Hours after Robert Herjavec filed a lawsuit against his ex-girlfriend alleging extortion, she filed her own suit against him claiming sexual assault.
Herjavec, 55, claims Danielle Vasinova, whom he dated from 2013 to 2015, is trying to exploit the Harvey Weinstein sexual harassment scandal by extorting him for millions of dollars, TMZ reports.
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The Shark Tank star said when he ended their relationship, she threatened to go public with false assertions that he gave her herpes and repeatedly sexually assaulted her.
Herjavec said at one point she demanded $20 million in return for her silence, and at another point she reduced her request to $5 million — both of which he rejected.
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After a previously failed extortion attempt, Herjavec told TMZ he didn’t hear from her until Monday, November 6, when he got a letter from her attorney that said she was threatening to reignite the assault claims.
In his lawsuit, Herjavec is requesting only $1 in damages and an order prohibiting her from continuing her alleged extortion attempts.
In her own lawsuit, Vasinova is detailing multiple alleged sexual assaults by Herjavec. She claims that he took her to an underground sex club in 2015 and made her watch as he engaged in sexual activity. She alleges that when she refused to join them, he overpowered her and forced her to engage in “injurious sexual intercourse and sodomy.”
Vasinova also said that in February 2015, Herjavec shoved her inside from a balcony, threw her down violently across a table and raped her. She also alleges that the next morning, he grabbed her by the throat and engaged in sexual intercourse.
Vasinova is suing for sexual battery, domestic violence, and infliction of emotional distress. She claims that when she and Herjavec got together, he promised to marry her and take care of her financial needs and pressured her to put her career on hold.
Herjavec’s lawyer, Lee Hutton, denies Vasinova’s allegations. “The allegations are false and with the sole intent for monetary gain. My client has had enough and will not tolerate extortion,” he told TMZ.
Photo Credit: Instagram / @robert_herjavec
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