- Project Veritas sues founder James O'Keefe for alleged employee bullying and misuse of company resources
- A group of employees filed the lawsuit accusing O'Keefe of misdeeds such as eating a pregnant woman's sandwich
- The founder was also accused of using the company's resources on musical theater productions
Project Veritas, a far-right activist group, files a lawsuit against its founder James O'Keefe, accusing him of bullying staff and misusing company resources in his attempt to create a new, rival media entity.
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday in New York federal court, as the two parties currently have a large rift between them. A group of employees working for Project Veritas signed a letter in early February that accused O'Keefe of becoming what they called a "power-drunk tyrant."
Project Veritas Sues Founder James O'Keefe
They claim that he was "outright cruel" to the company's employees and that his misdeeds ranged from eating an eight-months-pregnant woman's sandwich to spending the company's money on musical theater productions, as per The Daily Beast.
Project Veritas complaint against James O’Keefehttps://t.co/4iNEXW7uhP
In February, the company founder was placed on suspension and was later found to have announced the launch of a new group called O'Keefe Media Group (OMG) which was seen as similar to Project Veritas.
Many from Project Veritas claim that O'Keefe started his new company while using his original company's resources, such as donor lists and laptops. Neither of the two parties involved in the lawsuit returned requests for comment regarding the controversy.
Project Veritas also claims that O'Keefe's supposed wild behavior constituted a breach of contract even before he created OMG. The company's board, during an internal investigation into the founder's conduct this year, "heard allegations that O'Keefe routinely behaved unprofessionally during team meetings."
The accusations include O'Keefe screaming at employees during those meetings where he would belittle workers, particularly targeting female staff. The company's workers also believe that the founder used the company's money to fund his first-class travel and luxury hotel stays, according to the Washington Post.
Alleged Bullying and Misuse of Resources
A previously reported memo revealed that Project Veritas' board grew increasingly concerned that O'Keefe's spending could jeopardize the company's non-profit status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
The company's suspension of O'Keefe was met with criticism among the founder's allies in conservative media and lawmakers in the Republican Party. At the time, Donald Trump Jr. posted on Twitter, "Not sure what PV does without James."
The lawsuit argued that even if a person is the founder of an organization, they do not have the authority to "run amok" and place his interests ahead of the said organization. It added that O'Keefe failed to properly fulfill his duties to Project Veritas, which resulted in serious and significant damage.
Since its founding, Project Veritas has become a crucial right-wing political and media ecosystem. The company has conducted sting operations against perceived enemies such as Planned Parenthood, Pfizer, and several mainstream media outlets.
Furthermore, some of the company's operations have also backfired on itself, such as the unsuccessful attempt to plant a false sexual misconduct allegation in 2017 against former U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore, said Business Insider.
