In court yeah. A judge or jury thinking you sound guilty is one thing, a lawyer saying it means absolutely nothing.

Excuse the language but I would tell these people to go fuck themselves. Unless there's a lot of missing info here, I can't imagine a single judge that would allow that to go to trial.

Unfortunately (for his wallet) he probably should get a lawyer. Their actions might be idiotic but I would suspect they're very good at getting their way.

[Edit] What I mean is they don't seem to have a case unless he slips up somehow . That's why he should get a lawyer.

Seeking the advice of an attorney is never a bad idea.

But as far as telling them to take a flying leap, even though he is well within his rights to do so, it may cost him considerably less time and money to try to find someone to talk to on their end who is willing to listen to reason.

Someone with a lot of lawyers and deep pockets could easily bankrupt a private individual over something like this. If it were me, I would consult a lawyer and get any relevant advice. Then I would contact them, either personally or through my attorney, and try to do everything I could to cooperate with them to convince them I know nothing about the program in question.

An actual fight is the worst case scenario, and a Pyrrhic victory is likely the best outcome that could be hoped for.

Alas, often in the U.S. legal system it is expected of the accused to produce evidence that disproves the claims made by another party despite them not having any proof to back up their claims. The burden of proof issue can become very murky quickly.