Blogger Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has initiated legal proceedings against his former employee, Leroy Neighbors, as reported by Polygon.
Donaldson accuses Neighbors of illegally appropriating trade secrets, breaching contract, and unauthorized surveillance in the company`s offices. According to the lawsuit, the former employee exceeded his authority by downloading and sharing confidential data, including sensitive information about business strategies, financial performance, documents, and employee personal data, with external parties.
The lawsuit was filed on April 4th. Neighbors had been employed by the company since 2023, initially as a network administrator for Beast Industries, managing servers that stored original MrBeast content recordings. He was later transferred to the production department. The lawsuit alleges that Neighbors began extracting data in anticipation of his impending termination. While Neighbors denies these accusations, claiming it was merely a backup, the plaintiff disputes this, citing the synchronization of all stolen files with Neighbors` personal Dropbox account.
Furthermore, Beast Industries employees discovered numerous hidden cameras throughout the office, with the installer and installation date unknown. Suspicion has fallen on Neighbors, who is believed to have used these cameras to record meetings and upload the footage, thereby violating his NDA.
As of the latest updates, the South Carolina court has commenced reviewing MrBeast`s lawsuit. The date for the initial hearing and the precise amount of damages sought by Donaldson remain undisclosed.
Finley Holt