Tinder Co-Founders Sue App’s Owners for $2 Billion

The co-founders of popular dating app Tinder, along with eight other people, are suing the company’s owners for at least $2 billion.

The lawsuit, which was filed in New York on Tuesday, seeks at least $2 billion after the co-founders and eight other former and current executives at the company allege they were cheated out of money by the owners who “lied” about how much Tinder was worth.

“The dispute centers on an analysis of Tinder done in 2017 by Wall Street banks to set a value for stock options received by Sean Rad, a Tinder co-founder, and other early employees. It also includes an allegation of sexual harassment against Tinder’s former CEO, Greg Blatt,” reported CNN. “Tinder’s value at the time was set at $3 billion, unchanged from a valuation that had been done two years earlier, despite rapid growth in revenue and subscribers. The suit charges that executives with Match and IAC deliberately manipulated the data given to the banks, overestimating expenses and underestimating potential revenue growth, in order to keep the 2017 valuation artificially low.”

In an interview with CNN, Tinder co-founder Sean Rad claimed the owners “lied about the financial performance.”

“They manipulated financial data, and essentially stole billions of dollars by not paying us what they contractually owe us,” he declared. “We’re here to preserve our rights and to fight for what’s right, for what was promised us.”