QMI Agency reports:
Shaquille O’Neal is being sued by a former employee who accuses the NBA superstar of trying to plant child pornography on his computer.
Shawn Darling, who worked for O’Neal as an IT consultant from 2007-09, is taking the Celtics big man to court in Florida for “intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and civil R.I.C.O (a racketeering charge).”
According to the lawsuit, Darling was ordered to delete information from a computer and email account that would have exposed multiple affairs O’Neal was having while he was still married. After the information was deleted, Shaq allegedly tried to plant child pornography on Darling’s computer to frame the employee and keep him from releasing any of the incriminating evidence.
UPDATE: The Boston Herald reports:
In a lengthy statement released by his representatives yesterday, O’Neal called Darling “an ex-con” with a lengthy record. He portrayed the suit as a brazen cash-grab by a man who previously tried to extort him for $12 million by threatening to expose O’Neal’s personal communications and e-mails.
“Mr. O’Neal has made it crystal clear that he will never respond to these outrageous tactics,” Shaq’s representatives said in a statement. “As a result, Darling filed a lawsuit which seeks only to embarrass, harass and extract money from Mr. O’Neal.”
