Seattle Prosecutors Drop Fees Towards Ex-Superstar CEO

SEATTLE (AP) — Seattle prosecutors on Wednesday dropped a misdemeanor cost that former superstar chief govt Dan Value grabbed a girl’s throat after making an attempt kiss her, citing issues in proving their case, court docket data present.

Value, 38, gained nationwide consideration for elevating workers’ salaries and slashing his personal whereas he ran Gravity Funds, a bank card processing firm. He resigned from the corporate final summer time after being charged with fourth-degree assault and reckless driving in February 2022.

In a press release emailed by his lawyer, Value mentioned he had by no means bodily or sexually abused anybody.

“Now that these false allegations are behind me, I plan to take a while to mirror on how I can finest interact on the financial justice points that matter most to me,” Value mentioned in a press release emailed by his lawyer.

Charging paperwork mentioned a girl referred to as Seattle police on Jan. 24 to report she had met Value at a restaurant 4 days earlier. She mentioned the 2 had communicated on Instagram about work and that she had reached out to him about assembly to debate “skilled issues,” in line with charging papers.

Seattle prosecutors mentioned Value cornered the girl in his Tesla after a dinner assembly, tried to kiss her and grabbed her throat when she refused. Value then drove her to a parking zone, tried to kiss her once more and drove “doughnuts” along with her within the automobile, prosecutors mentioned.

However on Wednesday, they dropped the costs in response to a movement filed by Value’s lawyer, Mark Middaugh. The movement famous that in an interview with the protection crew, the girl mentioned that whereas Value put his hand on her neck, he by no means grabbed her throat or constricted her windpipe or precipitated any ache.

The lady additionally mentioned she had typically interacted with males who despatched flirtatious messages on Instagram as a result of they“find yourself commissioning an enormous portray” of her art work, and that she hoped to capitalize on Value’s connections, Middaugh mentioned within the authorized submitting.

“It’s surprising that the police referred this case to the prosecutor for felony expenses with out conducting any follow-up investigation, interviewing any witnesses apart from the complainant, and even asking Mr. Value what occurred,” Middaugh mentioned in an electronic mail Tuesday.

Value shot into the nationwide highlight in 2015 when he mentioned he would increase worker salaries to $70,000. At the moment, his 120 workers had been paid a median wage of $48,000 a yr.

Value additionally reduce his personal wage from practically $1 million to $70,000, cementing a reputation for himself within the enterprise world as a progressive CEO preventing for larger wages and higher situations for the common employee.

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