A former employee of GAW Miners is claiming that the company’s previously announced $8m investment in the cloud mining firm ZenMiner never took place.
In a new post on the GetHashing forum, former ZenMiner chief Eric Capuano set forth the allegation, the latest in a string of controversies affecting the mining firm. Capuano is among a number of individuals to depart the company earlier this year.
While rumors that the ZenMiner purchase never occurred have circulated for months, this is the first time a former GAW staff member has stated the $8m investment was a fabrication. GAW said in August that it had acquired a controlling stake in the firm, with ZenMiner ostensibly being absorbed within the broader GAW infrastructure.
Capuano noted in the post:
“The ‘$8m deal for the purchase of ZenMiner’ that allegedly occurred between myself and Josh was a total lie. I’ve never owned any of the many companies operated by Josh.”
Following the publication of this story, GAW Miners issued the following statement in regards to the allegations made by Capuano:
“It is our practice to accurately value assets and equity in the event of a corporate transfer or purchase. As a general rule as practiced by most privately-held companies, GAW does not disclose its equity structure or the details of transactions to the general public or staff, nor is the company required to. Its unfortunate this misunderstanding took place.”
‘Grand scheme’
Capuano went on to say the press releases that included information about an $8m investment were published without his consent or knowledge at the time.
He declined to comment further, indicating that he may be cooperating with law enforcement officials believed to be investigating the company.
“Unfortunately, I am not at liberty to discuss all of my efforts in doing the right thing, and a quick Google search for ‘GAW Miners Investigation’ should answer why,” he wrote.
He also cited ‘legal threats’ as another factor in his disclosures, noting that he was likely to receive additional legal pressure following the post. GAW has issued a number of cease and desist letters in the past, including notices sent to former customers.
“Keep fighting the good fight guys, those of us that are still bound to NDAs are constantly having legal threats flung our way. I’ll likely get another for making this post,” he wrote.
Revelations continue
The claim comes days after thousands of internal emails were leaked from what appeared to be a publicly available Google Group.
GAW told CoinDesk that it could not confirm the veracity of those emails, announcing earlier this week that the company had been the victim of a concerted hacking attempt.
Customer withdrawals were suspended on both the ZenMiner and PayBase platforms last month.
Recent reports also suggest that GAW may be facing a multi-agency investigation by the US government for potential securities and money laundering violations.
CoinDesk will continue to monitor this developing story.
Lie detector image via Shutterstock