Housing Discrimination in Georgia: 

Cartersville, Georgia Motel Manager Pleads Guilty to Coercing Labor and Sex Acts by Female Tenant

According to court documents, the 70 year-old manager of the Budgetel Motel hired her as a house cleaner, knowing that she had been homeless, struggled with heroin addiction, and lost child custody. He promised that he would help her regain custody of her child by providing her pay, an apartment, and an attorney. Instead, he monitored her interactions with motel guests and employees, forbade her from speaking to them, and made numerous sexual overtures. He threatened to evict her from the room and threatened to report her drug use to law enforcement or child welfare agencies. He regularly “evicted” her from her motel room, locked her out of her room at night without warning, and required her to perform oral sex on him to stay at the motel. If she did not, Tiwari removed her from the property, causing her to be homeless. 

Sentencing is set for September 6, and the man faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to pay just over $40,000 in restitution to his victims. 

A federal judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

Read the June 1, 2023 USDOJ release.