Amanda Archer, a public relations executive, has filed a legal complaint against Perfect Moment Ltd., one of its investors, and several other entities alleging sexual assault, battery, harassment, and contractual breaches.
The Los Angeles-based Archer, who owns and runs Archer Bytes, is demanding a jury trial in the 65-page filing that was made in the Superior Court of California. She alleges that Reeve Benaron, a serial entrepreneur who is now co-chief executive officer of Intrivo Diagnostics, “raped, sexually assaulted and battered her, during a business trip, then threatened her professional standing and economic livelihood to coerce her silence.”
Archer claimed that the defendants knew of the alleged misconduct and “proceeded to systematically undermine” her work, deny her contractual rights and ultimately conspire to strip her rightful compensation for valuable business introductions and public relations services she had dutifully and competently rendered.”
In addition to Perfect Moment and Benaron, the other defendants are Intrivo’s co-CEO Ron Gutman; Media Mogul Technologies; Intrivo Diagnostics; Vantage19; Away Anand; Axis Partners; Andre Peschong; Ocean Street Partners, and Kahala 19.
Archer alleges that after forming a partnership with Benaron to form the company, Media Mogul, she introduced him to Perfect Moment and he later invested $6 million in the company, but she never received a finder’s fee. “Based on public filings attributed to Benaron with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Archer believes that Benaron beneficially owns, and the Benaron Enterprise owns, approximately 24.56 percent of Perfect Moment” due to her introduction, according to the filing.
At or about the same time that Benaron Enterprise made its initial investment in Perfect Moment, Benaron allegedly invited Archer to attend the Roth Capital Partners Deer Valley event in Utah. Upon arriving on Dec. 10 at the Marriott Hotel Summit Watch in Park City, Archer was booked into a room that was adjoining to the one that was booked for Benaron. She claimed that after returning to her room alone following a disagreement with Benaron over her refusal to approve a CEO for Media Mogul, she was woken up after he allegedly “entered her room without her consent, screamed at her, physically assaulted her, and threatened to kill her multiple times.”
The complaint read that, “In an effort to appease Benaron, Archer agreed to ‘forget’ their disagreement and reassured him that she would remain at Media Mogul. In response, Benaron severely beat and violently raped Archer.”
Attorneys for Benaron had not responded to requests for comment Wednesday afternoon.
The filing includes a photograph of a bruised and scraped arm that was said to have been taken the following day.
Asked for comment about the complaint and Archer’s allegations, Perfect Moment’s brand manager Julie Robinson said via email, “As recently disclosed in our annual report on 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, June 30, Perfect Moment Limited was named as one of many defendants in a lawsuit filed in California by Amanda Archer and Archer Bytes LLC, a former public relations consultant for the company. The primary complaint against the company alleges breach of contract. We believe the claims are entirely without merit and intend to vigorously defend the matter. We will not comment further on ongoing litigation.”
On June 30, the luxury outerwear and activewear brand that was founded in Chamonix, France, closed its initial public offering.
The complaint claimed that in the following weeks, “Benaron continued to pressure and coerce Archer into sexual activity, ignoring her repeated requests to restore their relationship to a professional level only. Archer remained in fear for her life. Also, at that point, “at the insistence of Benaron, Gutman, Media Mogul, and Intrivo, and their demands that Archer and Archer Bytes devote all their resources to them, and Archer and Archer Bytes had no substantial means of current income but from the defendants, and could not afford to be terminated by them,” according to the filing.
Archer alleges that Benaron “required” that she take on an additional public relations consultant, Owen Phillips, to help with the Media Mogul partnership, so that she could work nearly full-time on Intrivo. Phillips declined to comment Wednesday.
Archer is seeking 25 causes of action including stalking, negligence and gender violence.
The complaint alleges that Intrivo’s co-CEO Gutman, whom more than 10 million people know from his “Ted Talk” that is called “The Hidden Power of Smiling,” was allegedly terminated from his position as HealthTap’s CEO for “acts of intimidation, abuse and mistrust.” Archer alleges that Gutman engaged in “systematic gender-based harassment and discrimination” and “deliberately undermined” her work by refusing to read her correspondence, dismissing her accomplishments and creating arbitrary obstacles to her success.”
A DM to Gutman was not returned on Wednesday.