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A federal lawsuit filed in the Southern District of New York by a dozen out-of-state canvassers has put a spotlight on alleged wage theft, broken promises, and discriminatory treatment in a September door-knocking operation tied to Rep. Mike Lawler’s re-election campaign in New York’s 17th District. The CT Centinal has learned that at least one Connecticut resident says he was recruited into the same effort, experienced the same broken promises, and is now looking to join the suit.
The complaint, reported by outlets including the Daily Beast and Bloomberg, names Lawler, his campaign, and multiple subcontractors and individuals, including Victory Field Operations (VFO), Momentum X Group, Threshold Strategies, Ven-Vamos Strategies, recruiter Anastasia Yopp, and others. Plaintiffs from Texas, Georgia, South Carolina, Maryland, and Michigan allege they were lured with flyers promising “$2 A DOOR,” “$1,500 - $3,000 WEEKLY BASE PAY + BONUSES,” covered housing, and paid travel. Instead, they say they were told at orientation they would get $1 per door with no guaranteed pay, had to hit high daily quotas to keep lodging, worked 70–84 hours a week without proper minimum wage or overtime, and faced racist, ageist, and religious remarks from supervisors (including comments about “monkeys” and references to older Muslim canvassers as “the geriatric crew” or “the ladies with the head wraps”). Some claim they were fired after complaining on September 11. One plaintiff reportedly received only $275; another says she got nothing.
Lawler’s campaign has denied employing or paying the workers, stating they worked for subcontractors of America PAC, Elon Musk’s outside Super PAC that spent heavily supporting Lawler. Campaigns are prohibited from coordinating with Super PACs under election law. The claims remain unadjudicated allegations; the suit seeks a jury trial and damages. No findings of wrongdoing have been made.
Connecticut Connection: Sam Montville of West Hartford
After the story broke, the CT Centinal spoke with Sam Montville of West Hartford, who says he was recruited into the same operation and is seeking to be added as a plaintiff.
Montville told the CT Centinal he was looking for work after legal issues ended his ability to drive for Uber (while still stuck with a rental car). A friend, Jason Douglas of Common Sense News, suggested he call Anastasia Yopp—a Connecticut Republican who had run for state representative in the 20th House District (Newington and West Hartford) in 2022, served on the Newington Board of Education as a Republican (including as finance chair), and been active in local GOP politics—who was looking for canvassers.
He drove down on September 9, got a room, trained, and worked two days. The group wore white polo shirts and hats and was told they were representing Elon Musk’s Super PAC. On September 11, when they went to the lobby, Montville said he learned no one was getting paid—some of the others had already been there for two weeks. “I was very very confused about what is going on,” he told the CT Centinal. “I was promised all the same stuff the people in the lawsuit were allegedly promised.”
Montville said he reached out to the on-site bosses, including Eric Diaz (identified in the suit as Eric Ramon Diaz Vasquez of Momentum X Group) and Fernando. Anastasia was still at the hotel but not necessarily the lead. He described the bosses as making comments he could not believe—about age, “training monkeys,” and similar remarks. Montville said he called a meeting that day and represented the group, confronting a manager and calling him a racist, an ageist, and abusive. He told Eric to “go eat his daddy’s money” because he was going to get sued. Frustrated that the operation was supporting a Republican while treating people this way, and not wanting to be involved, Montville left after two days. He received a couple of free breakfasts and a hotel room and that was about it.
He has said he was expecting to make something like $21,000 for the full effort. “That’s what he wants,” based on what was promised by Yopp. He has been telling people since September 11 that he came down for that amount. About a month ago, plaintiff Sceletia Evans contacted him about someone who left New York for Georgia, had a heart attack, and never got paid. Montville also noted that Victory Field Operations was said to have cash on hand.
Montville has unanswered questions for Anastasia Yopp and texted her this morning. He has reached out to the plaintiffs’ attorney via the email service and wants to be added to the lawsuit. He also tried contacting Elon Musk to express his concerns, noting the legal barriers to direct campaign-Super PAC contact. The experience, he said, “tainted his entire mind on what the Republican party is doing.” He thinks it is unfortunate that Lawler’s campaign is taking a hit and unfortunate the way the situation was handled. “It was pretty terrible the way people were treated.”
Broader Questions
The operation collapsed after the September 11 complaints. Yopp has denied making discriminatory remarks and said payroll was handled by VFO’s HR; she has described the housing as nice rooms at a Hampton Inn. The subcontractors and individuals named have not all responded publicly in the reporting. Montville’s account aligns with the core promises and the sudden revelation of non-payment described in the complaint.
For Connecticut residents and others drawn into out-of-state political field operations with big promises of pay, housing, and travel, the case raises practical questions about who is actually responsible when subcontractors under a Super PAC fail to deliver—and how those failures reflect on the candidates and causes they were hired to support. Montville is one more person saying the pitch he received did not match the reality on the ground.
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