Monarch’s co-defendant and one-time best friend, Karl Steinborn, was held liable for $3.1M in damages and subsequently committed suicide in 2016 on Gorman’s birthday.  The case against Monarch, which was originally filed in Federal Court in Pennsylvania, will be tried in Greenville, South Carolina. Gorman has retained the state’s top litigators, Robert Goings and Kirby Shealy, to try the case.
BlankRome LLP and Kroll Investigative Services were retained by Gorman in Pennsylvania, where the case was originally filed, and were successful in tracing the blackmail back to Monarch & Steinborn, according to the lawsuit.  The lawsuit alleges that Monarch and Steinborn used the pseudonym “Ilya” and operated a blackmail site called PerformOutsider.com.  PerformOutsider.com prominently listed Monarch’s fulfillment business, Direct Outbound, in its advertising section. Additionally Monarch was PerformOutsider’s first follower on social media.
