SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – Last Wednesday, an anonymous plaintiff known as K.L. filed a federal lawsuit against the Beverly Lodge and owner Manish Patel, alleging that the motel’s staff enabled the sexual trafficking she underwent from 2012 to 2015. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The lawsuit was brought under the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which allows survivors of trafficking to hold accountable those who knowingly benefit from or participate in trafficking ventures. The suit says K.L. was groomed into sex trafficking when she was still a minor, and was primarily trafficked at the Beverly Lodge motel.

The suit also alleges that the defendants, Manish Patel and the Beverly Lodge, facilitated sex trafficking for profit by not intervening when there were signs, failing to train staff on human trafficking policies and procedures and not conducting audits that confirmed compliance with policies and procedures.

The motel also allegedly allowed cash payments for extended stays, failed to ask for identification, knowingly placed the plaintiff and other girls in isolated rooms and ignored signs of physical abuse, drug abuse and malnourishment.

Patel and his legal team did not provide comment on the case, but at the time the Tribune contacted Patel, he stated that he hadn’t been served a lawsuit. He did tell the Tribune that this was related to a letter that he received a few years ago requesting money, which was corroborated by another member of Patel’s legal team.

In a press release, Meagan Verschuren of Singelton Schreiber, counsel representing the plaintiff, said, “This wasn’t a situation where the signs were subtle. They were screaming, the hotel staff knew exactly what was happening, and they didn’t just ignore it—they enabled it and participated.”

“This case highlights a disturbing truth: trafficking victims aren’t just failed by their traffickers—they are failed by the businesses that stand by, profit, and participate in the abuse,” said attorney Katie Llamas of Singleton Schreiber in the press release. “Beverly Lodge and its owner had countless chances to stop what was happening on their property. Instead, they chose profit.”

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.