLF Group, in June 2021, according to property records obtained by the Illinois Times. Fraase represented the GLF Group during zoning requests with the City of Springfield in 2021. According to federal and local court records, Fraase was also paying utilities on the 6 parlors raided by federal authorities on behalf of GLF Group. The Times reports that Illinois Secretary of State records listed Fraase as a GLF Group manager as of April 16th.