A spokesperson for Elon Musk’s America PAC said that his organization does not yet know who Doe is, but suggested that they could have had payments flagged for suspected fraud.
A federal lawsuit accuses Elon Musk and his political action committee of violating the law by failing to pay more than $20,000 to a Pennsylvania man who had obtained signatures in support of free speech and gun rights.
According to The Associated Press, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of a Bucks County man, identified in court documents by the pseudonym “John Doe.” Doe’s complaint seeks class-action certification.
In his lawsuit, Doe claims that he received hourly pay for canvassing ahead of the November presidential election, but was never given the petition referral bonuses that he was promised.
Doe, attorneys say, repeatedly tried to obtain payment—but has yet to receive any compensation.
Doe says that he’s spoken to other people who worked with or for Musk’s political action committee; many have purportedly had the same experience.
“There’s been a lot of discussion and concern from people who were not paid what they understood they were going to be paid,” said Shannon Liss-Riordan, an attorney representing Doe.
The Associated Press notes that Musk’s “America” political action committee had earlier offered to pay $100 for registered voters to sign the petition and $100 for people who referred a registered voter who signed the petition.
“While Plaintiff was paid his hourly rate for canvassing, and he was paid some referrals for the petition signatures he obtained, Plaintiff estimates that has not been paid at least $20,000 he is owed for his referrals,” the lawsuit alleges.
A spokesperson for Elon Musk’s America PAC said that his organization does not yet know who Doe is, but suggested that they could have had payments flagged for suspected fraud.
“America PAC is committed to paying for every legitimate signature, which is evidenced by the fact that we have paid tens of millions of dollars to canvassers for their hard work in support of our mission,” America PAC spokesperson Andrew Romeo told The Associated Press in an email statement. “While we don’t yet know who this ‘John Doe’ plaintiff is and can’t speak to their specific circumstances, we can say that we are also committed to rooting out fraud and have the right to withhold payments to fraudsters.”
The America PAC website currently says that it has sent out the “overwhelming majority” of payments to petition signatories, but emphasized that some “have been flagged for mismatched information.”
“The answer is basically, ‘we’re working on it,’ but I think that’s been up there for a while,” Liss-Riordan said.
Doe’s lawsuit accuses Musk, the America PAC, and Group America, LLC, of beach of contract and violations of Pennsylvania’s wage payment statutes.
Sources
Lawsuit against Musk accuses him of not paying canvassers during 2024 presidential election
Lawsuit claims Musk failed to make promised payments over 2024 petition signatures
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