Allegations mount against Dan Price, ex-CEO who set $70K minimum wage

Dan Worth, a former Seattle CEO who made headlines worldwide by elevating his workers’ wage to a minimal of $70,000, has been accused of assaulting a number of ladies — and now, one of many allegations consists of rape.

Driving the information: The New York Instances printed a bombshell report Thursday wherein a lady accused Worth of raping her whereas she was beneath the affect of medicine.

• Police have referred the case to prosecutors, however costs had but to be filed as of Thursday, per the Instances.

Catch up fast: On Wednesday, the day earlier than the Instances’ story was printed, Worth abruptly resigned as CEO of Gravity Funds, the Seattle-based credit-card processing firm he based together with his brother in 2004.

• Worth wrote the same day on Twitter that he wanted to deal with combating what he referred to as “false allegations.”
• In an announcement to the Instances, Worth stated he “by no means bodily or sexually abused anybody.”
• Worth did not reply to Axios’ makes an attempt to contact him Thursday.

Context: Worth’s resignation and the allegations of rape and assault comply with years of web fame and media fanfare — the place he regularly constructed an esteemed status as a poster little one for company social duty.

• Nevertheless, he is been accused of mistreating ladies earlier than. This is a timeline of a few of the main allegations in opposition to Worth…

Sexual misconduct allegations in opposition to Dan Worth

December 2015: Bloomberg reported that, in a videotaped TEDx speak, Worth’s ex-wife, Kristie Colón, spoke of being crushed and waterboarded by her ex-husband, though she did not particularly identify Worth.

• Worth informed Bloomberg the abuse “by no means occurred.”
• Whereas the video wasn’t publicly launched in 2015, the Instances posted an excerpt in its Thursday story.

Round December 2020: In a brand new allegation detailed by the Instances, Serena Jowers, a health coach, stated Worth pulled up pornography on their third date, then pressured her to have intercourse after she resisted watching it.

• Jowers then realized Worth was recording the 2 of them having intercourse — one thing she did not need or conform to, she informed the Instances.
• Three different ladies additionally informed the Instances they discovered Worth had filmed them with out their information.

April 2021: Kacie Margis, a mannequin and artist who was relationship Worth on the time, informed police that Worth penetrated her even after she declined to have intercourse with him, per the Instances.

• Margis stated she had taken a hashish edible beforehand and informed Worth she was drained and needed to go to mattress, based on the Instances’ reporting.
• Police in Palm Springs, California, stated Monday that that they had referred the case to native prosecutors, recommending that Worth be charged with raping a sufferer who was drugged, the Instances reported.

January 2022: A girl in Seattle informed police that Worth tried to kiss her, then grabbed her throat after she pushed him away.

• Worth was charged with misdemeanor assault and reckless driving in reference to this incident. He pleaded not responsible and the case stays ongoing.

Different allegations

April 2015: Worth’s brother, Lucas Worth, filed a lawsuit accusing Dan Worth of violating Lucas’ rights as a minority shareholder, together with by “pay[ing] himself extreme compensation.”

• A choose later dominated in Dan Worth’s favor and ordered his brother to pay his legal professional’s charges.

February 2016: Courtroom filings revealed that Worth did not make “most likely $50,000” in 2011, as he claimed in a 2015 interview, however near $1 million, Geekwire reported.

July 2016: Worth’s workers seem to shock him by shopping for him a Tesla, an act that Worth and his firm promoted online as displaying how a lot his staff appreciated him.

• However within the Instances’ article, a number of individuals stated the thought for the Tesla present didn’t actually come from staff.

The intrigue: Worth cultivated his social media presence with the assistance of a ghostwriter, Mike Rosenberg, per the N.Y. Instances.