A FORMER CHIEF executive in a consultancy marketing firm has threatened to publicly divulge the names, addresses and bank details of customers of “the largest mobile phone company in the State” unless paid €135,000 by tomorrow morning, the High Court was told today.
Ex-CEO Sean McGrath told his former employer Madcalm Limited, Monksland, Athlone, Co Roscommon, that “you don’t want to f**k with me on this”, Ms Justice Miriam O’Regan heard.
Ryan Baird, a company director with Madcalm, told the court McGrath warned him at a meeting that he had data files on the mobile phone company’s customers and that he already had a third party lined up to put them out there.
“If you don’t pay me the money I will f**k you guys and if you try to go to anyone else about this I will f**k you,” Baird claimed McGrath had told him before getting up and leaving the meeting.
Barrister Brian Conroy, counsel for Madcalm, obtained injunctions restraining McGrath from disseminating by any means to any third parties the confidential information he claimed he would distribute to others. He was allowed to serve McGrath notice of the court’s order to his email today.
Judge O’Regan also restrained McGrath from threatening, approaching or communicating with any official of Madcalm or its clients.
Consultancy
Mr Baird told the court that Madcalm provided consultancy marketing services to telecommunications companies, particularly mobile phone operators to assist them in acquiring and retaining customers.
He said Sean McGrath had been made a director, CEO and 20% shareholder of the company in October 2011, but three years later differences of opinion led to his exit after he was bought out of the company for a figure of €65,000.
McGrath had contacted him on 23 August last and arranged a meeting at which he claimed he valued his worth to Madcalm at €200,000 but had been paid only €65,000 and demanded a further €135,000.
Baird said that when he told McGrath he was not comfortable or willing to have any discussion with him for additional money McGrath had told him: “Well you need to be because I can ruin you guys. You don’t want to f**k with me on this.”
Mr Conroy told the judge that McGrath had texted Baird telling him he could be engaged on a consultancy basis for 18 retainer payments of €7,500 (€135,000) with a first payment due in his bank account by 20 September, tomorrow morning.
Baird said McGrath had sought to extort money from Madcalm by threatening to ruin the company’s business through disclosing confidential information which he unlawfully had taken from the company in breach of confidence and in breach of his exit agreement.
To assist with a marketing campaign in 2013 Madcalm had been permitted by the largest mobile phone company in the State to copy certain information in relation to customers of that company and through an administrative error the files included personal bank account details of those customers.
The error had been identified soon afterwards and the details, in compliance with data protection legislation in the mobile phone business, had been permanently deleted. McGrath would have been “well aware” of this, Baird said.
He said disclosure of “this sensitive personal information” could very seriously damage Madcalm’s business and have a very serious effect on the individuals whose personal data was threatened to be disclosed.
“It is quite conceivable that it could destroy Madcalm given that he has threatened to disclose the information immediately if not paid the first instalment on Tuesday 20 September,” Mr Baird said.
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