Since being accused of extortion on October 2, “I Love Cville Show” host Jerry Miller has been dodging reporters and commenters alike.
The extortion allegations first came to light when a recording allegedly containing a June 2023 phone call between Miller and Sigora Home CEO Michael Ball was posted on the @cvillecommunityintegrity Instagram account. During the exchange, Miller tells Ball that he will run a segment called Sigora Solar Saga on his podcast, and highlight the company’s wrongdoings, unless he is paid $30,000 for “crisis management.”
At the time the phone call allegedly took place, the since-shutdown Sigora Home—formerly Sigora Solar—was fighting to stay above water. Accusations against the company include poor work, failure to complete contracts, unpaid salaries, and stolen 401(k) funds.
Miller reportedly acknowledged Sigora Home’s financial struggles and dwindling reputation during the phone call. “My retainer for something like this is $50k,” said Miller. “I’ve already cut my retainer from [$]50[k] to [$]30[k] because I realize you guys are financially strapped.” When Ball asked about alternative options, the podcast host responded that he would air complaints received from “71 individual families” about the company and that “the community deserves to know what’s happening.”
While Sigora Home’s reputation is less than stellar, the veracity of the phone call was confirmed by The Daily Progress through a review of internal documents and communications from the company on October 5.
At press time, Ball declined a request for comment by C-VILLE.
In an anonymous response, @cville communityintegrity outlined how it was informed of the phone recording. “A source close to Sigora shared the recorded phone call with us on 9/28, alon[g] with some screenshots of an email and text message corroborating it.” According to the respondent, they have not been in direct contact with either Miller or Ball.
@cvillecommunityintegrity has shared several instances of Miller allegedly posting and spreading “misinformation and intolerance” since its first post on July 11. The account is reportedly run by a small group of people who “are concerned about any persons or entities in the Charlottesville community spreading misinformation, bigotry, or anything else that harms the local discourse.”
So far, the account has only posted about Miller and the “I Love CVille Show,” but indicated it was open to covering “other threats to the local discourse.”
Though Miller’s alleged request for “crisis management” money appears to be dubiously legal, it violates several journalistic standards. Miller describes himself as “an award-winning journalist,” among other things, on his website, jerrymillernow.com.
So what is Miller’s job title? According to his LinkedIn, he is “the founder and CEO of The Miller Organization, LLC, a holding company for six vertically integrated yet financially independent companies, including VMV Brands, LLC, a full-service advertising, branding and events agency located in Charlottesville, Virginia.”
Ethics of simultaneously working in journalism and crisis management are murky, but one thing is clear: Miller will need his reported public relations expertise to sort out this controversy.
He has returned to posting online and hosting his online show, but, at press time, Miller had not responded to multiple requests for comment or directly addressed the controversy.