OpenAI Faces Georgia RICO Lawsuit Over Secretive Data Center Deal

A group of Effingham County residents has filed a civil racketeering lawsuit against OpenAI, its affiliates, and local government officials, alleging a coordinated scheme to push through a $20 billion data center project behind closed doors. The 44-page complaint, filed November 6 in Effingham County State Court, invokes Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act—marking a sharp escalation from earlier zoning and open-meetings challenges.

The suit names OpenAI OpCo LLC, its affiliate Octans GA LLC, Savannah Industrial Development LLC, the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority (IDA), IDA CEO Brandt Herndon, County Manager Tim Callanan, and all six county commissioners. It is the third legal action targeting Project Camellia, a proposed 4.4-million-square-foot campus on roughly 1,440 acres near Savannah, and the second brought by plaintiffs Dr. Michelle Finch-Mincey, Lehman Mincey Jr., and Raymond Carver.

From NDAs to a $10 Deed

According to the complaint, the IDA signed a nondisclosure agreement with OpenAI on October 27, 2025—nearly nine months before any public announcement. The project was discussed internally under the code name "Project Gateway." On July 21, 2026, the IDA held a meeting with an agenda listing only "Project Gateway," entered an executive session lasting more than an hour, and unanimously approved a memorandum of understanding with Octans. Three days later, Savannah Industrial Development LLC conveyed approximately 1,440 acres to Octans for a nominal $10 consideration [4].

The deed's $10 figure does not, by itself, prove the land was sold for that amount; deeds often recite nominal consideration. As USA Herald noted, the transaction raises a legitimate question about what payments, incentives, and benefits for the public were part of the land deal [2]. The lawsuit alleges Herndon stated public funds increased by $350 million following the sale [4].

Zoning Changes Without Hearings

The lawsuit also challenges Ordinance 2026-352, adopted August 4, 2026, which amended the county's Table of Permitted Uses to allow data centers on industrially zoned property without conditional-use permits—and thus without the public hearings required by Georgia's Zoning Procedures Law [4]. The plaintiffs allege a steering committee created in December 2024 to address zoning met without public notice or agendas, despite including county officials, IDA members, and private developers [4].

Tax Incentives and a Georgia Power Connection

The MOU outlines a bond-financed sale-leaseback structure with payments in lieu of taxes (PILOT) calculated at 50% of the project's appraised value at the 2026 millage rate for 15 years—amounting to nearly $900 million in tax abatements, according to earlier reporting [2]. The lawsuit alleges that an additional $80 million in community-benefit payments was negotiated before any public input [4].

The complaint adds a conflict-of-interest allegation: Commission Chairman Damon Rahn worked for Georgia Power as an IT infrastructure analyst but neither disclosed the relationship nor recused himself during data center proceedings. Georgia Power representatives allegedly attended an October 2025 commissioners' retreat where "strategic and economic impacts of data center development in Effingham County" were discussed, and the utility's economic development division facilitated OpenAI's introduction to the IDA [4].

RICO Allegations: Pattern or Politics?

The plaintiffs allege the defendants participated in a "Project Camellia Enterprise" that engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity—including false statements, concealment of material facts, and coordinated governmental and private conduct—to secure land, zoning, and tax incentives while keeping residents in the dark [4]. Georgia's civil RICO statute allows treble damages for qualifying financial harm tied to such a pattern.

Legal analysts caution that establishing civil racketeering requires more than showing unpopular decisions or confidential meetings; plaintiffs must prove statutory elements including predicate acts and a sufficient connection to their alleged injuries [2]. The complaint does not identify specific sworn testimony underlying its perjury allegation or a particular document alleged to have been forged [6].

Transparency Demands

Lead attorney Ben Michaud said the filing is not meant as an attack on artificial intelligence, or super intelligence as the U.S. government is now officially calling it, but as an "attack on the ways these defendants acted" to secure what was needed to build the project. "It is a demand for transparency and accountability," Michaud said [1]. Partner Greg Gilluly added: "Government power should come from the consent of the people, not multibillion-dollar corporations having secret meetings with public officials" [1].

The plaintiffs claim property values have already been harmed, with prospective buyers withdrawing or reducing offers on nearby homes. They seek compensatory and punitive damages, attorney's fees, and treble damages under Georgia RICO. The suit does not seek to halt construction [6].

County Response

The Effingham County Board of Commissioners said it "does not comment on ongoing or pending litigation" [6]. According to earlier reporting, OpenAI's CFO said Project Camellia "must earn residents' trust" [6].

Context: A Growing Friction

Project Camellia's projected 3.2-gigawatt power demand would require massive grid expansion, likely including new natural-gas generation, raising climate concerns [5]. The Georgia cases reflect a broader trend: as AI infrastructure scales to gigawatt-level campuses, the industry's traditional reliance on NDAs and opaque negotiations is colliding with local democracy, open-government laws, and community resistance [5].

The earlier September lawsuit, also filed by Savage Turner Pinckney Savage Sprouse & Gilluly, challenged the zoning amendment process under open-meetings laws. That case remains pending. A site-plan vote has been delayed while disputes over cooling water, environmental buffers, and project scale continue [5].

What Remains Unknown

• Whether OpenAI will move to dismiss or seek removal to federal court.
• The specific predicate acts the plaintiffs will rely on to prove a RICO "pattern."
• How the $10 deed consideration relates to the full economic terms of the land transfer.
• Whether state or federal authorities will investigate the conflict-of-interest allegations.

The allegations are unproven. A civil complaint contains claims by plaintiffs, not findings by a court. But the introduction of RICO claims signals that opponents of Project Camellia are treating the matter as more than a zoning dispute—and that the legal battle over how AI infrastructure gets built in America is entering a new, more adversarial phase.