What are the key outcomes and legal statuses of the U.S. lawsuits and the 2024–2025 criminal charges involving Smartmatic executives?
Executive summary
Smartmatic has pursued multiple high‑stakes U.S. defamation suits tied to 2020 election coverage—with settlements reached against Newsmax and One America News but a $2.7 billion case against Fox still actively litigated in New York—while federal prosecutors have brought criminal bribery and money‑laundering charges against three former Smartmatic executives in 2024 and expanded indictments in 2025 to name the company and parent SGO Corp, alleging a more than $1 million bribery scheme in the Philippines [1] [2] [3] [4].
1. Civil battlefield: settlements, wins, and a towering Fox suit
Smartmatic resolved its Delaware defamation case with Newsmax via a confidential settlement announced as jury selection was beginning, and it previously settled with One America News, but its marquee $2.7 billion lawsuit against Fox News and some of its hosts remains pending in New York state court after multiple appeals and procedural rulings that left substantial claims intact [2] [1] [5].
2. How judges have shaped Smartmatic’s civil claims
Courts have trimmed and preserved parts of Smartmatic’s complaints: New York appellate rulings allowed defamation claims to proceed against Fox and its on‑air personalities while limiting certain vicarious‑liability theories, and Delaware and other trial judges have exercised gatekeeping over what criminal‑investigation evidence defendants may inject into civil trials—rulings that have both constrained and enabled Smartmatic’s path to trial [5] [6].
3. The criminal charges: 2024 indictments and 2025 expansions
Federal prosecutors first charged three current and former Smartmatic executives in 2024 with an alleged bribery scheme tied to Philippine contracts; those indictments were followed in 2025 by superseding charges that added money‑laundering counts and brought the corporate entity SGO/Smartmatic into the case, with prosecutors alleging funneling of over $1 million in bribes to secure contracts and defendants pleading not guilty [3] [4] [7].
4. Collision course: civil claims vs. criminal allegations and competing narratives
Defendants and some media outlets have argued the criminal probe undercuts Smartmatic’s reputational and damages claims in civil cases, prompting Fox to seek a stay of the $2.7 billion suit—an effort the New York state court rejected, finding the civil case should proceed despite the federal indictment; judges have also limited how much the criminal investigation can be used by defendants at trial, creating parallel but legally separated tracks [8] [6].
5. Evidence, strategy, and competing agendas
Prosecutors say they will present witness testimony, photographs and communications to prove bribery and money laundering; Smartmatic has insisted its defamation suits respond to false, election‑related conspiracies that damaged business prospects [9] [4]. Media and political actors have incentives—Newsmax and Fox framed reporting as newsworthy coverage, while Smartmatic frames litigation as redress for reputational and economic harm—so both legal strategy and public messaging reflect adversarial agendas that courts are now policing [6] [1].
6. Current legal status and what remains unresolved
As of the latest public reporting, Newsmax and OANN cases are settled, the Fox $2.7 billion lawsuit remains active and has survived key motions and appeals, and the criminal case advanced from 2024 indictments against executives to a 2025 superseding indictment that names Smartmatic/SGO and adds money‑laundering and FCPA‑related allegations—none of which have been resolved by final verdicts, and principal defendants have pleaded not guilty [2] [5] [3] [4].