TransPerfect Employees file a Class Action Lawsuit as Court-mandated Custodian Cuts Corners, Giving way to Massive Data-Breach

DOVER, Del., March 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Last month, a former employee of global translations company, TransPerfect who is also a current member of Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware, filed a class action lawsuit in New York after learning that their personal identifying information (PII) had been disclosed to cyber-criminals, jeopardizing their identities for the rest of their lives and leaving them questioning the competence and viability of the court custodian to run the thriving private business. By transferring power over the Accounting and Payroll departments of TransPerfect to Joel Mostrom of consulting firm Alvarez and Marsal, away from TransPerfect's CFO and COO each with over a decade worth of experience at the company, Court Custodian Bob Pincus appointed highly-paid consultants who were unfamiliar with TransPerfect operations, and failed to engage in training and take other precautions necessary to prevent the data breach.

The end result is that countless employees had personal information stolen - a serious and permanent loss to their own security and well-being. There is a growing pattern with this case that the consultants and lawyers continue to reward themselves at the cost of thousands of employees.

"For over a year, TransPerfect employees have warned that this court-appointed custodian with unlimited power to interfere would threaten the livelihood of the company and its employees," said Chris Coffey, campaign manager for Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware (CPBD), the advocacy group supporting TransPerfect employees and Delaware's incorporation-driven economy and its pro-business reputation. They formed in April 2016 to focus on raising awareness among Delaware residents, elected officials, and other stakeholders about the unprecedented TransPerfect case, in which a court has seized control of private company and empower a Custodian to auction the firm off the highest bidder.

"Now, in light of the worst data incident in the company's history, we are finally seeing cold hard proof that the Custodian and the Court put profits for friends and cronies over the well-being of  the company and the employees. By cutting corners, hiring underqualified colleagues and charging whopping $1400 per hour for custodial costs instead of putting TransPerfect employees first, Custodian Pincus is demonstrating flagrant negligence and violating the rights of TransPerfect employees. We also appeal to Judge Bouchard to take a look at their hourly rates. They are out of whack with any other custodian in the state. This case is turning into a boondoggle" Coffey added.

Presumably looking to steal the identities of employees, cyber-criminals posing as TransPerfect's CFO requested 2015 W-2 form tax information and payroll information for the period ending in January 2015. The cyber-criminals requested names, direct deposit bank account numbers, routing numbers, and Social Security numbers for some thousands of current and past employees. Based on similar cases, the damages suffered by TransPerfect current and former employees could be claimed to exceed $48 million.

TransPerfect employees are first and foremost jolted by the massive data breach that put their identity in risk for the rest of their lives. But they are also questioning the growing waste of the custodian, who makes $1,400 an hour, far exceeding the typical $400 per hour for custodians.

The Delaware Court of Chancery ordered an appointed custodian to sell TransPerfect after an internal dispute between company owners earlier last year. Defendant TransPerfect Global, Inc. is a corporation organized under the laws of the state of Delaware with its principal place of business in New York, New York. TransPerfect employs over 4,000 people around the world.

This recent lawsuit is only the tip of the iceberg. TransPerfect employees have been battling what they see as interference in their company for the past year – in the courts, in the state house and out in the community. To date, hundreds of TransPerfect employees have banded together to fight for their jobs by forming CPBD. The group has proposed legislation that would amend Delaware law to require a three-year waiting period before forcing the sale of a solvent company.

For more information on Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware visit DelawareForBusiness.org.

Contact: Mary Urban, [email protected] 
Julijana Englander, [email protected]

SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware

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http://www.delawareforbusiness.org