The affidavit contained criticisms of the Church of Scientology and substantial portions of the Operating Thetan auditing and course materials.
[2][3] Fishman received a mail fraud conviction three years earlier, and he claimed being brainwashed by the Church and that he had committed the crime to cover the cost of his Scientology sessions.
[4] As evidence, Fishman submitted course materials he said that he purchased from Ellie Bolger, a fellow Scientologist, and Richard Ofshe, an expert witness for his defense.
[17] U.S. Federal Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled that while Richard Leiby and the Washington Post had not violated copyright, Lerma was liable and fined $2,500 but with no costs awarded to Scientology.
The Church brought suit on copyright violation grounds for reproducing the source material, and claimed rewordings would reveal a trade secret.
Critics of Steven Fishman have produced the affidavit of Kenneth D. Long, a Scientology executive, which states that Fishman received services from a Scientology mission, did a few introductory courses, never worked for the Church or CCHR, and did not get any auditing or do any courses at the main Miami church, which would conflict with his claims.
[23] Vicki Aznaran, a former Scientologist who was involved in anti-Scientology litigation before retracting her claims as part of a settlement with Scientology, gave a declaration through Scientology attorneys in which she states various allegations made by Steven Fishman and other church critics are untrue,[24] contradicting her previous declaration given in CSI v. Fishman and Geertz.
[26] Initially, the allegations questioning Fishman's involvement came solely from the Church itself and their legal team, who pursued the libel suit recognizing that he was not in their records.
[27] In 2015, notable Scientology critic Tony Ortega published an exposé on the affair; in which he characterizes Fishman as a “squirrel” or Independent Scientologist.