Tech billionaire, Elon Musk, risks imprisonment after failing to show up for hearing at a Philadelphia court in a lawsuit over his controversial $1m daily to registered voters in Pennsylvania, and other swing states, ahead of the November 5 U.S. presidential election.
The suit was filed by the Philadelphia District Attorney, Larry Krasner, seeking to shut down the cash giveaways.
Krasner called it “an illegal lottery”.
This followed warnings from the justice department that the move might violate federal election laws.
Musk, and his political action committee, America Pac, were named defendants in the suit, with the billionaire ordered to attend in person.
His failure to appear could put him at risk of jail for contempt of court.
John Summers, representing Krasner, said Musk “filed legal papers to have the case removed from this court to federal court”.
“We will proceed to federal court and we will address the issues there and seek to have the matter remanded back to the state court,”
“After all, this is a case that involves state law issues,” he added.
In a statement on Sunday, Krasner said, “America PAC and Elon Musk are running an illegal lottery in Philadelphia (as well as throughout Pennsylvania).
“They were lulling Philadelphia citizens and others in the Commonwealth (and other swing states in the upcoming election) to give up their personal identifying information and make a political pledge in exchange for the chance to win $1m. That is a lottery.” he added.
Musk, who is a strong supporter of former US president Donald Trump, announced earlier this month he would give away $1m daily until election day to random individuals who sign his online petition supporting the US constitution.
According to reports, some people have already benefited from it.