A billionaire media mogul with a string of sexual assault convictions against him has now been ordered to pay $900 million to a former employee in what is believed to be the largest sexual injury settlement in the world. history.
Alkiviades ‘Alki’ David was warned to “never think about violating another woman’s body” when former production assistant Mahim Khan won a $58 million sexual assault judgment against him in 2019.
But a Los Angeles jury ordered the founder of Hologram USA to pay the record sum on Monday after he was accused of raping another employee.
The court was told that David, 56, had the door to his company’s human resources department adorned with a pornographic image titled “HIS ASS”, and that staff darkly referred to an office at his California headquarters as the “rape room.”
“This monumental verdict marks a significant victory for justice and sets a precedent in the fight against sexual assault in the workplace,” said the woman’s attorney, Gary Dordick.
A Los Angeles jury on Monday ordered Alkiviades ‘Alki’ David to pay $900 million after being accused of raping another employee.
David (pictured with ex-wife Jennifer Stano in 2011) is the heir to an international Coca-Cola bottling empire and founder of Hologram USA.
David, heir to an international Coca Cola bottling empire, was best known for his hologram company, which created 3D animated avatars of dead artists including Tupac and Michael Jackson.
He was accused of inflicting “serious sexual harassment and assault, including rape” on the former model, referred to by the court as Jane Doe, from February 2016 to April 2019.
Shortly after joining, a colleague warned her about the “alarmingly hostile” work environment and informed her that David had forcibly kissed her, the lawsuit claims.
Weeks later, Doe rebuffed his attempt to kiss her during a work trip to her private island in Greece and soon found herself fired.
But in 2018 she got back in touch to offer her a job as a brand ambassador for her cannabis manufacturing company, Swiss-X.
Employee Lauren Reeves awarded $5 million for assault in case against David that brought to light the first mention of his corporate ‘rape room’
Former production assistant Mahim Khan (pictured right with lawyer Gloria Allred) warned him against “raping” another woman when he received $58 million in 2019.
The lawsuit claimed that after agreeing, he took her back to a hotel room where he convinced her to try the product before forcing her to touch his penis.
The following April, she was summoned to a business meeting in a small room where he raped her in front of one of his Doberman pinschers.
“The facts of this case are so despicable.” Dordick said. “He raped my client while he was on trial in another case.”
By then, the mogul had already lost $80 million in a series of sexual assault sentences dating back to 2014.
He settled two cases out of court in 2016, but was ordered to pay $5 million to former employee Lauren Reeves, who he claimed put his hands on her throat and pushed her chair against the wall.
That case also included references to the “rape room” and her claim that he told her he needed to “buy supplies” for her.
In April 2019 he was ordered to pay punitive damages of $8 million to a woman who claimed he was fired after refusing to have sex with her.
David was accused of inflicting “serious sexual harassment and assault, including rape” on the former model, referred to by the court as Jane Doe, from February 2016 to April 2019.
In September of that year, the judge declared a mistrial when the jury could not reach an agreement on a lawsuit brought by former FilmOn account executive Elizabeth Taylor.
But in December of that year he faced his biggest penalty yet when another jury awarded $58 million to Khan, who was represented in court by prominent attorney Gloria Allred.
Khan claimed that David had thrust his pelvis into her face and simulated oral sex, rubbed her vagina, frequently grabbed her pelvic area, peppered her with unwanted kisses, performed a lap dance in front of a customer and put his hands under her. of her dress. to caress her breasts.
She testified that sometimes David would also pull down his pants, grab her by the neck, and pull her toward his crotch.
“I hope the punitive damages verdict sends a message to Alki David to never, ever think about violating another woman’s body,” she said in a statement after the trial.
His company owns the Hologram USA Theater on Hollywood Boulevard, where his three-dimensional avatars of dead performers, including Michael Jackson and Tupac, are animated for a paying audience.
Attorney Gary Dordick said Monday’s “monumental verdict marks a significant victory for justice and sets a precedent in the fight against workplace sexual assault.”
David denied all allegations of sexual misconduct and said, “I never touched any of these women,” remaining challenging and disruptive throughout his multiple 2019 trials in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
He frequently erupted into profanity-laced outbursts while taunting his accusers and their attorneys, earning him nearly $10,000 in penalties and expulsion from the courtroom on several occasions.
That year he was also arrested in St Kitts after arriving with around 5,000 cannabis plants on his private plane.
“They have completely drained me of my cash resources,” David told The Daily Beast of his accusers in 2021.
“Fortunately I have a great mother, God bless her, who has been very supportive of me.”
The Sunday Times annual rich list puts his current wealth at $3.7 billion, much of which comes from his wealthy Cypriot family, but David has claimed that media estimates of his fortune are wildly exaggerated.
“These damn idiots,” he said. ‘They have nothing, nothing at all. There are no billions.’
Monday’s unanimous verdict, before Judge Christopher L. Lui, includes $100 million in compensatory damages and $800 million in punitive damages.
“The importance of this verdict cannot be understated,” Dordick said.
‘Prior to this case, jurors had awarded more than $80 million against David over similar allegations, highlighting a disturbing pattern of abuse and exploitation.
‘This historic verdict underscores the critical importance of holding perpetrators of sexual assault accountable, regardless of their wealth or status.
“Not only does it bring justice to Jane Doe, it also sends a powerful message to all victims of sexual assault: your voice matters and justice is within your reach.”
