A second victim is suing the former owner and management company of Hotel Ivy, arguing it played a role in a sex trafficking scheme that victimized multiple teenage girls and ended in the conviction of Anton “Tony” Lazzaro.

The man federal prosecutors dubbed “Minnesota’s Jeffrey Epstein” was convicted of sex trafficking of minors in 2023. He’s currently serving a 21-year prison sentence.

Lazzaro resided in a condo at The Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis. During his two-week trial, the minor victims testified that he brought them to his condo in the summer of 2020 and gave them cash, alcohol, vapes and other items in exchange for sex.

Heartland Ivy Partners, LLC and Wischermann Partners are named as the owner and management company of Hotel Ivy at the time of the alleged conduct. The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court on Wedesnday, accused the companies of not responding to “obvious signs” of sex trafficking of teenage girls by Lazzaro.

The lawsuit goes on to say the defendants did not exercise “reasonable care” with regard to hiring and training employees. Minnesota law requires hotel and motel employees to be trained to recognize signs of sex trafficking.

The attorney who represents Heartland Ivy Partners LLC, Patrick Kelly, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, “The person responsible for the harm to the Plaintiffs is Anton Lazzaro, who has been convicted of these crimes and is presently serving his sentence in federal prison. We will be defending these lawsuits and will have no further comment.”

This is the second lawsuit against Heartland Ivy Partners LLC related to the Lazzaro sex trafficking scheme. In December, another one of Lazzaro’s victims filed a similar lawsuit.

RELATED: Minneapolis hotel sued over alleged role in sex trafficking scheme involving Anton Lazzaro

In the newest lawsuit, attorneys for the victim say that hotel staff had numerous opportunities to intervene, adding that the victims would show up in groups in the middle of the night, which is an “obvious” sign of sex trafficking.

The front office manager testified during Lazzaro’s criminal trial that the girls who came to the hotel looked about 16 or 17 years old, according to the lawsuit.

Jeffrey Montpetit, the attorney representing the unnamed victim, said the case is based on a federal statute that says anyone who benefits financially from sex trafficking can be found liable.

“It really opens up the window of opportunity to hold wrongdoers responsible,” Montpetit said Wednesday.