A federal judge found last week that Fusion GPS — the opposition research firm that compiled the now-discredited “Steele dossier” that had claimed Donald Trump colluded with Russia — played a job in circulating a fake police report accusing a billionaire investor of rape.
Shervin Pishevar – a deep-pocketed investor in Uber, Airbnb, Slack and Postmates — has claimed for the past five years that Fusion GPS was the firm behind a forged police report that alleged he had raped a lady in a London hotel in May 2017.
The fake police report was signed by a police officer who never existed after which given to a reporter at Fast Company who published a story on it later that yr.
The last word source of the report stays unclear, however the US judge’s order permits Pishevar to subpoena Fusion GPS and potentially compel Fusion GPS to supply evidence concerning the source of the false report.
Shervin Pishevar invested in tech corporations including Uber, Postmates, and Robinhood. Bloomberg via Getty Images
“To this point, Mr. Pishevar’s investigations have revealed that Mr. Baram received the fake police report and false information from D.C.-based investigations company Fusion GPS,” US Judge Robin Meriweather of the District of Columbia wrote in a Feb. 17 ruling.
As a part of the ruling, the judge is issuing a subpoena demanding that Fusion GPS in the following 14 days reveal the identity of the individuals who created the fraudulent report in addition to the one that paid for the report back to be compiled.
Representatives for Pishevar declined to comment.
Fusion GPS didn’t reply to a request for comment.
