The FBI is looking into allegations brought by Ron Meyer, the deposed NBCUniversal vice chairman who alleges that he was the victim of an extortion plot, two sources tell Variety.
Meyer’s camp reached out to the FBI some time ago, after Meyer was initially threatened with exposure of his relationship with actress Charlotte Kirk. The FBI has followed up with key players over the last two days, indicating that the agency has taken at least some interest in the case. It is not clear whether a formal investigation has been launched.
Meyer resigned on Aug. 18 after disclosing to his bosses that he had made a confidential settlement with Kirk. Meyer, 75, had a brief affair with the 28-year-old actress about eight years ago.
NBCUniversal has hired outside counsel to conduct its own investigation into the company’s potential involvement in the settlement. One insider described the probe as “cursory,” and aimed at ensuring that company money was not used to pay Kirk.
Kirk’s fiance, director Neil Marshall, issued a statement on Aug. 20 blasting a report that he was one of the parties seeking payments to keep quiet about the affair. Marshall called the claims “trumped up malicious allegations as a smokescreen to distract the focus from the real villains here.”
In his initial statement, Meyer said he had been forced into making the disclosure by “other parties.”
“I made this disclosure because other parties learned of the settlement and have continuously attempted to extort me into paying them money or else they intended to falsely implicate NBCUniversal, which had nothing to do with this matter, and to publish false allegations about me,” Meyer said upon his exit.
Sources say that Kirk appears to have violated the terms of her settlement with Meyer, but the ousted media executive is still weighing whether or not to pursue legal action.