Motel 6 pays $250K to settle human trafficking lawsuit

Motel 6 has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by the city of Los Angeles alleging that the chain’s management allowed one of its locations to be used as a hub for human trafficking and gang activity. 

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Motel 6 agreed to pay $250,000 to settle the suit. Mike Feuer, the Los Angeles city attorney, said that the money would be used to deter human trafficking.

The city sued the managers of the local motel, as well as G6 Hospitality, the chain’s management company, last November. 

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The city’s lawsuit sought to curb “unrelenting crime and nuisance activity” at the hotel, which was the scene of more than 60 arrests since 2013, according to the AP.

“We allege this has been used as a base for which known gang members and drug dealers had operated,” Feuer told the AP. “We allege that there was prostitution happening at this site — pimps and prostitutes both — and we allege it was a base for stolen goods, for distributing drugs like meth and cocaine and heroin.”

The settlement requires the motel to post signs about human trafficking in its lobby, hire security guards and ask guests to show photo identification when checking in.