Woman sues Hilton for secret filming in shower, blackmail attempt
Hampton Inn and Suites owner Hilton is facing a hefty $100 million lawsuit from a guest who claims she was secretly filmed in the shower by an employee who then tried to blackmail her.
According to a spokesperson, the hotel was ‘shocked and stunned to learn of the allegations’ but says it has found no evidence of secret filming at Hampton Inn and Suites in Downtown Albany.
The Jane Doe lawsuit claims the offence took place in 2015 when the woman was filmed without her consent while taking a shower.
The unnamed plaintiff said she only realized it in September after receiving an emailed blackmail demand from the perpetrator.
The email contained a link to a porn website where the secret video was uploaded containing her full name.
The next day the extorter threatened to post videos of her on other sites if she didn’t send a new ‘private video.’
"You have until midnight to send me something good. Or I will post videos, your name, info everywhere. Then I send to people you know. You can enjoy being famous," the suit alleges.
The sender made good on the threat when she did not respond, uploading it on other websites and then emailing it to her friends, family, and work colleagues.
"It was just absolutely traumatizing because these are people I went to law school with. They’re friends, they’re co-workers. And they were sent a link to what looks like an email I sent," she claimed in the lawsuit.
Then a demand for thousands of dollars payable in bitcoin was received to take the videos offline.
"We investigated extensively kind of as far as we can go without Hilton’s help at this point and that investigation has revealed at least there is another victim," said attorney Roland Christiansen.
Hotel management said that since the incident the hotel has been extensively renovated and no recording equipment was discovered.
"The safety and security of our guests is our highest priority, and we emphatically do not condone any form of this type of invasion of privacy. Thus far, no evidence of any kind has been found during our initial review of the situation," a statement said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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