Elon Musk and his pro-Trump campaign group America PAC are the subject of at least two lawsuits that accused him of fraud in a recent sweepstakes he held just days before the 2024 presidential election.

Michigan resident and attorney Robert Alvarez was one of the thousands of people who signed a petition created by billionaire Elon Musk. The petition was part of a daily $1 million sweepstakes that would be awarded at random to pro-Trump supporters who signed the petition.

However, Alvarez, who was not a supporter of Trump and his 2024 presidential campaign, says that the winner was never selected at random. Rather, the winner was selected based on their social media profiles and whether they shared online that they had pro-GOP views. In his lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, Alvarez says, "A closer look at the recipients of the $1 million prize shows a clear pattern: that the selection not only is not random, but is a targeted process that eliminates anyone who is not a Republican or vocal supporter of former President Trump."

A similar proposed class action lawsuit was filed in Austin, Texas, by Arizona resident Jacqueline McAferty. McAferty says that Musk and his America PAC "profited" from the contest because users were directed to Musk’s social media platform X. As such Musk and his America PAC were able to collect the personal data of participants –data which would later be sold. McAferty filed her lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas where Musk resides and where America PAC is registered.

Upon announcing the sweepstakes, America PAC was notified by the Justice Department in a letter that the sweepstakes could violate federal law because it was paying individuals to register to vote.

Philadelphia’s Democratic District Attorney Larry Krasner also argued in a separate lawsuit that the sweepstakes should be classified as an illegal lottery. However, a Common Pleas Court judge denied his request.

Meanwhile, McAferty says that the sweepstakes violated the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act because the winners were not picked at random as advertised.

“Had Plaintiff been aware that she had no chance of receiving $1,000,000, she would not have signed or supported the America PAC petition and would not have provided her [personal, private information] to Defendants,” the lawsuit reads. “Her signature/support, as well as her [personal, private information] were given as valuable consideration for a chance to receive the $1,000,000.”

The lawsuit also details that the America PAC petition did not place any limitations on how the personal data collected could be used or whether or not it could be sold. Instead, Musk’s sweepstakes was accused of breach of contract because the award of the million-dollar prize was given to a winner based on internal criteria that were not advertised.

Attorneys for Musk went on record during a hearing saying that winners were not chosen at random. Chris Gober, an attorney for Musk, shared, “The $1 million recipients are not chosen by chance. We know exactly who will be announced as the $1 million recipient today and tomorrow.” However, during a campaign rally, Musk shared that America PAC would be “awarding $1 million randomly to people who have signed the petition.”

Per the complaint as filed in court, McAferty’s proposed class action lawsuit is seeking more than $5 million in damages for class members.