Cybersecurity Firm Sues Michigan Attorney and Pennsylvania Resident Over Alleged Defamation and Election Fraud Claims

In a significant development, a New York-based cybersecurity firm and its founder have filed a lawsuit against a Michigan attorney, her law firm, and a Pennsylvania resident over allegations of defamation and other wrongful acts. The lawsuit is centered around investigations and lawsuits related to the 2020 Presidential Election.

The plaintiffs, Yaacov Apelbaum, a cybersecurity expert, and his company, XRVision, Ltd., allege that the defendants, Michigan attorney Stefanie Lambert, her law firm, and Pennsylvania resident Bill Bachenberg, engaged in a defamation campaign against them. The defendants had hired the plaintiffs to perform forensic and cyber analyses of various voting systems used in Antrim County, Michigan, and Fulton County, Pennsylvania, following the 2020 Presidential Election.

According to the complaint, the plaintiffs found no evidence of election fraud in their analyses, which reportedly infuriated the defendants. The plaintiffs further allege that the defendants demanded they write a report stating that there were cheat codes in the software and evidence of remote/local hacking of the election systems. The plaintiffs refused to do so, stating that these claims were not true.

The lawsuit also alleges that the defendants began a defamation campaign against the plaintiffs, making false statements to their business relationships, including the Pennsylvania Senate, the Wisconsin State Legislature, and the Arizona Senate.

The plaintiffs are seeking damages for libel with common law malice, tortious interference with business relationships, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. They are also seeking a declaratory judgment that the defendants have no right to the plaintiffs’ work product and that the plaintiffs have no obligation to refund any payments received from the defendants.

The case underscores the ongoing controversy and legal battles surrounding the 2020 Presidential Election, with this lawsuit bringing the issue of election integrity and the role of cybersecurity firms into sharp focus.