Goguen sues New York Post for defamation

In response to a recent article published in the New York Post, Whitefish philanthropist Michael Lewis Goguen has sued the media outlet for defamation.

The Post published a story written by Isabel Vincent about Goguen in its Nov. 20 edition.

Goguen, a former Silicon Valley businessman who has lived in Whitefish for several years, says in the suit filed Nov. 26 in Flathead County District Court that the article falsely and outrageously alleges that Goguen has engaged in widespread criminal misconduct and sexual abuse, that Goguen turned Whitefish into a “personal fiefdom” and “banana republic” where he controls law enforcement.

Former Whitefish Police Chief Bill Dial is also named in the defamation suit because, according to the suit, Dial described Goguen as “a billionaire a la Harvey Weinstein and [Jeffrey] Epstein who has to be stopped.”

Goguen’s suit claims he has been the target of unscrupulous characters and, in connection with the federal prosecution of Matthew Marshall, in which Goguen was the victim and the government’s primary witness, the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Office have found every claim of substantial wrongdoing about Goguen to be false.

Goguen is not seeking a specific dollar figure in his suit, but he did indicate that he recently launched Two Bear Capital Fund I, a venture capital fund with third-party investors and he asserted the article could have an adverse impact on the fund.

The complaint says the liability of the Post and Vincent could easily exceed $100 million in actual damages with more in punitive damages. It also claims the Post story has received thousands of comments on social media that have soiled Goguen’s reputation, upended his life and caused business associates and others to rethink their association with him.

ACCORDING TO the suit, Goguen sought a correction the day after the article’s publication, but on Nov. 24, counsel for the Post replied and refused to correct anything.

Goguen’s suit also says the article purports to draw from complaints filed against him by “miscreants” who have tried to swindle or extort millions of dollars from him over the years.

Goguen has had success in court against those who have tried to sue him for sexual abuse and wrongful business dealings.

According to court documents filed Nov. 4 in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Matthew Anthony Marshall, 50, of Whitefish, has agreed to plead guilty to money laundering, tax evasion and wire fraud.

According to charging documents, Marshall, the former CEO of Amyntor Group, a private security company, perpetuated his alleged scheme between April 20, 2013, and March 21, 2016, when he convinced Goguen he was a former CIA agent and former member of an elite unit in the U.S. Marine Corps who had engaged in covert missions around the world.

According to a January 2020 story in the Whitefish Pilot, a California judge ruled in favor of Goguen in a counter-lawsuit he filed against a woman who claimed he abused her during their 13-year relationship.

Judge Danny Chou ruled in favor of Goguen in a proposed statement of decision in California Superior Court in December 2019, and awarded Goguen $10.25 million in damages. The judge ruled in favor of Goguen's counterclaims, including extortion, fraud, harassment and invasion of privacy.

That original lawsuit was filed three years ago by Amber Baptiste against Goguen, claiming he breached a settlement agreement to pay her $40 million following the end of their relationship. In the lawsuit, she alleged Goguen subjected her to countless hours of sexual and verbal abuse.

Goguen has continued to deny the allegations and subsequently filed a cross-complaint against Baptiste, alleging extortion. In the decision, Goguen was awarded $10 million in compensatory damages against Baptiste and an additional $250,000 against Baptiste and her charity, Every Girl Counts.

THERE IS one pending lawsuit against Goguen, brought by Marshall and three of his business associates. Marshall and his associates are seeking more than $800 million in damages.

Marshall claims in the lawsuit that Goguen induced him to leave his position at the U.S. State Department for a job with Two Bear Security, and based on a promise by Goguen to fund a private security contracting business (which Marshall named Amyntor), to be built on Marshall's personal network and expertise, until such business became profitable.

Marshall recruited others to help grow the business of Amyntor and together, they invested five years to grow Amyntor into a flourishing business, according to the suit.

Marshall claims Goguen compromised their activities by repeatedly seeking to commandeer and use the business' contacts, Amyntor resources and Goguen's numerous entities and employees to further Goguen's alleged racketeering scheme to destroy anyone who sought to expose Goguen for his alleged prolific sexual misconduct.

Marshall also alleged in the complaint that Goguen consistently underfunded Amyntor from 2014-2018, then dissolved it in late 2018 after he and his business associates sought to buy out Goguen's total investments at four times what he invested, as a means to salvage the company they had been building.

In June, Goguen's attorneys sought to have the lawsuit dismissed, but U.S. District Court Judge Donald Molloy dismissed the motion.

Reporter Scott Shindledecker may be reached at 406-758-4441 or sshindledecker@dailyinterlake.com.