BrewDog CEO James Watt was defrauded of thousands of dollars by an ex-lover who was covertly running an internet trolling campaign, and he has now been awarded £600,000.
The beer magnate from Aberdeen described how Emili Ziem, 29, launched a “vicious” smear campaign against him and “harassed, deceived, and defamed” him.
By suggesting she could assist in identifying others who were falsely accusing the businessman of harassing women and other crimes, Ziem defrauded Mr. Watt, 40, out of more than £100,000.
In actuality, she was disseminating many of the falsehoods via a bogus social media page.
Ziem has been ordered by judge Lord Brailsford to repay the money in addition to 500,000 pounds in costs and damages during a hearing at the Court of Session.
Mr. Watt wrote yesterday on his LinkedIn profile: “For the past two years I have been the target of a vicious and relentless campaign of abuse, frequently by troll accounts posting and sharing appalling lies about me (often directly to family and friends) – lies that were then amplified throughout the internet.”
It has caused a great deal of personal harm and has been a huge distraction. I had to use every effort to put a stop to the campaign.
“I want to clarify that I didn’t go to court lightly, but I have been hounded, conned, and slandered, and it has severely harmed me, my family, and my company,” the plaintiff claims. I was powerless.
In 2020, the pair initially connected on Instagram, after which they started meeting up and speaking often.
May 2021 saw the start of Mr. Watt’s friends receiving derogatory communications from an account using the name Laura Keller.
The communications alleged allegations of crime and accused him of “abusing his position” with women, which Mr. Watt vehemently rejected.
Soon later, model and bioprocess engineer Ziem got in touch with Mr. Watt and stated that when she was at a party, she overheard one of his ex-girlfriends discussing a vendetta to “bring him down.” For £25,000 worth of Bitcoin for each name she disclosed, she pledged to become friends with those allegedly implicated.
Miss Ziem said she could assist Mr. Watt in locating those responsible for using troll accounts to disseminate harmful and untrue information, but she demanded cash. I paid up because I was anxious to put an end to this terrible torture. The con artist claimed to have discovered four identities and acquired the associated money.
But Mr. Watt became suspicious and contacted Michael Roberts, a private investigator, £236,000 to check into the Laura Keller account.
Ziem was revealed to be the person behind the Keller account by Mr. Roberts using his expertise in digital forensics.
She was, in reality, an integral member of a network working to distribute false and destructive information about me and my company in an effort to harm us both as much as possible, according to Mr. Watt.
The Truth Regarding BrewDog, a BBC Disclosure documentary that examined worker allegations about the founder’s treatment of women and the business culture, featured Mr. Watt in January. I think the resolution of this lawsuit gives some perspective and starts to tell a little bit of a different tale than what you may have read about BrewDog,’ Mr. Watt said.
He also promised to give the whole amount owed to charity in the event that payment is made.
While a second lawsuit brought in England over the same event is still pending, Ziem said she had been told not to speak.