West

Luxury blue-city landlords accused of looking the other way as high-end buildings turn into crime hubs

Published

2 months ago

January 29, 2026

Luxury blue-city landlords accused of looking the other way as high-end buildings turn into crime hubs

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A woman who says she was sex trafficked as a minor is accusing employees at two California luxury apartment complexes of turning a blind eye and in some cases allegedly accepting cash while a trafficking operation unfolded inside high-end residences costing thousands of dollars a month, according to a federal lawsuit.

In the complaint filed this month, the woman, identified only as A.V., alleges that staff members at Avalon at Mission Bay and South Beach Marina Apartments in San Francisco failed to intervene as she was allegedly trafficked between 2018 and 2019, beginning when she was still in high school and under the age of 18.

According to the lawsuit, A.V. was trafficked by a man identified under a pseudonym as “Tom Roe,” who allegedly forced her and other victims to engage in commercial sex acts with men inside the apartment units where they lived. The complaint states Roe paid rent for the units, often in cash, while the trafficking activity continued inside.

Plaintiffs’ attorneys allege Roe intentionally placed his victims in luxury apartment buildings because of their upscale appearance and amenities and that the apartments served as the headquarters of the alleged trafficking operation, with customers routinely sent to the units.

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Avalon at Mission Bay is one of two luxury apartment complexes named in a federal lawsuit alleging sex trafficking and negligence. (Google Maps)

The lawsuit states Roe initially rented a one-bedroom unit at South Beach Marina Apartments for approximately $7,500 a month, paid in cash. Later, the complaint alleges, A.V. and the other victims were moved to Avalon at Mission Bay, where rent was roughly $10,000 a month because Roe believed the property was “more luxurious.”

According to the complaint, apartment employees, including front-desk staff, security personnel and maintenance workers, observed circumstances that plaintiffs’ attorneys describe as indicators of sex trafficking. Those indicators allegedly included multiple unregistered tenants, including a minor, frequent visits from non-resident men and a lease held in the name of a person with no reported income.

The lawsuit further alleges that security cameras monitored entrances, side doors, gyms and common areas of the buildings, and that staff observed A.V. entering and exiting the properties with customers.

FOX EXCLUSIVE: NATIONWIDE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BUST TARGETS CHINESE ORGANIZED CRIME NETWORKS

South Beach Marina Apartments, a luxury complex, is named in a federal lawsuit filed by a woman who says she was trafficked as a minor. (Google Maps)

Plaintiffs’ attorneys also allege maintenance workers entered the apartment units during the trafficking operation and witnessed commercial sex acts, drug use and cash exchanges, but that no action was taken.

According to the complaint, Roe allegedly kept A.V. compliant by providing drugs, including cocaine and Xanax, and by threatening violence if she failed to make enough money. The lawsuit also alleges Roe branded A.V. and other victims with tattoos as part of the trafficking operation.

Among the most serious allegations, the complaint claims Roe paid apartment employees in cash in exchange for their silence and that front-desk and security staff instructed victims to hide their faces when bringing customers into or out of the buildings.

CRIMINAL NETWORKS EXPLOIT US INTERSTATES TO MAKE HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS VANISH: ‘REAL PLAGUE’

A street sign hangs outside a new apartment building on Mission Street, Tuesday, June 2, 2015, in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg/AP Photo)

The lawsuit also alleges the apartment operators failed to properly train employees to recognize and report signs of sex trafficking and that the companies benefited financially through rent payments, service fees and continued use of the apartment units.

According to the complaint, A.V. was only able to escape the alleged trafficking operation after Roe was arrested by the FBI. The lawsuit does not specify when the arrest occurred or whether federal charges were filed.

READ THE COMPLAINT – APP USERS, CLICK HERE:

A federal judge has granted A.V. permission to proceed under a pseudonym due to the sensitive nature of the allegations.

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The lawsuit accuses the apartment operators of negligence and emotional distress and seeks to hold the companies accountable, as well as their owners, security teams and agents.

Fox News Digital reached out to AvalonBay Communities, South Beach Marina Apartments, the San Francisco Police Department, the FBI, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California and attorneys representing the plaintiff for comment.

Stepheny Price covers crime, including missing persons, homicides and migrant crime. Send story tips to stepheny.price@fox.com.

Stepheny Price is a Writer at Fox News with a focus on West Coast and Midwest news, missing persons, national and international crime stories, homicide cases, and border security.

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Montana

Montana’s measures to tackle housing crunch offer hope for Michigan

Published

1 hour ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Montana’s measures to tackle housing crunch offer hope for Michigan

News Story

State House considers reforms that allowed greater variety of construction in Big Sky State

Michigan could follow Montana’s lead after state House members introduced a bipartisan package of bills aimed at making housing less costly.

“The bipartisan Housing Readiness Package modernizes our development processes to reduce unnecessary costs and delays, making housing more affordable and available across the state,” according to a press release from the House Republican caucus. “This is about ensuring Michigan is prepared for growth and that more residents have access to safe, stable homes.”

The package draws on ideas Montana successfully enacted in 2023 and 2025 to ease the state’s housing shortage. It includes Michigan House bills 5529, 5530, 5531, 5532, 5581, 5582, 5583, 5584 and 5585. The package is intended to restrain cities and counties from restricting accessory dwelling units, duplexes, and other non-single-family units; to limit protests and impact studies on developments; and to reduce local red tape.

