#MeToo … and then some

It’s been a few days since I shared my #metoo story via Twitter. The public support and kind words have been overwhelming, and I thank every one of you. I can only hope that in sharing my story, others may feel comfortable in coming forth with theirs.

I’m writing this post to address a few items; first my thoughts on PingPad CEO and founder, Ross Mayfield’s response, second some information about myself and my past, and third what happens next.

As many of you know, if you’re reading this, I was first approached by Ross in January 2016 concerning an angel/seed investment in his company, PingPad. From January to late April 2016 the only “interactions” had between us consisted of scheduling a pitch call and then having to reschedule the call a few times.

Ross emailed me in late March 2016 stating that he would be closing the funding round soon and if I were interested in a pitch call, then we would have to hop on the phone. I believe we had the actual call in April 2016. Nothing odd or suggestive of what was to happen next occurred during this run of the mill pitch. I found PingPad interesting, but it wasn’t the right fit for me as an investor, I passed on the opportunity and wished him best of luck.

No further communication happened until June 18, 2016, 8:09 PM EST, when I received the email that sparked this conversation.

My initial thought was “Woah, this guy was hacked,” or that someone is playing a cruel joke on him. But then I wondered why a hacker, or anyone who had perhaps gained access to his pingpad.co email would pick me out, a person whose last communication with him was over two months prior. Regardless I responded to the email, initially giving him the benefit of the doubt, asking “Ross, Were you hacked?”

On June 21, 2016, I received a response from him stating “No” he had not been hacked … but alerting me that he has decided to block me on Twitter (as well as Facebook). He asked for no further “interactions” between the two of us.

Completely weirded out, disgusted and pretty annoyed I responded with two emails. The first mainly asking why on Earth he would ever feel comfortable composing and sending such a horrific email to a person he didn’t know, and who didn’t even know him, beyond a brief 5–10 minute telephone conversation. The second email asked that he never contact me again.

Never was there any mention of a hack, in fact, he confirmed that no such hack had even occurred. No remorse towards me for having received such a vile proposition, no explanation at all … the only action he took was to “block me on his social media????”

Now when this story started getting out there a few days ago, I expected Ross to own up to his actions. I mean even Harvey Weinstein didn’t deny the allegations made against him. I live by the motto that when you do something wrong, it is best to “own it” rather than craft an excuse or false causation. There’s much more to be said for a person who can own their actions, admit to fucking up and face the consequences; rather than a coward attempting to point the finger of blame onto lame causes and innocent others. Ross chose to blame the emails on a “hacker.”

I don’t think I need to say it, but I will … the hacker theory makes absolutely no sense.

Who gets hacked for a period of 3–4 days? I mean, according to Ross, I received emails from this “hacker” on 6/18 and then again on 6/21. Who else was emailed during this time? Did others receive completely normal email communication from him during this period? If so that would lend hand to disproving this “hacker theory.”

Typically when an account has been compromised, it’s resolved in a matter of minutes once noticed via a reset password option. I would think that Ross would see the hacking of his own company’s email, a startup that he just raised $1M for, reasonably quickly …. not 3–4 days later. Anyway, from there the first thing one does once they have gained access to their account is to change the password, then immediately send a mass email to contacts alerting them that their account had been hacked and to excuse any communication that may have occurred during that time. Nobody received such a notice from Ross — not I, not investors, nor employees…. nobody had heard this “hack theory” until just the other day.

Also Ross on top of confirming no hack occurred in the 6/21 email, he goes on to state he blocked me on Twitter. I confirm he did block me on Twitter and Facebook (those were the only two social media platforms I checked). So in addition to his email account, we are to believe that this “hacker” also gained access to Ross’ Twitter and Facebook? Yet nothing odd, other than simply blocking me, was posted or done on these social accounts during that time …. Hmmmm. That’s one skilled hacker that can fly under the radar of Twitter, Facebook and Google security — And to again, only target me? If the “hacker” were looking to cause trouble, as Ross suggests, then wouldn’t they have had a field day with lewd posts to his social media accounts — yet, nothing of the sorts transpired. Something doesn’t make sense … and that thing is this “I was hacked” nonsense.

I have been in contact with a few investors in PingPad in an attempt to decide what comes next. We have decided, I believe, to seek out a third party email forensics team to get to the bottom of this “hacked” business. I think that whatever server pingpad.co’s hosted on will need to be subpoenaed as well as Google since he utilized Google Email for Business during this time. It is crucial that we receive documentation from BOTH these sources to determine if a hack did or didn’t occur. These records should be able to show, dates, times, locations / IPs or email log-ins, password changes, and if and when any other emails were sent during this time-frame.

Several of you have asked if any journalists have reached out to me, the answer is yes.

That being said, I want to address something which some of you may have come across if you Google me or perhaps have heard mutterings. I want to clear the air and make sure the truth is put out there; this is one that I have kept private until now, however, I feel it’s important to address — some of you have asked me about it and I want the truth out there so it doesn’t deter from what the discussion should be focused on: sexual harassment and this Ross / hacking situation.

Here it is:

In 2014 I was living in NYC with my live-in girlfriend at the time. It just so happens that she, my now ex, is an actor on a popular streaming show that is backed by Netflix, a very powerful pay-to-view streaming company.

