A Saratoga County judge has ruled against Shaun Wiggins, a former CIA officer and Soteryx Corp. principal, in a sexual assault lawsuit that has dragged on for more than three years, after Wiggins failed to show up for an August court conference. Judge Richard Kupferman found Wiggins and Soteryx in default, ordered Wiggins to pay $5,000 in attorney's fees, and scheduled an inquest to determine damages.
The ruling, reported by Times Union, caps a legal fight that began in July 2023, when a woman identified in court papers as Jane Doe sued Wiggins and Soteryx under New York's Adult Survivors Act. According to the newspaper's earlier reporting, the woman first encountered Wiggins after reading about a 2017 Soteryx ribbon-cutting event in Saratoga Springs. Soteryx describes itself as a strategy and engagement advisory firm serving complex stakeholder, regulatory and digital environments, and was founded by former CIA officials, including Wiggins, who is still listed as a principal on the company's website.
Default Judgment Follows Missed Hearing
Kupferman's six-page decision details how Wiggins requested an adjournment less than an hour before the scheduled August 20 conference, citing financial hardship and difficulty finding a lawyer. The judge, who had directed Wiggins to appear in person, denied that request and found that the defendants had frustrated discovery and defaulted in the action, the station's report states. Kupferman had also directed Wiggins' departing attorney to warn both Wiggins and Soteryx about the seriousness of the situation before withdrawing from the case.
That attorney, Jeffrey Chabrowe, sought to withdraw after his retainer was spent down and communications broke down with Wiggins. Chabrowe had previously said the CIA references at issue arose in private interpersonal exchanges, including roleplay and consensual fantasy scenarios. Per the same account, Wiggins' side has separately denied that any aspect of his relationship with the woman involved official CIA duties or communications, and his attorney said in a discovery response that he would not produce documents concerning Wiggins' CIA employment.
What The Lawsuit Alleges
The woman's lawsuit, filed in New York City, alleges sexual intercourse by coercion, battery, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, emotional abuse and withheld wages. It accuses Wiggins of sexually assaulting her eight times, including a first alleged assault during a January 2018 business trip to New York City, as the Daily Gazette reported, under the guise that he was preparing her for a career with the CIA.
The lawsuit further alleges that over an 18-month span, Wiggins demanded intimate photos, made remarks about her appearance and required her to be available at all hours of the day and night. He allegedly told her that well-trained women can use their bodies as a weapon, and the suit claims Soteryx was supposed to pay her $50,000 per year. The woman studied communications and international relations at Boston University and received a certificate in international cyber conflicts from the University at Albany, according to the earlier Times Union account. Her attorneys are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
Case History And Denials
The suit was initially filed in Manhattan before being transferred to Saratoga County in 2024 at Wiggins' request. In December of that year, Kupferman denied motions to dismiss the case, allowing it to proceed. As of this year's reporting, the case file does not establish whether Wiggins was ever actually employed by the CIA.
Wiggins' attorney said last year that Wiggins and Soteryx denied the plaintiff was, in any way, victimized or traumatized, employed by Wiggins or Soteryx, or engaged in non-consensual activities. Attorney Jon Bell had earlier called the accusations baseless and untruthful and said Wiggins expected to be exonerated. The case had been headed toward private mediation last fall, with the possibility of a civil trial if mediation failed, though the current status of that process has not been confirmed.
Reaction And Background On Wiggins
Siobhan Klassen said in a statement that the court correctly prevented the defendant from acting as if he were above the law. Wiggins has a public profile in Saratoga Springs beyond Soteryx: he chaired a community outreach committee formed to combat systemic racism, ran for school board in 2019, and ran for the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors in 2021.
Shaun Wiggins, Samuel Wiggins and Christopher Chambers did not respond to requests for comment on the Times Union's reporting.
