Delphia furloughs co-founder over sexual assault allegations and legal action from former employee

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Complainant: I feel hurt and betrayed by the co-founders of Delphia.

Toronto-based fintech startup Delphia is facing a lawsuit over allegations that co-founder and CTO Cameron Westland sexually assaulted and harassed a former employee.

The lawsuit, which was filed in California, alleges that Westland sexually assaulted and harassed the former employee during a work retreat on August 17, 2022. Referred to as Jane Doe in the filings, the plaintiff (a former employee) claims their refusal of alleged advances from Westlands led to their dismissal from Delphia four months later. The prosecution’s allegations have not been tested or proven in court.

The complainant felt uncomfortable and trapped, but she was too scared to tell Westland to stop, given her role in the business.

In a statement to BetaKit, Delphia CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Peek said “Delphia takes the allegations of sexual misconduct against Mr. Westland very seriously. Peek added that Westland has been placed on leave and Delphia engaged an independent third-party investigator to look into these allegations.

Westland did not respond to BetaKit’s multiple requests for comment for this story.

The plaintiffs’ attorney told BetaKit that they had heard for the first time about the Delphias investigation and the decision to put Westland on leave from TechCrunchs’ trial coverage. According to the attorney, as of January 23, Delphia had never contacted the plaintiff in connection with her investigation, and no attempt at an interview was made, and no statement was ever requested.

In response to these statements, Peek told BetaKit that Delphia expects the third-party investigator to contact the claimant. Once the investigation is complete, we will pursue the matter through the appropriate legal channels, Peek added.

Plaintiffs’ attorney also claimed to have contacted Delphia before filing the lawsuit in hopes of resolving this matter without filing. They added that Delphia had made no offer to the plaintiff, so they proceeded with the filing.

Shared through her attorney, the plaintiff provided a direct statement to BetaKit: I feel hurt and betrayed by Delphia co-founders Cameron Westland, the COO/CTO, for sexually assaulting me, and Andrew Peek, the CEO, for allowing Cameron Westland to fire me after I refused to give in to his demand for sex.

Before the incident happened, I was very happy working at Delphia and was building a team that I loved working with, they said. I was shocked that someone I trusted abused their power and thought I would reciprocate because of their position over mine, even though they knew I was married and a lesbian.

Cameron never apologized and instead devised a plan to get rid of me after I bruised his ego. Since I was laid off I tried to move on and look for new jobs, but when you suffered sexual trauma from someone you trusted and who was your boss, and that ‘Then you are fired, it leaves you with a lot of pain,’ the statement continued.

BetaKit has not independently verified any of the claims contained in the claimants’ statement.

The lawsuit alleges that on August 17, Westland sexually assaulted and harassed the plaintiff for at least 30 minutes while rubbing her back and legs in a hot tub in a sexual manner during a work retreat.

The plaintiff, who was in the corner of the hot tub, initially thought Westland would stop touching her because she wasn’t reciprocating, but he continued to sexually assault her, court documents show. . The complainant felt uncomfortable and trapped, but she was too scared to tell Westland to stop, given her role in the business.

The filing goes on to allege that Westland proposed to the plaintiff to have sex with him. The Complainant acted as if she did not understand or hear him. Then, at her first opportunity, the plaintiff told everyone she was going to bed, went to her bedroom and locked the door, the document reads.

According to the file, Westland would have continued his advances, by sending a message to the applicant: Want cuddles? To which, the plaintiff did not respond.

The complaint alleges that Westland acknowledged but brushed off his behavior in a message that was sent to the plaintiff and two other colleagues the next day. According to a screenshot provided to BetaKit by the plaintiffs’ attorney, the message read:

BetaKit has not independently confirmed the authenticity of this message.

Following the alleged incident, the plaintiff was terminated from Delphia in mid-November and explained the reasons for her dismissal related to a change in company strategy, which the lawsuit alleges was prompted by Westland.

The lawsuit also alleges that shortly after the plaintiffs were fired, Delphia created a new community manager position to replace plaintiff’s duties and replaced plaintiff with a close friend from Westlands.

In response, Peek told BetaKit: At the time of the restructuring, I had no knowledge of the allegations. Furthermore, the person identified as a “close friend” of Mr. Westlands works in a completely different part of the organization and has not assumed the plaintiffs’ responsibilities.

The lawsuit was filed in California because Delphia has an office in Berkley and the plaintiff is a resident of the state.

The lawsuit seeks damages on seven different claims, covering a hostile work environment due to alleged sexual harassment; retaliation and unfair dismissal in connection with the plaintiff’s dismissal; and failure to prevent harassment and retaliation.

The dollar amount of potential damages for the plaintiff would be determined by a jury if the case goes ahead. According to plaintiffs’ attorney, they seek damages for emotional distress and lost wages for the harm caused.

I sued because I don’t want Cameron to do it again, the plaintiff said in his direct statement shared with BetaKit. I also want Delphia to be more careful in managing its workforce and more carefully scrutinize the decisions of its leaders to protect its employees. I hope that by showing up, no one else will suffer such abuse and prejudice from Cameron, and that Delphia management will do more to protect its employees.

Delphia is an AI-focused investment startup with a platform for investors that it touts as a way to forecast the growth and profitability of listed companies. The company was created by public opinion research firm Vox Pop Labs in 2018.

Delphia has raised around US$80m to date, most recently securing US$60m in June. With a slew of investors, Delphias’ backers include Golden Ventures, Real Ventures, and companies like Shopifys Harley Finklestein and Tobi Ltke, according to Crunchbase data. Delphia recently got mired in FTX’s ongoing bankruptcy because the latter invested in Delphia as part of the company’s June funding round.

Feature image courtesy of Pixabay.

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