A group claiming to represent 35 former ConsenSys AG (CAG) employees has requested an audit under the Swiss Code of Obligations to investigate "serious irregularities" they allege occurred at the company in mid-2020.
CAG, also known as Mesh, is the company behind top Ethereum-based wallet provider MetaMask and was founded by Joseph Lubin, who is also a co-founder of Ethereum.
According to a press break freeThe group of employees that claims to represent around 50% of all known shareholders filed the application with a Swiss court on March 1.
The group alleged that "core intellectual property and subsidiaries were illegally transferred" from CosenSys AG (referred to as CAG) to a new entity called "ConsenSys Software Incorporated" (CSI) on August 14, 2020.
The former employees also claim that they and other minority shareholders had no idea the IP transfer had taken place, and claim that the deal was only done to benefit the major shareholders and Lubin:
โJoseph Lubin is the majority shareholder of both companies. The transaction was to the detriment of CAG's minority shareholders and to the benefit of Joseph Lubin personally."
The Washington-based company hit in a statement suggesting the launch was the work of an employee.
โMesh refutes the allegations underlying the legal action, as well as those contained in the factually inaccurate press release that was written by one of the former employees. Mesh hopes to formally refute the allegations in Swiss courts."
According to the claims, the deal saw the intellectual property and subsidiaries transferred to "ConsenSys Software Incorporated (CSI), in exchange for 10% ownership of CSI and compensation of a $39 million loan from founder Joseph Lubin."
The deal was said to have resulted in major traditional financial institutions such as JP Morgan Chase acquiring stakes in MetaMask and the Ethereum development platform Ifura, while the IP was used as a key draw card to raise funds for CSI. in a $3 billion valuation in 2021.
ConsenSys said the property transfer was fairly valued at the time and that the landscape had changed dramatically since mid-2020, which is why the assets rose so much in value.
The employee group is seeking to have "intellectual property and subsidiaries returned to CAG" and is willing to fight the matter in court to find a resolution:
โWe will push to seek justice through the Swiss judicial system. We are not interested in settling for less and are ready for the upcoming court battles."
Related: New ConsenSys Mesh NFT marketplace pays royalties to creators and collectors
The latest action against ConsenSys and Lubin comes just a few months later former general partner (GP) Kavita Gupta filed a lawsuit against the firm in New York alleging that it had not paid the agreed transfer percentage related to a fund it managed between 2017 and 2019.
Since then, the dispute has been shrouded in claims and counterclaims, and Consensys responded presentation a complaint in mid-January alleging that Gupta โfraudulently induced ConsenSys to hire herโ through bogus college degrees and work credentials.
Gupta Gupta then archived an additional complaint alleging that ConsenSys had engaged in โfraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichmentโ in connection with the allegations against him.
Posting the court documents via Twitter on Feb. 3, Compass Mining chief content officer and cryptocurrency journalist Will Foxley likened the back and forth to a โNational Enquirer piece.โ
The curious part is the time discrepancy between the discovery of the "resume fraud" and his departure from the company. The court will have to make their way through two different timelines.
9/10
โ Will Foxley (@wsfoxley) February 2, 2022
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