Oprah is Being Sued for $180 Million

Posted on October 23, 2008 - 8:48am by loretta Keifer Bonvillain is asking for $180 million in restitution in a lawsuit that he filed on Tuesday, October 21 against Oprah Winfrey, her lawyer and the FBI.

Bonvillain claims that Oprah gave 'false statements' that led to his arrest in December 2006.  Allegedly, Bonvillain recorded telephone conversations of an employee of Oprah's production company and then told an associate of the company that he planned to publish a book based on the recordings.  He claimed that he had offers that ranged from $500,000 to $3 million from publishers.

Bonvillain was arrested for extortion after agreeing to accept $1.5 million to turn the recordings over to one of Oprah's associates.

The charges against Bonvillain were dismissed in 2007, but Bonvillain was still required to complete 50 hours of community service, take a drug test and pay $3000 in restitution.

Bonvillain stated, "There was substantial damage done to my name and reputation on a world level.  The extent of my damages is vast."

Harpo Productions lawyer, Chip Babcock said, "And we know that this whole episode started when the plaintiff wiretapped a Harpo employee in California.  We advised (Bonvillain) that we believe that wiretapping was illegal, and this case will give us an opportunity to determine whether we were right about that."

$180 million....This guy must be crazy!  I don't think there is anyone out there who's name and reputation is worth $180 million.  What do you think?