Housing costs in Michigan have almost doubled in recent years, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Michigan has exceeded the pace of housing inflation found in other states.

The average price of homes in the state was about 75% of the national average in 2012, but it is roughly 82% of the average today, according to Jarrett Skorup, vice president of marketing and communications at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy.

Inflation, interest rates, and rising construction costs have increased housing prices, Skorup told Michigan Capitol Confidential, but local government red tape is still making things worse.

“A lot of this is because of dumb, unnecessary, big-government policies at the local level,” Skorup told CapCon in an email. “This bill package protects the private property rights of citizens in a way similar to what Montana and many other states have done. It is good policy that will help people afford to live where they want.”

Montana made changes to legalize duplexes, allow accessory dwelling units, open commercial zones to housing, and permit taller buildings that can accommodate more housing units.

The laws faced a legal challenge, but the Montana Supreme Court unanimously upheld the bipartisan legislation.

“There are a lot of similarities between what is being proposed in Michigan and what we accomplished in Montana,” Forrest Mandeville, a Republican state senator from Stillwater County, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

Montana enacted laws that call for freedom to build duplexes and accessory dwelling units by right (with no need for extra approvals) in many cities. The Big Sky State also streamlined review processes and simplified public participation.

“These reforms were necessitated by a housing market that was seeing prices skyrocket and existing zoning that created a lot of single-family-only development in large areas,” Mandeville said.

A broad coalition supported the changes: builders, real estate agents, free-market advocates and some local government groups, Mandeville told CapCon. Housing prices and rents have stabilized since the legislation was enacted.

“We tried to get government out of the way to encourage building without red tape,” Sen. Jeremy Trebas, a Cascade County Republican, told CapCon in an email about the housing situation in Bozeman. With a population of 60,000 and slow growth, the city faced a housing crunch, with a large inventory of aging and obsolete buildings. Expensive housing and taxes, Trebas said, were driving people to move to Washington, California and other states.

“If we could change land-use policy, encourage development of higher density like duplexes as infill, allow for housing in commercial zones (as it was a 100 years ago), reduce minimum lot sizes, and allow by-right accessory dwelling units and such, we could let the market work to produce density and supply without spending government dollars to incentivize it,” Trebas said.

Opponents of Montana’s reforms expressed concerns about more people moving in from out-of-state, said Trebas. He countered that Montana natives were hurt by high costs that price upcoming generations out of the housing market.

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Nevada

Scholarships available for Nevada Youth Range Camp

Published

2 hours ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

Scholarships available for Nevada Youth Range Camp

The Nevada Division of Forestry and the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management are inviting high school-aged students from around the Silver State to participate in the 2026 Nevada Youth Range Camp essay competition.

“The Nevada Youth Range Camp is a yearly educational opportunity that has been held each summer in central Nevada since 1961,” stated a press release. “Last year, eight students were awarded scholarships and received a certificate of achievement.”

Selected essays will receive up to $250 to register for this year’s Youth Range Camp. Students must be between ages 14 and 18 in order to apply. Parental consent is also required. Essays that are flagged for plagiarism or that utilize AI will be disqualified.

“Range Camp has served Nevada’s youth for 65 years. It is a great opportunity for anyone interested in natural resources to learn basic rangeland and resource management skills,” said Kelcey Hein, Conservation Education lead at the Nevada Division of Forestry, in a statement.

According to the application form, this year’s essay prompt is:

“In your own words, tell a story or a few stories of when you were able to connect with a natural space such as a park, your backyard, a farm, a field, a forest, a beach, or so on. Please incorporate three (3) key words from the key word list that you noticed of that ecosystem into your response. Explain what you noticed about these aspects that drew your attention in that space. How did this influence you and your goals as a future steward of Natural Resources?”

Visit bit.ly/RangeCamp2026 for submission forms, essay instructions and the full rules. The contest is open until April 30.

For more information about the Nevada Division of Forestry, visit forestry.nv.gov.

Visit nevada.rangelands.org for more information about the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management.

Contact reporter Elijah Dulay at edulay@pvtimes.com

Nevada Youth Range Camp: June 21 through June 27

“We invite high school youth to enjoy a week of fun, camping, and learning about rangelands and natural resource management,” states the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management website. “This year the camp headquarters will be located in the Timber Creek Campground area Northwest of McGill, NV. This area provides a splendid setting for learning and recreation.”

“The week is filled with many learning opportunities. Instructors teach various subjects through group investigations. Camp instructors and counselors are trained specialists from the University of Nevada, Reno; Nevada State Parks; Natural Resources Conservation Service; Bureau of Land Management; Forest Service; Nevada Division of Forestry; Nevada Division of Conservation Districts; Nevada Division of Wildlife; and others,” the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management website continues.

“Campers arrive by noon on Sunday and break camp the following Saturday morning. Campers register and form groups with an adult counselor and assistant youth counselor. The weeklong program runs from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and includes instruction, projects, rest, meals, and recreation,” the Nevada Section of the Society for Range Management website reads further. “Adult supervision occurs throughout the entire week. Parents and sponsors are welcome to visit the camp any time and are especially invited for the Friday night awards program. The evening programs are geared more for enjoyment and personal interest and include map and compass orientation, conservation skill workshops, wildlife presentations, and campfires.”

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