By Joseph A. Giannone

NEW YORK, Nov 4 (Reuters) - Hedge fund firm Touradji Capital Management on Wednesday countersued Robert Vollero and Gentry Beach, two former employees who claim they are owed $50 million in unpaid bonuses, accusing the two men of lying about their abilities, stealing secrets and defaming the firm.

Beach sued Touradji in December last year, and was joined by Vollero in January, accusing the firm of breaking a 2005 oral agreement to pay them a percentage of profits from certain funds. Vollero and Beach, who launched their own firm this year, also accused Touradji of making threats and causing emotional distress.

Touradji Capital, the largest U.S. commodities hedge fund, was founded by Paul Touradji, one of several "Tiger Cubs" spawned from legendary investor Julian Robertson's Tiger Management fund.

A New York state court on Sept. 18 dismissed all but two complaints against Touradji: a claim for breach of contract and a claim for inflicting emotional distress.

But for the first time in nearly a year, Touradji has publicly responded to a series of allegations made by the former employees and landed a few punches of its own. Touradji seeks more than $250 million as compensation for financial and reputational damage.

The two men "were responsible for the destruction of millions of dollars of investor capital through a pattern of fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, mismanagement and utter disregard for the interests of the investors whose capital they were obligated to protect," Touradji said in its suit.

The lawsuit and publicity surrounding Vollero and Beach's breach of contract claims have hurt Touradji's business, prompting some clients to withdraw assets and eclipsing what has otherwise been a year of strong performance.

Touradji Capital declined to comment.