Now in 2014, I was looking for a job in the cryptocurrency industry. I saw an article on a blog website with an open Q and A with John Doe, the CEO of a newly formed company. John Doe was talking about how he wanted to create a new cryptocurrency and incorporate it with some other software that was in development. John Doe was then talking about how this new cryptocurrency would be called <crypto coin name deprecated>. Me being the original developer of the altcoin founded years before, I asked John Doe if he could utilize a different name for the sake of not stepping on my toes. He agreed that a new name would be used and went ahead to give me a genuinely impressive job offer. I then accepted said job offer as a developer within the company.
I worked on their platform, software, altcoin, and many other systems at the company. Being so focused in my work, I did not really know what was going on around me. I was a company fanboy, simply put. I was excited to be working at such a bleeding edge company, being able to be heard. During my final week of employment at the company, things went sour, very quickly, shortly after the production launch of the software. Before this final week of employment, John Doe, the CEO, had taken a vacation to <location deprecated>, from my understanding, for a quick getaway before coming back to give us the go ahead to launch a project we were working on beside the other proprietary software. So, I go to work like any other day and the <name deprecated> of the company oddly comes into our developer chat and states that we are all laid off, pending further information.
I am honestly completely in shock at this point as to why <name deprecated>, whom I never answered to before, was laying everyone off, including me, as I previously reported only to John Doe and his closest associates. I then proceed to contact the <name deprecated>, whom then comes onto webcam chat flaunting a gun and a sheet of paper. To my understanding, this was some sort of contract with a previous company he owned with John Doe. <name deprecated> was waving the gun around, threatening me and stating that he had full control over the company while John Doe, the CEO, was absent. During this time, company documents and emails were being leaked around online.
Some of these leaks were setup conversations and deals relating to John Doe. This caused him to become the “fall guy”. These emails and documents were entirely fabricated by this person or person(s) within the company, who were now in control of the company by mutiny. I then went ahead to call John Doe, the CEO, on his personal line. I told him what was going on and asked him why I was being laid off. His reply was complete shock of what was going on and he was just as confused as I was. The CEO then continues to tell me he is contacting his lawyers and would call me right back. I then proceed to explain to his lawyer what was going on and they told me to stand by and see what else <name deprecated> does or says to me.
At this point, I think a company mutiny was happening and had reason to believe that this person was in control of over $45 Million USD in crypto, at the time, and many other things relating to the company. This would allow this person to throw John Doe, the CEO, under the bus and then get away unscathed with millions. During this time, I was obviously still looking for work, from being laid off from the company. John Doe, the CEO, being an inspiring and good person in my opinion, still wanted to try to save his company and felt bad that I was out of a job. He then had me create some software that used a browser extension to allow purchasing items with altcoin directly from a major retailer for consumers. Half-way through the project, John Doe, the CEO, had gone quiet. By the time John Doe had come back to the states it seemed the internet trolls had taken over the propaganda and every big news outlet out there did as well, with headlines reading anything from “John Doe Scam” to “John Doe Steals Millions”. John Doe, the CEO, then essentially takes the fall and gets sentenced to prison. Obviously being curious still, about what I know and not seeing any articles relating to the knowledge I have, time goes by a few years and I notice the <name deprecated> from the company that had laid me and others off and waved the gun on webcam, <name deprecated>, had gotten a gender change and changed his name…suspicious? Yes.