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Further legal action has been filed against former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt by his ex-partner, Michelle Ritter, accusing him of spying on staff and sexual assault.
Ritter says their relationship began after a 2020 dinner where she hoped to discuss a sports tech idea.
Court filings say the meeting advanced into a romance and business alliance in which Schmidt invested more than $100million into the venture. The lawsuit alleges that the partnership deteriorated as Ritter accused him of stealing business opportunities, conducting unauthorized surveillance, and accessing her digital files.
The filing states that Schmidt told her he had built an insider “backdoor” in order to spy on Google employees.
The complaint claims the tool gave him the ability to enter anyone’s Google information. Google is listed as a defendant, accused of knowingly assisting or failing to stop improper access to Ritter’s accounts.
Schmidt’s attorney Patricia Glaser responded that the lawsuit is “yet another desperate and destructive effort to publish false and defamatory statements to escape accountability from an existing arbitration over a business dispute.”
Glaser said the claims are contradicted by Ritter’s “own words” and described the lawsuit as a final attempt to avoid “the consequences of her own actions.”
Legal dispute and prior filings
Ritter previously sought a domestic violence restraining order in December 2024 before withdrawing it after a financial settlement that required arbitration. The new lawsuit says Schmidt has not honored the agreement based on accusations that she caused a media leak. Schmidt’s attorneys have called her filings a “blatant abuse of the judicial system” and a “transparent hit piece intended to smear and defame” him.
Many court documents remain sealed or heavily redacted. Ritter is seeking at least $100m in damages.
Allegations of assault and business control
The lawsuit further alleges Schmidt raped her on a yacht off Mexico in November 2021 and had sex without her consent at the 2023 Burning Man festival. It claims their Steel Perlot venture grew on Schmidt’s investment in AI, crypto and other startups before he attempted to take control of the companies.
Media reports cited in the filing describe conflicting accounts about the venture’s finances. The lawsuit also outlines Ritter’s account of surveillance, digital interference and attempts to direct affiliates to seize her corporate website and records.
Schmidt, who spent a decade leading Google and later served in advisory roles in Washington, holds an extensive real estate portfolio and recently took a controlling interest in Relativity Space.
