Mon Ethos Pro Support LLC said Tuesday it was relieved that the V.I. government has dismissed its lawsuit against the cybersecurity company, calling the legal action baseless and unnecessary, and said it now expects prompt payment of some $500,000 it says it is owed.
“This dismissal marks the end of what has been a completely unnecessary and damaging legal battle — a battle that never should have happened in the first place,” the company said in a statement.
The V.I. Justice Department announced early Tuesday that it had dismissed the civil action and motion for injunctive relief filed against Mon Ethos Pro Support and its founder David Whitaker on Aug. 2 in V.I. Superior Court, which sought to retrieve and preserve data and physical property that was in the company’s possession through its contract for cybersecurity services with the V.I. Police Department, the agency announced in a press release early Tuesday.
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.
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.
While Mon Ethos said Tuesday that it was relieved by the decision, it says it is still awaiting payment and that the accusations against the company were baseless.
“Let’s be clear about what happened here. The government came after us with a laundry list of false accusations,” the company said in its statement, while outlining its grievances with the allegations:
Breach of Contract: They tried to claim that we were withholding VIPD property to force payment of invoices they already owed us.
Conversion: They accused us of unlawfully keeping property that we were more than willing to return.
Violations of the Computer Crimes Act: They alleged that we misused VIPD’s digital data, despite our strict adherence to all contractual obligations.
Spoliation of Evidence: They suggested that we failed to preserve important evidence — another baseless claim.
Demand for Accounting: They demanded detailed accounting, likely to disrupt our ongoing contracts and obligations.
“Throughout this ordeal, we’ve done everything in our power to comply with the government’s requests, even when those requests were inconsistent and poorly communicated. We repeatedly tried to return the property, including the GrayKey device, to the VIPD. However, our efforts were stymied by VIPD representatives who either refused to accept the property or were unaware of their role in the process,” said Curtis Jones, who was recently announced as the new owner of MEPSVI.
“It’s important to note that we were never ordered by the court to return any property. The court’s only directive was for both parties to maintain the status quo pending a hearing. Despite this, we voluntarily attempted to resolve the situation in good faith — only to be met with confusion and resistance,” said Jones.
“The government’s dismissal of this case is nothing short of an admission that their claims were unfounded. We’ve satisfied every concern they had—if there ever were any real concerns to begin with. Now, the only thing left for the government to do is to pay us what they owe,” he said.
Anthony Thomas, company vice president and a former Property and Procurement commissioner, said Mon Ethos was looking forward to getting back to business, as well as getting paid.
“This entire situation has been a drain on our resources and an unnecessary burden on the taxpayers of the Virgin Islands. It’s clear to us that the government’s case was not just weak — it was baseless from the start. We are now looking forward to getting paid and putting this behind us and focusing on what we do best: delivering high-quality digital services to the community of the Virgin Islands,” Thomas said.
“We expect immediate payment for our work and hope that this marks the end of the government’s unwarranted actions against us. We’ve been patient, but it’s time to settle this once and for all,” he added.
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, according to public records. 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 2023 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.
