Toronto man denies conspiring with Marvel CEO in alleged hate mail scheme

A Toronto man accusedof conspiring with the head ofMarvel Entertainment in a bizarre hate mail campaign against his wealthy former employerhas denied any role in the alleged scheme.

David Smith,along withMarvel CEO Isaac (Ike)Perlmutter, is thetargetof a slander lawsuit launched earlier this year by Canadian businessman Harold Peerenboom.

Now Smitha former employee ofPeerenboom'sToronto-based executive search firm, Mandrake Managementhas filed a motion to dismiss the U.S. civil suit.

It's the latest development in the years-long legal battle between Peerenboomand Perlmutter, a notoriously reclusiveAmerican billionaire and personal friend of U.S. President Donald Trump.

The hate mailcampaign,which ranbetween2012to 2015, saw anonymous letters falsely accusing Peerenboom of being a child molester, murderer and anti-Semitesent to the businessman'sfriends, family, colleagues and neighbours in Toronto.

Perlmutters denied accusations

Letters were also sent tofellow residents of a condo complex in Sloan's Curve, Palm Beach, Fla.,where both Peerenboom and Perlmutterown homes.Peerenboom alleges a dispute with Perlmutter over the management ofits shared tennis courtssparked thehate mail campaign.

Peerenboom previouslyfiled a separate civil suit against the Marvel magnate and his wife, Laura, claiming they were the architects of the campaign.

The Perlmutters have denied the accusations andcounter-sued Peerenboom,accusinghim of stealing their DNA samples while they were giving testimony at adeposition hearing in Florida all part ofPeerenboom'splan, they claim,to try and prove they were connected to the slanderous letters.

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Peerenboomalleges that Smith, at some point, connected with thePerlmutters,who involved himin the hate mail scheme.(Peerenboom'scompany, Mandrake, has also filed a $25-million lawsuit against Smith, claiming he violated the terms of a settlement agreement after he was fired.)

Earlier this month, Smith's Florida-based lawyer filed the motion to dismiss the lawsuit on the basis ofjurisdiction, arguing the allegations do not reveal that Smith did anything to harmPeerenboomin the state.

In an attached affidavit,Smith denies the allegations levelled against him by his former boss.

In the document, Smith says he has never "met, spoken with or otherwisecommunicated with [Isaac]Perlmutteror LauraPerlmutter."

He also saysin the document that he never"participated in a conspiracy, or acted in concert with them or any other persons, in a hate mail campaignto defame or fame or otherwise harm the plaintiff."

In the originalclaim against Smith,Peerenboomcontends his former employeewas a"willing scapegoat" in the alleged scheme orchestrated by thePerlmutters"in the event that the anonymity of his co-conspirators was breached."

Smithagreed to participate in return for payment, the suit alleges.

None of the allegations in either suit have been proven in court.

Didn't agree to 'be used as a scapegoat'

In his signed affidavit, Smith denies he agreed to"be used as a scapegoat"or arranged for payment.

Smith's alleged ties to the hatemail campaign came after U.S. customs agents in Detroit intercepted a suspicious package in 2016 that included four pre-addressed, postage-paid letters and three sets of latex gloves. The package had been en route from a UPS store in Toronto to one in Florida;two letters were addressed to Peerenboom's wife, Robin, at the couple's residences in Palm Beach and Toronto.

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The two others were addressed to Mandrake employees.

The letters were similar to other letters that had been previously sent out against Peerenboom, and said that if Peerenboom didn't leave Palm Beach, the letter writer would send other letters claiming Peerenboom was a child molester to prisoners across North America.

"These letters invite the convict to come visit your husband they provide your address here in Florida and Canada," one letter addressed to Robin Peerenboomread. "Be a good mother and sell your place here on Sloan's Curve."

According to Peerenboom's claim, Smith's name is listed as recipient on the package's shipping label, as is his cellphone number. The claim also allegesa video recording by UPS store securityshows Smith mailing a package.

Smith wascharged in June 2017with extortion, forgery and criminal harassment.Those charges were later stayed. Smith signed a $500 peace bond and was ordered not to have any contact withPeerenboom directly or indirectly.

Yet in hisaffidavit,Smith denies he had anything to do with the mailing of thoseletters, or that he ever entered a UPS store in Canada or the U.S. to mail or receive a package.

Smith also says in the document thathe was wrongfully arrested in Canada, and that the stayed criminal charges will be dropped in the fall.

None of the lawyers for Peerenboom, the Perlmutters or Smith would comment on Smith's motion to dismiss or affidavit.