The woman who accused former San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nathan Fletcher of sexually assaulting her has alleged in a new complaint that her ex-employer, Metropolitan Transit System, offered her $10,000 to not pursue claims against Fletcher or MTS.
The allegation was detailed in an amended complaint filed last week in Grecia Figueroa's ongoing lawsuit, which alleges the former supervisor and MTS chair groped her and sexually harassed her by pursuing a sexual relationship with her for months.
Figueroa, a former MTS public information officer, says those events led to her firing earlier this year.
Asked for a comment, an MTS spokesman said, "MTS cannot comment on pending litigation."
Fletcher denies the allegations of assault and harassment and has stated that all his interactions with Figueroa were consensual. His state Senate run was abandoned shortly before Figueroa's allegations went public, and Fletcher announced he was seeking treatment for post-traumatic stress and alcohol abuse.
Figueroa's original complaint alleged that, prior to filing the lawsuit, she and Fletcher had discussions about how to resolve the claims "quietly and amicably."
In her new complaint, Figueroa alleges Fletcher requested she state a dollar amount "representing the amount of money it would take to keep her from ever speaking about what Fletcher had done to her."
She alleges discussions between the pair degraded and she was threatened with legal action if she went public.
According to the amended complaint, her firing came "abruptly" in February of this year and included the offer of $10,000 "as a 'severance' if Ms. Figueroa agreed to release all known and unknown claims against MTS and Fletcher." Figueroa's complaint states she did not accept the offer, which would have come with conditions against mentioning the settlement or making any disparaging statements about MTS or Fletcher.
Her lawsuit was filed nearly two months later.
After the allegations went public, Fletcher stated that he "made a terrible mistake engaging in consensual interactions with someone outside my marriage," who is now seeking "millions of dollars from me and my family with the threat of not only embarrassment but a willingness to lie about the circumstances and nature of the interactions." Fletcher's attorney made a similar statement that alleged Figueroa "pursued my client" and was looking "to obtain millions of dollars."
The amended complaint alleges those statements followed up prior threats to accuse Figueroa of extortion and ruin her reputation.
Early voting is underway in a special election to decide who will represent District 4 and replace Fletcher, who resigned in May.
