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Pishevar Accused by Firm He Sued of Trying to Silence Women

Pishevar said Tuesday he’s taking a leave of absence from his duties to pursue the lawsuit.

Pishevar Accused by Firm He Sued of Trying to Silence Women
Shervin Pishevar, co-founder and executive chairman of Hyperloop Technologies Inc. (Photographer: Anindito Mukherjee/Bloomberg)

(Bloomberg) -- Shervin Pishevar’s lawsuit against a corporate research firm is an attempt to stifle discussion of alleged sexual assaults by the prominent Silicon Valley investor and should be tossed out, the firm said.

In response to Pishevar’s suit, Definers Public Affairs, founded by Republican campaign veterans, said it has nothing to do with accusations of sexual misconduct by multiple women, including one accusing him of rape.

“This appears to be a cynical ploy to use the court system to deflect attention and to deter both women and the press from reporting alleged sexual misconduct committed by one of Silicon Valley’s most wealthy and powerful businessmen," Definers said in a copy of a filing in state court in San Francisco. “In any event, the allegations are false, unsupported, and irresponsible, and this suit should be promptly dismissed."

Pishevar said Tuesday he’s taking a leave of absence from his duties at his venture capital firm Sherpa Capital and transportation startup Virgin Hyperloop One to pursue the lawsuit.

Mark Fabiani, a spokesman for Pishevar, had no immediate comment on the filing.

Five women who met Pishevar in a professional context told Bloomberg they were sexually assaulted or harassed by him. In May, Pishevar was arrested at a hotel in London after a woman accused him of raping her. Police said Pishevar was “released under investigation” and never charged.

Definers claims to have advised presidents, presidential nominees, senators, governors and down-ballot candidates, advertising on its website that it can "validate your narrative through the press and social media platforms."

In his complaint filed last month, Pishevar argued Definers was retained by unidentified competitors or other "business adversaries" to orchestrate a smear campaign to plant false and damaging gossip among reporters and "strategically targeted individuals" such as investors in Uber Technologies Inc. Pishevar was an early investor in the company.

Definers said in its filing Wednesday that it had no role in "creating, distributing, or otherwise communicating any aspect" of Pishevar’s alleged defamation.

Definers founder Matthew Rhoades and president Joseph Pounder searched emails and documents confirming they have no work related to Pishevar before the investor’s suit was filed a month ago, according to the filing.

The filing was provided by Definers and couldn’t immediately be verified in electronic court records.

The case is Pishevar v. Rhoades, CGC-17-562305, California Superior Court, County of San Francisco.

--With assistance from Eric Newcomer and Emily Chang

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Elizabeth Wollman at ewollman@bloomberg.net, Peter Blumberg

©2017 Bloomberg L.P.