Moreno Caught In ANOTHER Lawsuit For Stealing “Confidential” Company Data

Cleveland.com: Senate Hopeful Bernie Moreno’s Falling Out With A Billionaire Mentor Led To Legal Battle, Move To Ohio

Columbus, OH – New reporting from Cleveland.com today revealed Bernie Moreno was sued by his former mentor for stealing “confidential company data.” This is the latest example in “a series of lawsuits that have come to light” against Moreno – who has been sued at least 50 times – including over a dozen lawsuits for refusing to pay his employees the overtime wages they earned and multiple lawsuits for gender and age discrimination.

Cleveland.com: Senate hopeful Bernie Moreno’s falling out with a billionaire mentor led to legal battle, move to Ohio
Jeremy Pelzer
October 28, 2024

• … [Moreno’s] former employer – led by a helicopter-commuting billionaire named Herb Chambers – sued him in 2005, claiming Moreno misappropriated confidential company data and used its resources to poach customers.

• The previously unreported litigation, which Moreno contested and ended in a settlement that was later overturned, is one in a series of lawsuits that have come to light over Moreno’s business practices.

• In legal filings that have surfaced during the campaign, Moreno has been accused of gender and age discrimination. More than a dozen dealership employees sued Moreno over unpaid overtime. Another said Moreno stiffed him on profit sharing he was promised.

• In 1993, Chambers hired Moreno – then a 26-year-old field consultant for Saturn, the now-defunct General Motors car brand – to run one of the dozens of dealerships he owned in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

• During the next 12 years, Moreno rose up into the upper management of Chambers’ company. But in March 2005, Mercedes-Benz approached Moreno about purchasing a small dealership in North Olmsted, Ohio, as part of a company initiative to have more Mercedes dealerships owned by racial minorities.

• A few months later, in July 2005, the Herb Chambers Companies filed a civil lawsuit against Moreno in Middlesex County, Massachusetts.

• The suit claimed Moreno sold about 20 cars through his dealership to Chambers customers in violation of a confidentiality agreement and accused him of “improperly” advertising his Ohio dealership in Massachusetts.

• Years later, more than dozen lawsuits were filed against Moreno by employees at his Burlington dealership, claiming Moreno didn’t pay them overtime. Ultimately, Moreno was ordered to pay two of the workers more than $400,000, and 14 other lawsuits were settled for an undisclosed amount, according to the Columbus Dispatch.

• Moreno and his company or subsidiary also has faced three discrimination lawsuits in Cuyahoga County between 2015 and 2017, according to the Associated Press.

Read More About The Lawsuits Clouding Moreno’s Candidacy:

• Business Insider: Trump-backed Ohio Senate candidate shredded documents as he faced a lawsuit accusing him of wage theft

• Spectrum News: Bernie Moreno’s business record takes center stage in Senate bid

• WKYC: No, Bernie Moreno’s claims that Massachusetts courts overturned federal law in wage theft lawsuits and made rulings retroactive are not true: VERIFY

• WKYC: How many times was Ohio US Senate candidate Bernie Moreno sued during his business career? VERIFY

• Cleveland.com: Bernie Moreno got sued by an employee who said he didn’t get paid what he was promised. Here’s what happened.

• Mother Jones: Bernie Moreno Owed a Contractor $300K—Then Ignored Legal Rulings to Promptly Pay Up

• Mother Jones: A GOP Senate Candidate Blames “Liberal” Judges for His Labor Violations. Just One Problem With That. The Judges Were Largely Appointed By Republicans.

• The Daily Beast: This GOP Senate Hopeful Bernie Moreno’s Self-Made Story Has a Darker Side 

• Mahoning Matters: Mahoning, Trumbull union members discuss Bernie Moreno’s anti-worker allegations