Kate Gosselin Accuses Jon of Theft, Hacking

(CN) - Jon Gosselin stole his ex-wife's hard drive and hacked into her email, bank and cellphone accounts, to feed "false, defamatory and unflattering" information about her to a tabloid reporter, reality TV mom Kate Gosselin claims in a federal lawsuit.

Kate sued Jon Gosselin and reporter Robert Hoffman in Philadelphia Federal Court on Monday, claiming they "were paid by various tabloids to supply them with stories painting Kate Gosselin in a poor light." Hoffman allegedly used the information he illegally obtained from Jon in a book called "Kate Gosselin: How She Fooled the World," which Amazon pulled shortly after publication.

While married, the couple starred in the TLC series "Jon & Kate Plus 8," a reality show about their lives as parents of twins and sextuplets. They filed for divorce in June 2009.

Around the time they separated, Kate says Jon "began accessing [her] password-protected email account without her authorization." She says he also hacked into her online bank accounts and her cellphone without permission and "stole a hard drive from [her] house, which contained protected, private and confidential material."

He fed the information to Hoffman, a tabloid reporter with whom Jon had become "close friends," according to the lawsuit.

"The defendants then published the information that Jon Gosselin illegally obtained in several publications" and in Hoffman's book, Kate claims.

She says the book "contained defamatory and untrue information" about her, along with details that portrayed her "in a false and negative light."

She says Amazon pulled it "just two days after it was published, in part due to the fact that it relied on false information, and information Hoffman obtained illegally."

"Hoffman knew his activities were unlawful, and at one point even told Radar Online: 'I'll be sued by one or more parties before this is over,'" the lawsuit states.

Kate says Hoffman "falsely claimed in certain publications that he recovered the data from Kate's computer by digging through her trash that he found on the street."

But she says there was no way he could have gleaned all that personal information "while engaging in trash-picking endeavors."

"This demonstrates his knowledge that the materials were obtained illegally, as it is a sign of an attempt to cover up his unlawful activities," Kate says.

She demands actual and punitive damages for computer fraud, violations of state and federal electronic communications law, identify theft, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy.

She is represented by A. Jordan Rushdie with Mulvihill & Rushdie LLC in Philadelphia.

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