On Wednesday, Project Veritas filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against O’Keefe, Transparency 1, LLC (doing business as O’Keefe Media Group), RC Maxwell, and Anthony Iatropolous.
The suit accuses O’Keefe of breach of contract and breach of fiduciary duties, among other accusations.
The suit claims that Transparency 1, LLC, assisted in these violations. RC Maxwell and Anthony Iatropoulos, two individuals formerly associated with Project Veritas, are alleged to have breached their contracts for the benefit of O’Keefe Media Group (OMG).
Project Veritas is petitioning the court to bar O’Keefe from employment, despite the fact that they ceased to compensate him.
Veritas claims O’Keefe was officially removed from the board on April 24 and formally fired May 15.
“Being known as the founder of an organization does not entitle that person to run amok and put his own interests ahead of that organization,” the 70-page suit said.
The Complaint begins by alleging O’Keefe violated his duties to the plaintiffs, causing them significant damage.
Being known as the founder of an organization does not entitle that person to run amok and put his own interests ahead of that organization. Defendant James O’Keefe (“O’Keefe”) failed in his duties to Plaintiff, Project Veritas, causing it serious and significant damage. O’Keefe must be held accountable, as must the organization O’Keefe created, Defendant Transparency 1, LLC d/b/a O’Keefe Media Group (“OMG”) for suborning his violations.
The lawsuit details numerous allegations of professional and financial misconduct by O’Keefe:
- Employment Agreement: O’Keefe entered into an employment agreement with Project Veritas that laid out terms and conditions for his employment, including non-disclosure, non-disparagement, full-time devotion to work, and exclusivity of work product rights to Project Veritas.
- Alleged Misconduct: There were serious allegations of misconduct against O’Keefe, including unprofessional behavior, belittlement of coworkers, particularly females, strained relationships with donors due to lateness and rudeness, and the use of company resources for personal benefits. He also allegedly used company funds for personal expenses, including lavish expenditures without clear business purposes.
- Suspension and Investigation: Upon becoming aware of these allegations, the Board of Directors of Project Veritas suspended O’Keefe from his duties, initiated an investigation, and restricted his access to company resources. O’Keefe was later removed from the board and his employment was formally terminated.
…
- a. Directing the organization to pay more than $10,000 for a helicopter flight from New York to Maine without a clear benefit to Project Veritas;
- b. Directing the organization to pay for first-class air travel for O’Keefe even where the flight did not satisfy the organization’s policy for approving firstclass flights;
- c. Using his Project Veritas credit card for expensive hotel rooms and suites at luxury hotels without clear business purpose, when other employees on the same trips were required to stay in budget accommodations;
- d. Directing the organization to pay for expenses associated with large organizational awareness events like the Project Veritas Experience, without engaging in any analysis to help the organization understand the
potential return on investment or capitalize on the connections made through these events; and - e. Causing the organization to pay for his regular use of private car services (“black cars”), even to go relatively short distances in and around Manhattan and then wait outside of restaurants for hours, at a total expense of more than $150,000 over the past 18 months.
The Complaint then lists 12 counts:
- Breach of Contract (as to O’Keefe) — regarding the provisions of the Employment Agreement
- Violation of Defend Trade Secrets Act (as to O’Keefe) — regarding his alleged use of donor lists, employee lists, and unaired programming
- Breach of Fiduciary Duty (as to O’Keefe) — regarding his formation of OMG while still a member of the Board of Directors
- Breach of Duty of Loyalty (as to O’Keefe) — similar to Count 3
- Conversion (as to O’Keefe) — regarding his alleged taking of donor lists, contact information, equipment, and unreleased investigation publications
- Replevin (as to O’Keefe) — similar to Count 5
- Indemnification (as to O’Keefe) — asserting his obligation to indemnify PV as to investigations or actions taken against them on account of O’Keefe’s errors or omissions
- Tortious Interference With Contract (as to OMG) — asserting that its formation and use of O’Keefe’s services and PV material, while he was on paid time off from PV, interfered with O’Keefe’s Employment Agreement with PV
- Breach of Contract (as to Iatropolous) — regarding his alleged failure to return PV equipment, namely a MacBook Air
- Breach of Contract (as to Maxwell) — regarding his alleged failure to return PV equipment, namely a MacBook Pro
- Tortious Interference With Contract (as to OMG) — regarding Iatropolous’ alleged use of PV equipment for the benefit of OMG
- Tortious Interference With Contract (as to OMG) — regarding Maxwell’s alleged use of PV equipment for the benefit of OMG
Read the full complaint HERE.
