The Justice Department does not typically become involved in breaking up local prostitution rings, but the sex network raid that federal prosecutors announced Wednesday was no ordinary operation.

The sex workers catered to the well-to-do, powerful and influential professionals of Washington and Boston who now face public exposure and criminal sentences.

Prosecutors announced the arrests of three people who operated the prostitution ring out of luxury apartments just outside Boston and in McLean, Virginia, a suburb of Washington and one of the most expensive cities in the U.S.

In a public statement, Justice Department officials named only the three men arrested on charges of running the operation.

The clients’ identities will unlikely be shielded for long.

The Justice Department’s involvement in the case, those familiar with the process say, centers on the list of powerful “johns,” or clients.

“This is all sad stuff, but it rarely rises to the level of the Department of Justice,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told The Washington Times. “This is exactly the type of case that, had it not been for the johns, it would probably just be handled locally.”

Federal prosecutors decided not to leave the case to the police departments in Fairfax and McLean, Virginia, or Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts.

A 60-page affidavit provides clues to the Justice Department’s decision to take on the case.

Among the clients it described were politicians, military officers, professors, lawyers, pharmaceutical and technology company executives, scientists, and government contractors with security clearances. The clients visited prostitutes in McLean and the Massachusetts cities of Watertown and Cambridge in apartments rented for $3,700 per month.

Clients were required to provide their full names, other identifying information and employer references.

Many of their names are now in the hands of the Justice Department.

“Prosecutors love to go after high-level folks because they can make a name for themselves,” Mr. Rahmani said.

Special Agent Zachary Mitlitsky, the lead investigator, said potentially hundreds more clients from other professions have “yet to be identified.” He explained why the Justice Department has not named any of the men — yet.

“I do not do this for purposes of maintaining their anonymity but instead do so because our investigation into their involvement in prostitution is active and ongoing,” Mr. Mitlitsky said.

Criminal justice experts said federal prosecutors are likely working on plea agreements in exchange for cooperation from those they have identified as the brothels’ clients.

Each client paid $240 to $840 for up to two hours with a prostitute or up to $600 an hour, depending on the services requested, according to a text message from the ringleaders shown in the affidavit.

Federal agents said they identified customers through surveillance, phone records, customer interviews and other investigative methods.
If the clients were prosecuted at the state level, the charges would typically result in probation and a fine.

In most states, punishment is a minimal fine unless a minor is involved.

In Virginia, working as a prostitute or paying somebody for sex could result in a maximum of 12 months in jail and a fine of up to $2,500, but neither hookers nor johns typically receive any jail time.

Mr. Rahmani said the federal government is more likely to seek probation for the clients and tougher sentences for the men running the sex ring.

Mr. Mitlitsky, the lead investigator, is a special agent with the Department of Homeland Security who specializes in interstate and international human trafficking investigations.

The three men arrested in the case, Han Lee, James Lee and Junmyung Lee, are charged with conspiracy to coerce and entice to travel to engage in illegal sexual activity. Each charge carries a 20-year sentence.

The Justice Department described the investigation as “active and ongoing.”

Sex scandals have erupted regularly in Washington, and high-end prostitutes have played prominent roles.

One of the most notorious cases involved Deborah Jeane Palfrey. Known as the “D.C. Madam,” she was convicted in 2008 of running an escort service for powerful men in Washington, including former Sen. David Vitter, Louisiana Republican, and Randall L. Tobias, a former CEO of Eli Lilly and former administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Sentenced to six years on racketeering charges, Palfrey hanged herself.