Comfy Spa, a Linda Vista massage parlor already infamous with its neighbors, is now the target of a full-blown legal crackdown. The City of San Diego has filed a civil petition in superior court to shut the business down after years of complaints and allegations that the shop was quietly operating as a sex-for-hire spot.
The petition leans on undercover police work and a report from a patron who said he was sexually assaulted by a masseuse. City attorneys are asking a judge to close the location, hit the business and its owners with fines, and impose other remedies the court sees fit.
“This case is about protecting our community and the vulnerable people who are exploited inside operations like this one,” City Attorney Heather Ferbert said in a statement, according to Times of San Diego. The filing asks the court to use California’s Red Light Abatement Law against the property and to assess civil penalties on the spa and its owners.
Owners and local records
City of San Diego business tax records list a Comfy Spa at 5201 Linda Vista Road, with a business tax certificate issued under the name Taylor Grace. The City Treasurer's Business Tax Certificates dataset shows the spa was registered in 2025 and confirms the Linda Vista address.
Allegations from undercover raids and online ads
According to the city’s petition, investigators began covert vice operations at the Linda Vista parlor in 2025. In one February 2025 sting, an undercover officer paid $60 for a massage and reported that a worker signaled she would sell sex by clinching her fist and thrusting her arms. When asked directly, she allegedly quoted $140, at which point officers entered the room and cited her for prostitution.
The filing also claims investigators documented more than 258 online ads, blogs and reviews tying the business to prostitution between Dec. 25, 2025 and March 11, 2026. Police said they found evidence that women were living inside the parlor, and officers had previously received reports in 2023 that female workers might be held there against their will. Those details are laid out in the city’s petition and were reported by Times of San Diego.
How the law works
City attorneys are leaning on California's Red Light Abatement Law, which treats properties used for prostitution or lewd conduct as a public nuisance and gives courts authority to shut that nuisance down. Under the statute, judges can order premises closed and impose remedies that go beyond a simple slap on the wrist.
The law also allows civil penalties, including fines of up to $25,000 against defendants, depending on how severe and how long the alleged conduct went on, according to Justia. Courts can order abatement of the property under detailed procedures spelled out in the statute.
San Diego's enforcement push
The Comfy Spa filing is part of a broader San Diego push to go after illicit massage parlors using civil law, not just criminal charges. In January 2024 the City Attorney and San Diego Police announced a similar action against Ocean Spa in Kearny Mesa, also using nuisance-abatement tools after months of vice investigations, according to the City of San Diego.
Officials are framing the latest move as a way to protect the neighborhood and people who may be vulnerable inside these businesses, rather than as a traditional criminal prosecution. Any final penalties or an order to lock the doors at Comfy Spa will be up to a judge after the court weighs the evidence and arguments.
For now, it remains a civil petition, not a criminal charging document, and the city has not yet announced future court dates or additional orders in the case.
