Purported Dalton lawsuit was a hoax

KALAMAZOO - A lawsuit against Uber that was reported widely to have been filed by mass murder suspect Jason Dalton is a hoax.

Kalamazoo County Sheriff Department Undersheriff Paul Matyas said Thursday his department has confirmed that the two-page handwritten suit filed in federal court against the Uber ride-booking service was not sent by Dalton from the county jail.

"It was not from him," Matyas said. "We talked to him and we talked to his attorney and they said 'We did not do this.'"

Matyas said the envelope is not from the sheriff department and a comparison shows that the handwritten complaint sent to the court was not written by Dalton.

Matyas said his department was not a victim so it is not investigating further but it has notified the FBI.

Dalton, 45, has been held since his arrest last month on charges he killed several people in three separate shootings.

The suit was filed in Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan on Tuesday. According to a copy, Dalton was suing the company for $10 million claiming he worked for Uber for years and he was not paid back wages or overtime, didn't have holiday benefits, and was in prison because of Uber.

A spokeswoman for Uber told the Enquirer Wednesday that Dalton had only worked for the company for two weeks before his arrest.

After he was arrested on Feb. 20 on charges he killed six people and injured two in three different locations in Kalamazoo, Dalton told investigators he received instructions on a Uber app to shoot people.

Dalton's court appointed attorney, Eusebio Solis of Battle Creek, told the Enquirer again Thursday he had no knowledge of the suit.

The lawsuit envelope bore a Philadelphia postmark but did contain his jail inmate number, which can be obtained from the county jail website.

Contact Trace Christenson at 966-0685 or tchrist@battlecreekenquirer.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TSChristenson