LOS ANGELES (CN) - Donors claim in court that anti-whaling activist Paul Watson and his Sea Shepherd Conservation Society took donations from them under false pretenses, by intentionally sinking the ship they gave to the cause and then blaming Japanese whalers, to solicit more donations.
Ady Gil, owner of the eponymous ship Ady Gil, Vince Dundee, and Faast Leasing California, of which Dundee is a managing member, filed a civil RICO complaint against Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Watson on Wednesday, in Superior Court.
Gil, an animal rights activist, says he got the 78-foot long ship by paying $1 million for a controlling interest in Earthrace Limited, its prior owner. He then donated the ship, which was renamed in his honor, to Sea Shepherd for use in its anti-whaling campaign.
He and Dundee say in the lawsuit that Watson and Sea Shepherd "lied to the world" about how the Ady Gil sank, so they could seek more donations and use the money "for their own gain."
"Within days of the sinking, Gil hosted a fund raiser at his home in Los Angeles, specifically to raise money for the replacement of the Ady Gil," the 24-page complaint states. "Defendants assured Gil the funds raised would be used to replace his namesake vessel. Sea Shepherd provided guidance on the 'script' used to solicit donations, insisted upon editorial input on the video shown to the donors and prospective donors in attendance at the fundraiser, and ultimately approved a version of the video ... which proclaimed the donations would be used to replace the Ady Gil. In the video, Gil stated, with the approval of Sea Shepherd and because defendant had stated that they would replace the boat with the funds raised, that '... we lost a piece of history, the Earthrace which turned into the Ady Gil, we have to build another one. And the other one is going to be faster and meaner and stronger.' In addition, Gil stated, 'I will take these funds specifically for the construction of a new boat, and it's not going to be used for anything else."
The fund raiser paid off, raking in $175,000 to $200,000 that night, including $12,000 worth of refreshments, equipment and security that Gil provided for the event and a $50,000 contribution that Dundee gave through Faast Leasing, the men say in the lawsuit. Both say they made donations because they believed Watson's story that the Ady Gil was sunk by Japanese whalers.
Donations to Sea Shepherd increased from approximately $3.4 to around $7.4 million in the year after the Ady Gil sank, which is "an all-time high" for the organization, according to the complaint.
But the men claim the story of the Ady Gil's demise was an elaborate ruse manufactured by Watson to generate publicity and "enhanced sympathy" for Sea Shepherd.
They say Watson ordered the Sea Shepherd crew to sink the ship on Jan. 6, 2010 after a 14-foot portion of its hull broke off in a collision with a Japanese whaling ship near Antarctica.