Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin faces lawsuit over Consensys stock value
Ethereum co-founder Joseph Lubin is facing a lawsuit from more than two dozen former Consensys employees, accusing him, Consensys and other parties of maneuvering valuable assets out of its Swiss holding company. The complaint was filed in New York state court on Thursday. It claims assets — including its web3 wallet MetaMask, partly developed by some of the plaintiffs — were transferred out of Consensys AG, leaving them with worthless shares.
Lubin allegedly arranged to move the assets to a new U.S.-based company, CSI, in 2020, so it could solicit outside investment, with the help of Consensys General Counsel Matt Corva, enabling Lubin to replace the plaintiffs with Wall Street investors. Lubin also brought in investment bank JPMorgan, who, in exchange for its own blockchain business, Quorum, received 10% of CSI, according to the complaint. Corva, JPMorgan and Umar Farooq, Global Head of Blockchain at JPMorgan, are also listed as defendants. When Lubin established Consensys in 2014, many employees accepted lower salaries with the understanding they would receive company equity, according to the suit. Lubin reportedly dedicated 30% of the company to employee stock, with the suing party holding about 9% of that portion.
