OpenAI and County Leaders Sued Under RICO Act Over AI Data Center

Residents of Effingham County, Georgia, have filed a RICO lawsuit against county commissioners, county leaders, OpenAI, and related entities. The plaintiffs allege that the defendants engaged in fraud, civil conspiracy, and improper land transactions to push through the approval of Project Camellia, a massive multi-billion dollar AI data center project. The lawsuit claims that officials used closed-door decisions and non-disclosure agreements to keep residents in the dark until key contracts were finalized. According to the plaintiffs, the project has already harmed nearby property values, leading to falling or withdrawn purchase offers for residential properties in the area.