The former head of a Utah progressive group is suing Kevin O’Leary for defamation, alleging the “Shark Tank” celebrity investor made unsubstantiated claims that opponents of his Box Elder County data center project were working for the Chinese government.

It is the second lawsuit O’Leary and Fox News have faced since July over the claims O’Leary made in appearances on Fox News channels and other outlets.

The latest complaint comes from Taylor Knuth, the former director of Alliance for a Better Utah. He filed it this month in U.S. District Court in Utah, seeking unspecified damages against O’Leary and Fox News Network LLC, the parent company of Fox News channels.

Knuth’s attorney, in a statement shared with The Salt Lake Tribune, said Knuth “is a private individual and does not intend to provide media comments at present.”

Representatives for O’Leary did not reply to requests for comment.

Fox News Media on Monday said in a statement that it “publicly corrected the record on every program where on-air guest Kevin O’Leary’s comments were made, all of which was extensively publicized.”

“We will vigorously defend against this lawsuit,” the statement added.

O’Leary issued a retraction of his claims on June 25, and Fox News programs followed with similar statements a day or two later.

Knuth’s case follows a separate lawsuit filed in July against O’Leary and Fox. Knuth’s former Alliance colleague, Joshua Kanter, filed that complaint, along with the alliance itself, political consultant Gabrielle Finlayson and her company, Elevate Strategies.

O’Leary’s attorney called that lawsuit “a cash grab,” and said his client would defend himself “vigorously.” Fox News issued a statement identical to the one it gave Monday in Knuth’s case.

Last month, O’Leary and Fox News filed a request to dismiss the first lawsuit. Attorneys representing O’Leary and Fox argued no “reasonable viewer” would have taken the claims that China funded the data center’s opponents as fact.

‘I’m calling out Taylor’

In his complaint, Knuth asserts he was a private citizen, and not working for any advocacy group, when O’Leary made his accusations.

The complaint notes Knuth left his job with Alliance for a Better Utah on April 2, weeks before O’Leary appeared remotely before the state’s Military Installation Development Authority board to deliver his first public pitch for the Stratos data center.

Knuth posted his opinion about the project on social media, he acknowledged in the complaint. But as someone no longer associated with Alliance for a Better Utah, he “did not make any public appearances, … did not start any movements in opposition [and] did not assist with any formal efforts to oppose the project,” the complaint says.

After leaving the advocacy group, the complaint says, “Taylor Knuth went all-in on developing the next stage of his career.” He was working to start a consulting business, while submitting job applications and finishing his Ph.D. studies at the University of Utah.

“Each of these efforts were premised on the good name Mr. Knuth had built up over years of work and service in public-facing and publicly important pursuits,” the complaint states.

O’Leary first mentioned Knuth on May 11 during an appearance on Maria Bartiromo’s “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business Channel, the complaint says.

“I’m calling out Taylor,” O’Leary said, after also naming Alliance for a Better Utah. “These are proxies for the Chinese government,” he added, then told Knuth to “come out, come out, wherever you are. Let’s audit your books and let’s show the people of Utah you really care about them.”

O’Leary made similar accusations about Alliance for a Better Utah 10 more times in the span of 23 days, most of them on Fox News or Fox Business, the lawsuit says.

In four instances, O’Leary used Knuth’s name — though, as the complaint states, he often mispronounced or misspelled it.

‘Prospects withering’

The complaint argues that “not only did the allegations damage Knuth’s reputation and subject him to public hatred, contempt, or ridicule,” but they also “accused Knuth of criminal conduct.”

His job search after leaving the group “had gone well,” the complaint states. But after O’Leary’s comments, “he found his job leads drying up and business prospects withering.”

The political and nonprofit fields are a small community, the complaint states, and “the years of work Knuth had put toward his career were stolen in a matter of days through O’Leary’s news appearances.”

The complaint alleges the fallout has also affected Knuth’s mental and physical health.

As of Monday afternoon, none of the defendants had immediately filed a response to the complaint.