Project Veritas sued its founder James O’Keefe on Wednesday, months after he was ousted from the company.
The outlet filed a complaint against O’Keefe in federal court in the southern district of New York.
“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 suit states.
READ THE FULL LAWSUIT HERE:
(DAILY CALLER OBTAINED) — Project Veritas v. OKeefe Complaint by Henry Rodgers on Scribd
The suit argues the board became aware of “serious allegations by Project Veritas employees about incredibly troubling workplace and financial misconduct by O’Keefe.” The suit cited allegations of screaming at coworkers, “targeting” female employees and creating “strained” relationships with donors. (RELATED: ‘I’m Back’: James O’Keefe Launches New Media Company After Project Veritas Departure)
O’Keefe is also accused of misusing funds from Project Veritas for needs such as laundry, cleaning his boat and other errands.
The suit comes after board members weighed O’Keefe‘s removal in February and placed him on paid leave, according to a previous report. Employees claimed they were dissatisfied with O’Keefe’s management and alleged he wasted money and was “outright cruel” to his staff, The Daily Beast reported.
Project Veritas claims they had “no intention of terminating Mr. O’Keefe when the Board convened February 6, 2023.”
“In fact, he wasn’t terminated until May 15, 2023. Rather, the goal was always to achieve an amicable solution to the personnel mismanagement and expenditures for the organization experiencing significant recent growth.”
Project Veritas also claims O’Keefe missed several board meetings.
O’Keefe later published a video expressing gratitude for his employees.
“Project Veritas will never be stopped from the outside, it will only be because we stopped ourselves,” O’Keefe said in his video.”
O’Keefe said he was stripped of his title of CEO and removed from the board of directors.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article stated that Project Veritas staffers and board members attempted to “oust” O’Keefe in February. The article has since been updated to reflect that Veritas board members were reportedly considering whether to remove O’Keefe in February, however the board later claimed they had “no intention of terminating” O’Keefe that month.
