A federal court judge in San Francisco made a ruling against the Marriott Hotel there.

The San Francisco Marriott was accused of taking almost $9 billion from workers in tips. The judge found the hotel guilty, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.

The alleged incident happened over almost a five-year between 2012 and 2017. Apparently, the hotel would host a banquet, such as a wedding, and a large tip would be collected by a hotel employee to be distributed to the workers.

Except the tips never got there.

“Customers pay service charges — on top of hefty food and beverage bills — because they think they are tips for the waitstaff,” Shannon Liss-Riordan, attorney for the workers, told the Chronicle.

A spokesperson for Marriott declined comment. The hotel could appeal.

The hotel said it was just a confusion about how the workers were supposed to get their tips. Many event planners testified on behalf of the workers, and it turned out that most banquet goers and people who threw the banquet thought the gratuity was included in the overall price.

This article was originally sourced from www.TravelPulse.com