More swing state voters are alleging Elon Musk and America PAC have not dished out promised payments from the 2024 election
In a second proposed class action filed last week, three swing state voters — including one Pennsylvania man — allege Musk and America PAC did not pay him the proper amount for signature referrals.
After a Bucks County man alleged in a proposed class action lawsuit last month that he did not receive the cash prize that billionaire Elon Musk and his conservative super PAC promised to him during the 2024 presidential election, more battleground state voters have come forward, claiming that they too are still owed payments from Musk, attorneys say.
Last week, lawyers from the Boston-based firm Lichten & Liss-Riordan filed a second proposed class action suit the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, hoping to represent swing state voters nationwide.
The second, expanded complaint, filed on May 8, accuses Musk and his America PAC of breach of contract and failure to fulfill an enforceable promise, naming voters in swing states — including Pennsylvania, Nevada, and Georgia — who allegedly did not receive the money promised to them for referring signatures to a petition sponsored by Musk’s pro-Trump PAC during his attempts to gamify and drive Republican turnout in the 2024 presidential election.
Shannon Liss-Riordan, partner and lead attorney on the lawsuit, said Friday that while the total number of individuals who could be involved in the class action will remain unknown until the case progresses, but based on interest received, she expects more than 100 people to join the lawsuit, alleging that Musk and his PAC owe more than $5 million.
A spokesperson for America PAC did not respond to a request for comment on the secondary lawsuit, but last month said the super PAC is “committed to paying for every legitimate petition,” has already paid canvassers tens of millions of dollars, and has “the right to withhold payments to fraudsters.”
“When withholding payment from people he owes money to, Elon seems to like going to this go-to excuse that the claims are fraud,” Liss-Riordan responded.
Musk is the richest man in the world and the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. He is one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers and was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, tasked with overhauling government spending, though Musk has reportedly said he plans to scale back his role in Washington.
In October 2024, as he campaigned relentlessly for Trump with a focus on Pennsylvania, Musk offered cash prizes to registered swing state voters who signed or referred or referred others to sign America PAC’s petition, pledging their allegiance to the First and Second Amendments.
The original prize was $47, but was later bumped up to $100 as a “special offer” for voters in Pennsylvania, a key battleground state. Musk also touted multiple $1 million giveaways to what he said was randomly selected swing state voters. The giveaways were the subject of an unsuccessful legal challenge by Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner.
Anthony Maglietta, a former Lancaster pub owner, was named as a plaintiff in the May 8 filing, which alleged he “referred many voters in Pennsylvania to sign the America PAC petition leading up to the November 2024 election” but was not paid the “full promised amounts” for his actions.
A plaintiff in Nevada, Steven Reid, worked as a canvasser for America PAC in Michigan and Georgia. The complaint said Reid referred many voters to sign the petition. The third named plaintiff, Jerry Victorious, of Georgia, referred voters in Georgia and other swing states to the petition. The complaint alleges Reid is owed “at least several thousand dollars,” and said Victorious was also not paid for his efforts.
The complaint does not specify how much each of the canvassers are allegedly owed.
In the initial lawsuit filed last month, an unnamed Bucks County man alleged he was owed more than $20,000 for soliciting signatures for the America PAC petition while working as a canvasser.