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<i>Online Extra</i><br>Snapchat Maker Sued by Ex-Employee Who Says Company Misrepresented Finances

By Thomas Phillips
February 01, 2017

Snap Inc., maker of pic-sharing app Snapchat, was hit with a wrongful termination lawsuit on Jan. 4 by a former employee who alleges the company made false representations about its finances ahead of its forthcoming initial public offering, according to the L.A. Times. Snap refuted the claim.

Anthony Pompliano left Facebook to work on Snapchat but was fired three weeks later. He alleged Snap made the false representations to him before he was hired. He also said the company wanted him to share inside knowledge from his time at Facebook, but he wouldn't do it.

“Mr. Pompliano was terminated because he refused to participate in a scheme to deceive the public and artificially inflate Snapchat's valuation in anticipation of its” IPO, according to the lawsuit.

In a statement to the newspaper, Snap spokeswoman Mary Ritti said the lawsuit is without merit.

“It is totally made up by a disgruntled former employee,” she said.

The Times story does not put a dollar amount to what Pompliano seeks from the lawsuit.

Pompliano is seeking an injunction that would bar Snap from misrepresenting the reason for his firing. He said Snap has told employees and others in the industry that he was incompetent. Separately, he has filed an arbitration claim — that is in the early stages — seeking lost wages and other damages for his allegedly wrongful firing.

***** Thomas Phillips is an Editor in ALM's Digital Content Strategy department.

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