In April/May 2014 we broke up, and I asked that she move out of my apartment. Sadly this was a messy break-up and we argued back and forth over ridiculous things for the next month and a half. We both equally contributed to the back and forth texts. Never in a million years did I think she would do what she did next, and cause the trouble that follows me to date. She leveraged her celebrity status and claimed that I was harassing and stalking her, something that if anyone knows me they know is the most outrageous claim to make. Well, it worked, she gained an Order of Protection against me, and that should have been that. The next year was a complete nightmare that included two additional arrests for contacts she claimed I had made. During this time zero investigation went into her claims and into documents she provided the DA, two plea deals were forced upon me (the other option I had was to sit in Rikers for up to a year awaiting trial), and ultimately I did a 3-month stint at Rikers (per plea deal agreement). Did I make these contacts to her, no. Did I stalk her, hell no. Did I harass her, I mean standard break-up arguing perhaps, I wanted her stuff moved out of my home. Again the back and forth was mutual.

So now questions:

Why did I take the plea deal if I was innocent?
1. Time & Money — had I not taken the 3 months (which has been wrongly written in the press as 6-mo) I would sat in the same place, Rikers Island, awaiting a trial that would most likely be held a year later if not longer, where I would then be able to finally show my ex-girlfriend had lied to cause damage to me out of spite. To me time with my friends and family, the people I love and who love me is more precious than winning a war with an ex.

2. The ADA on the case refused to conduct a proper investigation. He wasn’t willing to do the work since, according to him, he had “actual “serious” cases on his plate” such as murders, etc. — and some b*tch fight wasn’t worth his time or resources. OK, to an extent I get that, but I am a human-being, and my life is of value, and IF he was unwilling to handle the case & investigation properly then he should have never allowed it into the NYDA office. I was at a loss, my attorney’s subpoena power only came into play come trial which again would be over a year away if I chose that route, and without the person in charge handling things correctly the truth of what did happen would stay hidden.

3. I just wanted the entire nightmare over and done with. I learned early on in life not to battle with those who have zero to lose, and my ex is one of those people. I wanted to let her “win” and give her what she wanted (to think she destroyed my life and all I had worked hard for) — then move on with my life.

Exposing the truth
It was only upon my release from Rikers, in October 2015, that I was able to have a proper investigation into her claims and documents she had submitted as evidence to the DA. The investigation began December 2015, and by early February every source had come back confirming “without a doubt” that she had fabricated every single document she submitted to the Manhattan DA. Not one claim of hers held up, and the truth and proof were finally in my hands. * IF any members of the press or investors etc. would like to view evidence I am more than willing to share with you, to put an end to lies, which unfortunately will live online for quite a long time.

You can email me at jae@jae.ventures.

What happened?
The ADA issued me an apology…. Thanks (right?). I then had the option to sue. First would be a criminal procedure, then a civil trial for damages.

Why I decided not to sue?
Simple, it’s not worth my time or energy. I have lost too much to that person and to be completely honest its left me with a bad taste in my mouth concerning the integrity of our justice system. On top of that, my life hasn’t been void of hardship; I’ve had family members with addiction and mental illness disease — such as my ex. She is a person who needs help but to date has not received the treatment she desperately needs. So, in some twisted way, I have compassion for that. This is a person I cared very much for and shared time. It’s sad to see anyone you care (or have cared) about suffering from an illness yet refusing to accept the fact that they need serious help. I don’t need her money, I don’t need to cause more damage to an already damaged individual, her sitting in jail wouldn’t resolve anything and to be honest I doubt she could mentally handle that. Again many have said, “who cares, look what she did to you,” well you would be correct, but I guess on a human being level I care for people.

Has she contacted you since?
Yes, since the beginning of 2017 I have over 200 emails, texts, calls from this person. With each new emails & # I block a new one appears. Of course, I will not respond and filter those I receive into a folder. On two occasions this person has attempted to extort me for varying amounts of money ranging from $100,000 — $300,000. Again, I have proof of all this, and no I did not take action against her for reasons previously stated above. Should this behavior continue then yes, of course, I will protect myself; however, it is my hope that at some point it will end.

It happened. It’s part of my journey. You can judge all you want. I own what has gone on and I know the truth. I have always been open and honest with sharing this with others and am open and honest in sharing it now with you.

NOW THAT THAT ISSUE HAS BEEN ADDRESSED…

I guess I am willing to pursue the “I was hacked” theory because I know what it is like to be publicly shamed for actions that were never your own. Do I believe for one second that Ross Mayfield was hacked? NOPE. Am I willing to find out for certain? Absolutely!

With all this said I again want to thank everyone for their support. I see several victims here aside from myself; certainly, the investors who put money into PingPad knew nothing of this as I am only speaking out now, and current employees of the company who depend on PingPad for a paycheck and their livelihood. No one other than the person who sent those unwanted sexual advances to me should be held accountable.

As I’ve stated before merely removing a person from a leadership role or board seat is the equivalent to a slap on the wrist. The predator has had the luxury of a cushy salary, benefits in addition to maintaining equity within the company. If anything this recourse seems to me like an early retirement and one that isn’t all that bad.

I’m pushing for more. I don’t know what the exact solution would be but am asking for a discussion around this to begin.

ON A POSITIVE NOTE

This entire thing has fired up the founder within me, and I am currently working on a product solution to help prevent such harassment in the workplace so that we can stop the silencing of victims and end the fear of coming forth.

I feared coming out and sharing my experience. I love the startup world, I have forever longed to join a venture fund team …. in speaking out I fear that those aspirations may be hindered or prevented. In the end, I know that sharing my story and encouraging others, both men and women, who have faced sexual harassment or assault in the workplace to rise-up and share their stories and call names out, is the right thing to do. Don’t be afraid and know you are not alone. Your voice matters.

Thank you all for listening.

Jae