Eric Schmidt under fire: Ex-Google CEO accused of stalking, abuse and surveillance

Michelle Ritter, 31, has accused the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt of stalking, abuse, and promoting "toxic masculinity." In court filings submitted in Los Angeles late last year, she claims he subjected her to relentless digital surveillance while they secretly competed for money, a failed AI startup, and access to a Bel Air mansion, according to a report by The New York Post.

Michelle Ritter, who was allegedly in a relationship with Eric Schmidt, filed a temporary restraining order against the 70-year-old tech executive late last year, the report said, citing court documents.

Michelle Ritter Ritter and Eric Schmidt, whose net worth stands at $44.8 billion, as per Bloomberg estimates, entered into a “written settlement agreement” in December. The agreement mandated the tech titan make “substantial payments” to Ritter, though the specifics are still under seal, as noted in a 8 September filing in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the report added.

However, a week later, on 11 December, Ritter filed a domestic violence restraining order against Schmidt. She withdrew it three weeks later, on 6 January, after the two sides seemingly reached a new agreement, court documents highlighted.

In the withdrawn order, Ritter alleged that Schmidt had previously locked her out of her startup Steel Perlot's website, an AI-focused venture firm into which Schmidt had invested $100 million, the report said, quoting a person aware of the development.

“Please note Eric’s technical background,” Ritter said in the filing. “I literally cannot have a private phone call or send a private email without surveillance," she added.

Ritter further claimed in the filing that Schmidt demanded that she agree to “a gag order on any sexual assault or harassment allegations and sign a knowingly false declaration that any such allegations never happened.”

LiveMint could not independently verify the report.

Former Google CEO's response

On 8 October, Schmidt's lawyers in an 82-page response argued that “Michelle Ritter’s demonstrably false Complaint is a blatant abuse of the judicial system.” However, they redacted most of the legal reply before a court hearing scheduled for 4 December in downtown Los Angeles.

The billionaire’s legal team, led by LA litigator Patricia Glaser, submitted a motion on 8 October to seal the court documents. However, no final decision has been made on the request yet.

Ritter, in a December filing, claimed, “Unfortunately, my former partner is extraordinarily powerful and capable and has used every means to block me from getting access to secure data, devices, finances, or businesses, or to simply live my life in peace.”

The filing revealed that Ritter had been residing at 1060 Brooklawn Dr, a 15,000-square-foot mansion in Bel Air, purchased by Schmidt for $61 million from the Hilton hotel heirs. In the document, Ritter requested exclusive access to the luxurious estate and sought court protection for her German Shepherd, Henry.

However, Ritter, a 2021 Columbia Law School graduate who recently represented herself in the case, listed an address for what seemed to be a modest apartment in Beverly Hills.

Ritter stated in the filing that on December 17, less than a week after submitting her restraining order request, she and Schmidt reached an amended settlement agreement. She withdrew the TRO request a few weeks later, but she claimed Schmidt has since failed to fulfil his obligations.