A former FBI agent has claimed that Britney Spears was spied on by her father, Jamie.
In a court declaration filed last week, Sherine Ebadi alleged that Jamie “engaged in and directed others to engage in unconscionable violations of [Britney’s] privacy and civil liberties”.
The documentary, Controlling Britney Spears, previously claimed that Jamie placed a recording device in Britney’s bedroom that captured over 180 hours of audio.
Alex Vlasov, who made the allegations in the film, was “personally debriefed and interviewed” by Ebadi according to the documents that are part of a wider court filing that accuses Jamie of taking more than $6m (£4.4m) from Britney’s estate.
Ebadi, who worked for the FBI for over 10 years, also alleges in the filing that her findings “raise criminal implications” for Jamie, who acted as Britney’s conservator until a judge terminated the arrangement in November last year.
Ebadi, who previously worked on Robert Mueller’s team investigating Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, said in her declaration that she could back up Vlasov’s spying claims.
She said: “According to Mr Vlasov, Black Box was initially responsible for suggesting that a secret listening device be planted in [Britney’s] bedroom, but [Jamie] ‘loved’ the idea and approved and instructed that the installation move forward.”
Ebadi also claimed she knew how the listening device was planted: “The Black Box employee who placed the secret device in [Britney’s] bedroom explained to Mr Vlasov that he did so by duct-taping it behind furniture so it could not be seen and that he added a separate battery pack to the recording device to permit continuous recording for a longer period of time.”
Jamie has previously denied any claims of spying on his daughter, saying after the release of the documentary that “actions were done with the knowledge and consent of Britney, her court-appointed attorney and/or the court”.
The Independent has contacted a representative for Jamie for comment.
