North Carolina cracks down on unlicensed massage practices in state shopping malls - WRAL.com

[Randall Kerr, WRAL Investigates]

RALEIGH, N.C.-- There are more than 10,000 licensed massage therapists in North Carolina. The state's Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy is responsible for oversight, including training and investigating complaints.

After a growing number of those complaints involved people performing massages without a license, the board is now going undercover to catch the bad actors - and it's not in a place many people would expect: Shopping malls across the state.

"It's definitely scary without the regulation and all that," said Triangle resident Nicholas Perkinson, when WRAL Investigates told him about the disturbing trend.

"I've heard variations of different people having like odd experiences with massage therapists," Jasmine Vinson told us outside of a Morrisville spa. She depends on online reviews when deciding where to get her annual birthday massage.

While online reviews can be part of your decision making process, so too should the board's website, which allows you to check licensing of establishments and every person that's allowed to touch your body.

Just last year, the board issued 23 notices to businesses for hiring people without a license. That's more than the number of notices sent in 2023 and 2022 combined.

"It has been quite an effort," the board's Administrative Director, Elizabeth Kirk, told WRAL Investigates.

We obtained proof of those "efforts" in the form of an undercover video from the board's investigative team. The target of this operation, a massage business inside of Jacksonville Mall, in Onslow County.

In the video, you can hear the investigator asking an undercover informant "So did she do a massage?" A voice off-camera, which appears to be the service provider, responds, "I do a facial." The undercover informant confirms, "She did a massage." The investigator then says, "The whole massage? A full body massage." "Yes," replied the informant.

The spa was targeted by undercover investigators due to repeated non-compliance. On this visit, the store owner provided investigators with one valid massage license from someone who wasn't even working there that day.

Under North Carolina law, every business must have an establishment license and every therapist must have an individual license. According to the board, this spa had a history of allowing unlicensed therapists.

When speaking with the owner, the investigator said "If they [workers in the business at that time] do a massage and they don't have a license, it's a crime."

Kirk says this spa isn't alone, "We were seeing more and more complaints coming from customers at malls."

So far, the board has investigated spas in malls like Raleigh's Triangle Town Center, Durham's Streets at Southpoint and several others, from the coast to the mountains.

The board hopes its aggressive approach sends a message to spa owners and those they rent from.

"The main message is that whenever they are leasing to someone they need make sure those establishments have licenses," Kirk emphasized.

The licensing aspect allows the board to more easily follow-up on complaints by knowing which businesses are licensed, as well as which licensed therapists work there.

In some of those complaints, WRAL Investigates found customers reported inappropriate sexual contact.

Last year, the board took disciplinary actions against 31 licensees. 18 of those involved inappropriate touching, conversation or improper draping. Another seven involved practicing without a license or an expired license.

The board says the efforts are about two things. First, it's a matter of public safety and protection. Second, it's about addressing human trafficking, which is a big problem within the massage business nationwide.

However, these latest stings didn't involved hole-in-the-wall establishments many people would steer clear of. They're inside of busy shopping malls, where it would be easy to assume the businesses are on the up-and-up.

Aside from checking the board's website and asking your masseuse to see a license, the board also says there's a quick warning sign the second you walk into an establishment. If you see multiple workers, but only one or two valid massage licenses from the state on the wall, you may want to rethink your choice.

"Yes, that is a red flag.. to not go into that establishment and not receive services from anyone," Kirk said.

Providing unlicensed massages could lead to fines for business owners. But it could also end up in court.

WRAL Investigates found one civil lawsuit filed by the board against a spa at Triangle Town Center for providing massage services without a license. The board is asking for a court injunction to put an end to the illegal practices.

But another lawsuit should also serve as a warning shot to mall property owners and managers.

A woman is suing a business and the corporate owners of Streets and Southpoint. She claims she sexually assaulted during a massage. Attorneys discovered the business and the mall owners had been previously warned about the facility's use of unlicensed therapists, including the one who provided a massage to the complainant.

As a massage-getter, Jasmine Vinson says says the findings are troubling. "Especially for massages to be such a vulnerable moment for people. It's supposed to a relaxing moment. For it to be something that's kind of traumatizing, it probably deters them from getting future massages."

But she's also happy with the board's efforts, "Charges should be made against these people and also I feel like whoever the company is should be held accountable in some fashion, especially if they hire unlicensed therapists."

If you routinely get massages, or have been thinking about treating yourself to one, go the board's website and look go to https://www.bmbt.org/mtpages/License_Status.html to make sure the business and its employees are licensed.