• Nick Carter sues women who accused him of sexual assault .
• Two women claim he sexually assaulted them more than 15 years ago.
• He was 22 at the time, and she was 18, she recalled.

Nick Carter is defending himself against two women who claim he sexually assaulted them more than 15 years ago.

Shannon Ruth, who filed a lawsuit against the Backstreet Boys singer in December for alleged sexual battery, received a response from the 43-year-old.

He is also suing Melissa Schuman, a former member of the girl group Dream who accused him of rape in 2017, in his countersuit.

According to the countersuit, the two women launched a five-year conspiracy to “defame and vilify Carter and otherwise damage his character for the purposes of earning attention and fame and/or extorting money from Carter.” PEOPLE was able to receive a copy of the lawsuit.

In the countersuit, Schuman and Ruth are referred to as “opportunists” who sought to “destroy innocent lives” and who, following the December accusation, caused more than $2.3 million in company losses.

According to Mark J. Boskovich, Ruth’s attorney, “Given Nick Carter’s extensive history of mistreating women, why should we believe him? The evidence will be considered and decided by a jury.”

Boskovich did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment right away.

In 2017, Schuman, now 38, claimed that Carter had reportedly sexually assaulted her in the early 2000s when they were both working on a project. In a blog post at the time, Schuman claimed that Carter had asked her over and that they kissed in the bathroom before having oral sex in spite of her objections.

He was 22 at the time, and she was 18, she recalled.

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