The Hotel Ivy and its management company are being sued, accused of playing an “integral role” in a sex trafficking scheme that ended in the conviction of Anton 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.

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Lazzaro resided in a condo at The Hotel Ivy in downtown Minneapolis. During his two-week trial, the minor victims testified that the 33-year-old brought them to his condo and gave them cash, alcohol vapes and other items in exchange for sex.

The civil lawsuit filed in federal court late Monday afternoon accuses hotel staff of failing to intervene to stop the illegal activity, despite being trained to identify signs of sex trafficking.

The lawsuit names Heartland Ivy Partners LLC as the owner of The Hotel Ivy and Wischermann Partners as the management company at the time of the alleged conduct.

“Although the scheme Mr. Lazzaro carried out is horrendous, Plaintiff’s claims against Defendants are meritless, and they look forward to their day in Court,” said Matt McBride, an attorney representing the ownership and management groups.

Jeff Anderson, a St. Paul-based attorney who specializes in sexual abuse cases, represents the minor victim who is suing the hotel and management company.

“The red flags of danger by this powerful predator were flying,” Anderson said in a statement Monday. “Hotel Ivy ignored the flags and the signs. It chose to protect the predator.”

The lawsuit relies heavily on the testimony from Lazzaro’s criminal trial, including from a woman who worked as the front office manager at The Hotel Ivy in the summer of 2020.

The manager testified that the hotel’s front desk handled visitors for the condominium residents. According to the trial testimony, the only way to access those units was to ride a private elevator summoned by the hotel staff.

According to the lawsuit, the office manager testified that she saw girls come to visit Lazzaro during her evening shift.

During her testimony, the manager said the girls who came to see Lazzaro looked around 16 or 17 years old. She also acknowledged it would be a “red flag” to see young girls coming to or leaving the hotel residences late at night.

The lawsuit argues there were multiple occasions where staff could have intervened. Hotel staff observed one minor victim, who testified she was so intoxicated she struggled to walk through the lobby after leaving Lazzaro’s condo.

Another victim testified at the trial that she told staff at the front desk that Lazzaro was offering girls cash and other items in exchange for sex. She also asked for help getting her sister to leave Lazzaro’s condo and was told by staff they couldn’t do anything.

Anderson is expected to speak about the lawsuit Tuesday afternoon at a press conference.

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