NewEx-official said TPG partner might 'smack' his head into wall, lawsuit alleges

TPG Capital has been sued by its former head of public affairs, who accused the private equity giant of ignoring his warnings that the firm may have violated securities regulations and defrauded investors out of millions of dollars as a result.

The whistle-blower lawsuit was filed on Thursday by Adam Levine, who had been an assistant White House press secretary under President George Bush in 2002-03 and then worked at TPG from 2008 until last year. Levine says he was asked to leave the firm by senior executives after he raised concerns about TPG's conduct, according to his suit.

TPG, which has US$65 billion under management, said Levine's assertions were "patently false and defamatory".

"Levine's lawsuit is nothing more than a meritless pleading designed to distract attention from Levine's own egregious and illegal misconduct," said Marc Kasowitz, a lawyer for TPG. He said Levine had stolen confidential information from TPG and tried to extort millions of dollars from the firm by threatening a media smear campaign.

TPG, co-founded in 1992 by chairman David Bonderman, sued Levine in January, accusing him of downloading confidential documents including an internal email about the firm's billing process and leaking them to the media, as well as demanding a seven to eight-figure separation payment.

Levine said allegations that he breached confidentiality agreements were false. He claims he is owed compensation by TPG.