The V.I. Justice Department has dismissed the civil action and motion for injunctive relief filed against Mon Ethos Pro Support and its founder David Whitaker, which sought to retrieve and preserve data and physical property that was in the company’s possession and control, the agency announced in a press release early Tuesday.
The V.I. Superior Court granted the government’s request for a temporary restraining order on Aug. 8, which was later extended to Aug. 29. The court further ordered the parties to work out a plan to transfer physical possession of the disputed items back to the Virgin Islands Police Department and to file a notice with the court in that regard, the release stated.
“As a result of the lawsuit and our efforts, a representative of Mon Ethos appeared at the VIPD on Thursday, August 22, 2024, and turned over the property relevant to active cases, which remained in its care and which was the subject of dispute in the case,” the department said.
“Our suit was predicated on the defendants’ refusal to return physical devices that were entrusted to them, after demands by the Government and threats to delete data,” said Attorney General Nominee Gordon Rhea.
“The purposes of the civil suit have been achieved, as our efforts resulted in the return of 54 electronic devices and VIPD’s GrayKey (an electronic device used to unlock and retrieve data from other electronic devices). Having substantially achieved the primary purpose for our suit, the Virgin Islands Department of Justice has filed a Notice of Voluntary Dismissal in the action against Mon Ethos.”
Rhea thanked Assistant Attorney General Jalicha Persad and Chief of the Civil Division Venetia Velázquez for their hard work and diligence in bringing about these results.
The DOJ filed a complaint against Mon Ethos and Whitaker on July 2 in V.I. Superior Court, along with the motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunction, alleging the company breached its contract for cybersecurity services with the VIPD and was threatening to delete data critical to ongoing investigations and court cases.
The government alleged that Mon Ethos demanded payment of $479,795 on June 15 for work done over the previous three months “and threatened that data would be ‘lost’ if payment was not immediately remitted.” It was around the same time that the FBI announced that Police Commissioner Ray Martinez and Office of Management and Budget Director Jenifer O’Neal were the targets of a federal investigation regarding the government’s contract with Mon Ethos. Within days, both officials had resigned.
Public spending records reveal that the V.I. government has paid $3.31 million to Mon Ethos since August 2022, including $1.7 million from the Office of Management and Budget and $1.5 million from the V.I. Police Department. The company also signed a contract with the V.I. Education Department for $1.9 million on Feb. 28 for security systems and surveillance at 11 campuses in the St. Croix district.
According to the Property and Procurement Department, the one-year VIPD contract was awarded in October under an exemption to the formal bidding process, specifically 31 V.I. Code section 239(a)(8). Reasons for circumventing bids can include emergencies, expenditures under $10,000, under $50,000, single and sole source providers, technical expertise, and standardization of equipment, it said in response to questions from the Source.
