Gearbox CEO Denies Former GC's Claims That He Had a USB Full of 'Underage' Porn, Misused Company Funds
The former GC of Gearbox, Wade Callender, claims the gaming company's CEO—his longtime friend—possessed "underage" porn and misused company funds. Gearbox's CEO said Callender is "engaged in a shakedown" and "promoting a narrative that he knows is false."
January 15, 2019 at 12:54 PM
4 minute read
The chief executive officer and the former general counsel of video game company Gearbox Software are sparring in a series of suits, the most recent of which held allegations of “underage” porn possession and a sketchy $12 million bonus.
Frisco, Texas-based Gearbox's former GC Wade Callender left the company in July. In November, Gearbox filed a suit against Callender in Collin County District Court.
The suit alleged the former GC misused company funds for vacations and gun club memberships, asked Gearbox to pay for his MBA without disclosing his plans to leave the company, and never paid off loans provided by the company to pay for Callender's home and personal legal fees.
“Callender harbored secret intentions of leaving Gearbox dating back to at least November 2017. Despite harboring these secret intentions to leave Gearbox, Callender continued to exploit Gearbox's generosity and trust for his own personal gain,” wrote Gearbox's representatives from Thompson, Coe, Cousins & Irons, in a filing reported by Kotaku.
Callender struck back recently with a suit of his own in Dallas County District Court.
He claimed Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford had employees hide and destroy a USB device Pitchford saved “underage” porn on and accidentally left at a Medieval Times restaurant in Dallas County. He also claimed Pitchford used company money to hold parties where “adult men have reportedly exposed themselves to minors.”
The suit alleged the CEO also made unfulfilled compensation promises to Callender and “secretly saddled Gearbox's employees with the burden of repaying private, personal $12 [million] 'bonus' that Randy Pitchford rerouted from Gearbox's publisher directly to Randy's side entity, 'Pitchford Entertainment Media Magic.'”
“No one should be fooled by Randy Pitchford's incessant misdirection: it was Randy Pitchford himself who breached his fiduciary duties by exploiting Gearbox employees and property to fund Pitchford's private cravings,” Callender's representatives, James Bell and Kelley Cash of James S. Bell P.C., wrote in the suit.
Callender and Pitchford were longtime friends before working together at Gearbox. Pitchford denied Callender's accusations on Twitter.
“The attacks made by my former friend and colleague have no basis in reality or law. He is simply trying to shake me down for money. We will win, but because lawsuits are pending I can't comment as much as I'd like. I am shocked by his lies. Thanks for your love and support,” Pitchford tweeted.
In another tweet, Pitchford said he found “crimes against children to be especially repugnant. It is very painful that a former friend and colleague would lie to try to associate me with such vile behavior in his own greedy pursuit of money.”
One of Pitchford's representatives, Thompson Coe partner Barry Moscowitz, also denied the allegations in an emailed statement to Corporate Counsel on Monday night.
“The allegations made by a disgruntled former Gearbox employee are absurd, with no basis in reality or law. Gearbox will be filing a grievance with the State Bar of Texas against Callender for disciplinary proceedings for filing a lawsuit that includes accusations that he knows to be untrue,” Moscowitz said. “The lawyer's rules of professional conduct expressly prohibit the filing of documents that are knowingly false. The tell is within Wade's claim itself—his use of hedged lawyer language and clever application of quotation marks betray that he knows that the impression he is trying to create is based in lies.”
Moscowitz also said Callender is “engaged in a shakedown and he's clearly using deceit and lies to try to cause damage by promoting a narrative that he knows is false” and that his team is “confident in our case against Callender and trust that truth and justice will prevail with the courts.”
Neither Callender nor his representatives immediately responded to a request for comment.
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