A lawsuit has been filed against a hotel chain accused of enabling sex trafficking on its premises. On December 16, 2024, an individual survivor of sex trafficking, identified as R.A., filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York against RRI Venture Westbury LLC.
R.A. claims she was trafficked at the Red Roof + Long Island-Garden City hotel, owned and operated by RRI Venture Westbury LLC, from 2020 through 2023.
The lawsuit, filed under the Federal William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA), seeks civil remedies for trafficking victims. The complaint alleges that the defendant knowingly benefited from trafficking activities by renting rooms to traffickers who exploited R.A. for commercial sex acts.
R.A. claims her trafficker used force, fraud, and coercion to control her, and that hotel staff were complicit in facilitating the trafficking.
The lawsuit outlines several failures by the hotel to implement anti-trafficking measures, despite awareness of the prevalence of such crimes in the hospitality industry.
The complaint details how hotel staff allegedly acted as lookouts for traffickers and ignored signs of trafficking, such as frequent foot traffic and suspicious behavior on the hotel grounds. It also accuses the hotel of profiting from these illegal activities by continuing to rent rooms to known traffickers.
R.A. seeks various forms of relief, including compensatory damages for emotional distress and economic losses, punitive damages, disgorgement of profits obtained through unjust enrichment, restitution, attorney’s fees, and costs associated with the lawsuit. She also demands a jury trial on all issues so triable.
R.A. is represented by attorneys Randolph Janis and Chloe Makowsky of Douglas and London P.C., based in New York City. The case is filed under Case ID 1:24-cv-08552.