Former CFO Claims Unfair Treatment, Unpaid Wages and Unicoin Cryptocurrency Owed in Lawsuit Against TransparentBusiness
On Tuesday, March 5, 2024, Michael Pickholz filed an amended complaint in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey against his former employer TransparentBusiness, Inc., and its CEO Alexandre Konanykhin.
Pickholz, a New Jersey resident with decades of experience in finance and investments, was hired by TransparentBusiness in August 2018 as Chief Financial Officer. According to the complaint, Pickholz repeatedly voiced concerns to TB executives about conduct he believed to be fraudulent or in violation of securities laws. This included inflating the company’s financial projections, using investor funds for personal expenses, and making misleading claims in marketing materials about future legislation that would mandate the use of TB’s products.
The complaint states that Pickholz was stripped of responsibilities starting in late February 2019 after raising these issues, then was notified on April 1st that his employment was being terminated effective April 5th. Pickholz alleges this was direct retaliation for his whistleblowing activities regarding potential securities fraud. He notified the SEC of the issues on several occasions in March and April 2019 before his termination.
In addition to retaliation claims under the Dodd-Frank Act, the suit alleges TB and Konanykhin violated New Jersey wage law by failing to pay Pickholz his full earned salary and bonuses for at least one year of employment as promised in his original offer letter. This includes $20,000 in bonuses for each of his first two 12-month periods.
The complaint also states TB owes Pickholz 500,000 shares of company stock, which were part of his original compensation package. TB later announced it would distribute its own cryptocurrency called Unicoin to stockholders at a 1:1 ratio, so Pickholz is also owed 500,000 Unicoin which corresponds to the unpaid stock. He has made attempts to claim these assets as recently as November 2021 but has been refused.
Among the specifics alleged in the complaint, Pickholz objected to TB touting 90,000% investment returns, using company funds for Konanykhin’s personal expenses, and inaccurately portraying people as employees who were not on the payroll. He also warned TB could not directly pay unlicensed individuals for capital raising or compensate employees based on funds raised.
Pickholz raised issues with inflated revenue projections in TB’s private placement memorandum and misleading statements implying future legislation would mandate the use of the company’s products. The suit cites a specific investor presentation from February 2019 disseminated publicly that Pickholz believed contained numerous false representations.
The amended complaint seeks damages and equitable relief under Dodd-Frank, recovery of unpaid wages and penalties under New Jersey law, plus 500,000 shares of TB stock and corresponding Unicoin that Pickholz argues he is owed.
Please contact BlockTribune for access to a copy of this filing.