Cash Advance Co. Claims in Lawsuit That Contractor Stole Access to Its Website, Colluded With Competitor
Among a number of claims, merchant cash advance company Simply Funding says the contractor used its GoDaddy website registration account to redirect all traffic to sites he alone controlled.
December 21, 2018 at 03:35 PM
4 minute read
A merchant cash advance company filed suit in Manhattan federal court Friday against a former contractor the company alleges seized control of its website and other proprietary properties as part of an extortion attempt.
Simply Funding is seeking injunctive relief in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the former independent contractor, Mark Sodon, who was paid a $10,000-a-month retainer by the company beginning in April 2017. An online profile that appears to be Sodon's claims he consults with merchant services and alternative business lending companies.
Simply Funding claims to be just such an organization. It provides small businesses merchants advance payments on future sales in exchange for a percentage of merchants' daily receivables, according to the complaint.
According to the company, Sodon was terminated Dec. 4 after it was discovered he'd “surreptitiously” took away Simply Funding's principal's email and online password account manager privileges. The complaint alleges that Simply Funding discovered Sodon had taken control of the company's registered domain names through the company's GoDaddy account.
Sodon went so far as to have web traffic attempting to go to www.simplyfunding.com redirected to www.simplymca.com, which, according to the complaint is one of the domain names stolen.
An initial search for Simply Funding brought the New York Law Journal to the simplymca.com account. Later, after Sodon was reached by email and phone to the lawsuit against him, that account, as well as simplyfunding.com, appeared to be no longer accessible.
The complaint goes on to allege Sodon blocked the company's access to its own social media accounts. When the company demanded access, Sodon allegedly refused to provide the information unless he was provided “money and other benefits to which he is not entitled.”
Simply Funding also alleges Sodon illegally disclosed confidential information to a competitor service. On Oct. 24, the company claims Sodon emailed several files containing proprietary information directly to the competitor using his Simply Funding email address. The information included an internal memo summarizing the company's underwriting process, information exported from the customer database it keeps, revenues and other sensitive financial data.
The company claims it did not authorize Sodon to transfer the information. Sodon allegedly also breached his noncompete clause by consulting with and rendering services to the same competitor company.
In a text exchange with Simply Funding's principal, Sodon allegedly threaten to shutdown the company's website and interfere with its existing customers if he wasn't paid $18,000 the company claims he is not entitled to.
“Technically, I can turn things off right now,” the complaint alleges Sodon's text message read. “And what are you gonna do? Sue me, get a court order for temporary relief instruct [sic] me to turn things back on while we litigate, maybe win, but maybe not.”
The complaint claims the text message continued, “Then, I turn back around and tell everybody about what happened while contacting every merchant to explain to them how a cash advance really works including debtors with confessions of judgment filed.”
Sodon declined to comment. He did not respond to a follow-up request for clarity on whether he was responsible for the websites no longer being accessible and a request for confirmation that he indeed send the text messages as the company claims.
Cullen and Dykman of counsel Nicholas Faso represents Simply Funding. He did not respond to a request for comment.
The company filed a temporary restraining motion with U.S. District Judge Judge Kenneth Karas, who was assigned the case.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllDOJ: TD Bank Agrees to Pay $3B Over Anti-Money Laundering Program Violations
2 minute readCleary Creates Nonequity Partner Tier, Calling for 'Innovation and Adaptation'
5 minute readUS Judge Sets May Trial Date for Sean Combs as Defense Fends Off 'Damning' Tape
200 Hrs. of Partner Prep Guides Quinn Emanuel's Incredibly Detailed Mock Bankruptcy Trial
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
Dechert partners Andrew J. Levander, Angela M. Liu and Neil A. Steiner have stepped in to defend Arbor Realty Trust and certain executives in a pending securities class action. The complaint, filed July 31 in New York Eastern District Court by Levi & Korsinsky, contends that the defendants concealed a 'toxic' mobile home portfolio, vastly overstated collateral in regards to the company's loans and failed to disclose an investigation of the company by the FBI. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen, is 1:24-cv-05347, Martin v. Arbor Realty Trust, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Arthur G. Jakoby, Ryan Feeney and Maxim M.L. Nowak from Herrick Feinstein have stepped in to defend Charles Dilluvio and Seacor Capital in a pending securities lawsuit. The complaint, filed Sept. 30 in New York Southern District Court by the Securities and Exchange Commission, accuses the defendants of using consulting agreements, attorney opinion letters and other mechanisms to skirt regulations limiting stock sales by affiliate companies and allowing the defendants to unlawfully profit from sales of Enzolytics stock. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter Jr., is 1:24-cv-07362, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Zhabilov et al.
Who Got The Work
Clark Hill members Vincent Roskovensky and Kevin B. Watson have entered appearances for Architectural Steel and Associated Products in a pending environmental lawsuit. The complaint, filed Aug. 27 in Pennsylvania Eastern District Court by Brodsky & Smith on behalf of Hung Trinh, accuses the defendant of discharging polluted stormwater from its steel facility without a permit in violation of the Clean Water Act. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Gerald J. Pappert, is 2:24-cv-04490, Trinh v. Architectural Steel And Associated Products, Inc.
Who Got The Work
Michael R. Yellin of Cole Schotz has entered an appearance for S2 d/b/a the Shoe Surgeon, Dominic Chambrone a/k/a Dominic Ciambrone and other defendants in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The case, filed July 15 in New York Southern District Court by DLA Piper on behalf of Nike, seeks to enjoin Ciambrone and the other defendants in their attempts to build an 'entire multifaceted' retail empire through their unauthorized use of Nike’s trademark rights. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald, is 1:24-cv-05307, Nike Inc. v. S2, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Sullivan & Cromwell partner Adam S. Paris has entered an appearance for Orthofix Medical in a pending securities class action arising from a proposed acquisition of SeaSpine by Orthofix. The suit, filed Sept. 6 in California Southern District Court, by Girard Sharp and the Hall Firm, contends that the offering materials and related oral communications contained untrue statements of material fact. According to the complaint, the defendants made a series of misrepresentations about Orthofix’s disclosure controls and internal controls over financial reporting and ethical compliance. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Linda Lopez, is 3:24-cv-01593, O'Hara v. Orthofix Medical Inc. et al.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250