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Self-appointed ambassador for ‘wronged men’ of #MeToo Alki David faces criminal complaint

Alki David sitting in a chair and posing with his fingers laced together while wearing a blue collared shirt
Controversial hologram executive Alki David has been hit with nearly $74 million in civil verdicts this year for a variety of sexual misconduct claims.
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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Mahim Khan, who won a $58-million civil verdict against billionaire Alki David for sexual battery, plans to file a criminal complaint against the controversial hologram entrepreneur, her attorney said.

Khan met with two officials at the Beverly Hills Police Department on Monday and will have a follow-up meeting Tuesday, when she plans to lodge a sexual battery complaint against David, said her attorney Gloria Allred.

“People think of sexual harassment as a civil matter, which it is but in some cases it may also constitute a crime,” Allred said. “We think an investigation should be opened into Mr. David.”

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A spokesperson for the Beverly Hills department confirmed the meeting with Khan; she said a police report filing was in progress.

Earlier this month a jury awarded Khan, a former production assistant who worked at David’s media companies, including FilmOn TV and Alki David Productions Inc., $50 million in punitive damages and $8.25 million in compensatory damages.

The award is among the highest ever for an individual employment case.

Among the allegations in Khan’s lawsuit, she said that in 2014 David, heir to a Greek Coca-Cola bottling fortune, thrust his pelvic area into her face, simulated oral sex, moaned, zipped up his pants and walked away saying, “Thanks, M.K.”

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The ruling was the third verdict this year against David, who has been accused of numerous acts of inappropriate behavior by former employees.

Calling the legal system “broke and biased,” David responded to Allred’s announcement in a statement saying, “Gloria Allred and Mahim Khan don’t realize they just made a huge mistake with this stunt.” He also added, “Let’s settle this now: I challenge their client to a public polygraph test. Let’s do it live on TV. I have nothing to hide — do you, MK?”

Khan’s recent award has brought the amount of verdicts against David to nearly $74 million.

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A California jury in April ordered David to pay another employee, Chasity Jones, $11.1 million. She said he fired her after she refused to have sex with him. Jones later agreed to a reduction in compensatory damages by $437,120. Punitive damages remained at $8 million.

In October, a jury found in favor of Lauren Reeves, a former comedy writer at Hologram USA, awarding her $650,000 in compensatory damages and $4.35 million in punitive damages. In 2016, Reeves alleged David put his hands on her throat and pushed her chair into a wall, banging her head, among other claims. According to her suit, David told Reeves that he needed to buy supplies for his “rape room.”

In September, a jury deadlocked in former FilmOn account executive Elizabeth Taylor’s case and the judge declared a mistrial. A suit filed in 2016 was settled out of court.

David has disputed the allegations of sexual misconduct, saying, “I never touched any of these women.”

David represented himself in the Taylor trial. His disruptive and defiant behavior earned him nearly $10,000 in sanctions; he was ejected from the courtroom on several occasions.

The judge in the Khan trial revoked David’s right to represent himself, prompting him to bolt from the courtroom.

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David who has been highly critical of his accusers, their attorneys and the legal system, issued a statement following the Khan verdict, protesting his innocence, saying, “How is it justice if I’m not allowed to present any defense at all?” he said.

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