Jeff Bezos Is Sued by His Girlfriend’s Brother

After Mr. Bezos accused American Media of trying to extort him with the unpublished materials, which the company denied, federal prosecutors began looking into the matter.

The company had months earlier avoided prosecution for having paid a former Playboy model, in coordination with Mr. Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, for the exclusive rights to her story of an affair with Mr. Trump, a story that was suppressed by the tabloid. The company agreed not to break the law again or face consequences. Prosecutors have not taken any action related to the Bezos article.

Mr. Sanchez in his lawsuit acknowledged engaging with The Enquirer, but said he did so to protect his sister and Mr. Bezos.

According to the suit, the two started an affair in 2017, while Mr. Bezos was still married to MacKenzie Bezos, a novelist who was Amazon’s first accountant. After Mr. Bezos and Ms. Sanchez “were guided in their decision to keep their relationship hidden by a psychic in New Mexico,” Mr. Sanchez’s lawyers wrote, Mr. Sanchez “was instrumental in covering up first, the existence, and second, the timing of the affair.”

Eventually, Mr. Sanchez’s lawsuit said, he tried to “get ahead of the story,” entering into a nondisclosure agreement with American Media. By his account, he “agreed to corroborate the existence of the relationship under conditions that would help Mr. Sanchez manage the timing of the story and the way in which the affair was portrayed.”

Karen Weise and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/02/business/media/jeff-bezos-michael-sanchez-lawsuit.html?emc=rss&partner=rss