Apple Faces a Wave of Legal Woes, Including RICO Act Lawsuit Filed by Former Employee
Core Issues: Legal Worms Inside
Apple is finding itself in increasingly hot water as Ashley M. Gjøvik, a former Senior Engineering Program Manager turned whistleblower, has filed a RICO Act lawsuit containing a litany of claims against the tech giant—the largest company in the world by revenue and market cap.
Gjøvik alleges extensive whistleblower retaliation under federal and state laws, including Sarbanes-Oxley and Dodd-Frank Acts, and lays out a multi-layered complaint that ropes in numerous other Apple personnel and incidents.
Scroll down to read Gjøvik’s comment to Hacking, but Legal.
The lawsuit follows Gjøvik's previous wins in her unemployment insurance appeal and charges filed with multiple governmental bodies, all filed pro se—as a graduate of Santa Clara University School of Law, Gjøvik represents herself with impressive results. A case she argued successfully and won was recently cited by the Electronic Frontier Foundation in a brief before the Supreme Court.
What is most eye-popping about Gjøvik's suit isn't just the claims it makes about Apple's conduct in the workplace, from harassment to privacy invasion, but also the way it wraps Apple’s actions into the RICO Act—legislation typically reserved for prosecuting organized crime syndicates. The case incorporates a variety of criminal acts including wire fraud, mail fraud, and witness intimidation as “Predicate Acts”, widening its scope to encompass other Apple executives who have faced bribery and securities fraud charges.
Meanwhile, Apple’s Chief Compliance Officer, Tom Moyer, is back in the spotlight after being re-indicted for criminal bribery. Despite all this, Apple has steadfastly defended Moyer, making it seem as though the company is either willfully ignoring or being deceitful about internal wrongdoing. Adding fuel to the fire, previous corporate secretaries at Apple have faced fraud charges, casting doubt on the company’s commitment to legal and ethical conduct.
As critics like Mark Cooper, Senior Fellow at Consumer Federation of America, brand Apple the "world's most dishonest company," it's increasingly hard to separate the tech behemoth's glossy products from its tarnished ethics. The case against Apple is not just an isolated instance but part of a larger narrative questioning whether the company has too long evaded accountability.
When reached for comment by Hacking, but Legal, Gjøvik stated,
I will ensure Apple is held accountable for what it has done to me, my coworkers, and the community. Apple continues to try to shirk responsibility, but no company is above the law. I will hold their feet to the fire on this.
This recent cascade of legal troubles raises important questions:
What exactly is Apple hiding behind its shiny, user-friendly façade? And will this lawsuit finally force a reckoning?