A woman has filed a $100 million lawsuit against hotel operator Hilton Worldwide after she was reportedly filmed while nude by an employee as part of an extortion attempt.
According to ABCNews.com, the unidentified woman was staying at the Hampton Inn and Suites in Albany, New York, in July 2015 when an employee filmed her taking a shower and used the footage to blackmail her.
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The woman claims she was contacted in September by the man who took the video after he uploaded it to a pornographic website. The woman was devastated by the invasion of privacy and believed her life was ruined by the ordeal.
Later the same day, the same person who messaged her with the video claimed he would expose the video and her personal information to more people if she didn’t send him more nude footage. When the woman refused, the man began sending the video to her colleagues and said he would stop if he was paid $2,000 up front and $1,000 per month for the next year.
The man eventually released the video to over a dozen pornography sites, causing the woman to file a lawsuit against Hilton and its franchise partners for emotional distress and negligence as a result of the employee finding her personal information provided during the stay.
The woman’s attorney revealed there are likely additional videos recorded by the same man and the room she stayed in was likely used many times to film women in a similar fashion.
Hilton Worldwide released a statement to ABC News:
“On Monday, December 3rd we were alerted by ABC News to details of an alleged incident at the Hampton Inn and Suites Albany-Downtown in 2015. We take the safety and wellbeing of our guests incredibly seriously, and find the details included in the civil filing distressing. We commit to supporting the independent ownership and management of the property as they investigate, respond, and cooperate with any law enforcement investigations.”