Project Veritas Founder James O’Keefe Wasted Thousands on Private Cars, Helicopter Flight and Luxury Hotel Rooms, Suit Alleges

Project Veritas, the right-leaning investigative news outlet, is alleging that the group's founder and former leader James O'Keefe misspent thousands of dollars on private car rides, luxury hotel rooms and a helicopter flight.

The claims are part of a lawsuit the group filed against O'Keefe on Wednesday that accuses him of breaching his contract and taking protected information during his acrimonious split from the company earlier this year. 

The suit includes background about why O’Keefe was suspended from Project Veritas earlier this year, alleging he used the company credit card for a $10,000 helicopter flight and $150,000 for private cars in Manhattan over the past 18 months. 

He also allegedly used his Project Veritas credit for pricey hotel rooms and suites at luxury hotels "without a clear business purpose," the suit states.

O’Keefe also allegedly “targeted female employees with mean-spirited comments,” including personal remarks about pregnancies, the suit alleges.

An attorney who represented O’Keefe previously did not immediately return a request for comment.  

Project Veritas is seeking damages and a court order barring O’Keefe from obtaining or using confidential company information. 

The federal suit filed in district court in Manhattan alleges O’Keefe formed a similar outfit — O’Keefe Media Group — in February while he was on paid leave from Project Veritas amid an ongoing investigation into alleged misspending and workplace misconduct.

At the new company, O’Keefe allegedly used donor lists, contact information, equipment, and material already filmed by Project Veritas that had been rebranded, the suit states. 

He also allegedly solicited numerous Project Veritas employees to come work at his new media venture, which is located in the same Long Island, New York, town as Project Veritas.

O’Keefe, a self-described “guerilla journalist,” targeted journalists and liberal groups in hidden-camera sting operations that often took place at bars and restaurants. 

In 2020, ABC News suspended correspondent David Wright following footage recorded by Project Veritas in a New Hampshire hotel bar in which the journalist appears to describe himself as a socialist. 

In 2022, the outfit released footage of New York Times journalist Matthew Rosenberg apparently calling fellow reporters who were in the Capitol on Jan. 6 “f–king bitches.”