D.C.-based real estate crowd-funding startup Fundrise has fired CFO Michael McCord for allegedly trying to extort more than $1 million from the company according to a report by The Real Deal.
Based on an SEC filing about the firing, it looks like the company sent a letter to backers, probably written by CEO Benjamin Miller, letting them know about the extortion plot. McC0rd is denying the charges according to TechCrunch, but the letter makes it pretty clear that his former colleagues see a real problem. McCord joined Fundrise in 2014.
Fundrise's investors may be concerned though. The company has raised $41 million, $31 million from Chinese social network giant Renren. We've reached out to Fundrise for comment and will update this story when we know more. You can read the text of the letter below.
“Strategic Investors & Advisors, I am saddened to have to inform you that an employee of our company has engaged in what we believe to be an attempt to extort over $1M from the company. As part of this, he claims the company acted inappropriately concerning two real estate deals. Though we believe there is no merit to his claims, we take any allegation with the utmost seriousness.
As a result, we have engaged a third-party financial audit firm to conduct a thorough investigation concerning his allegations. We are pursuing all appropriate and precautionary steps to protect our investors and our organization.
Furthermore, we are contacting the appropriate law enforcement agency to report what we believe to be his criminal behavior.”
