CEO and founder of innovative FinTech company fights for gender equality and mistreatment in personal suit against Ash Patel, Shazhad Khan, Houri Simon, John Friedemann, Neel Pinge, Alex Meruelo and Thomas McCullough
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 17, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, National Merchants Association ("NMA" or "Plaintiff"), an innovative FinTech company, pro-business advocate and payments acquirer transforming the financial services industry, released details on Heather Altepeter's, CEO and founder of NMA, personal suit against Ash Patel, Shazhad Khan, Houri Simon, John Friedemann, Neel Pinge, Alex Meruelo, and Thomas McCullough, individually, as well as Commercial Bank of California ("CBC"), for allegedly collaborating to manipulate NMA as a way to enter the high-risk electronic payments processing industry and force NMA's female leadership out of the company, case number CVSW2202882; Superior Court of the State of California; Riverside County, Southwest Justice Center.
In April 2022 Altepeter filed a 5-count suit against the executives involved and CBC for various alleged violations, including, Unfair Business Practices pursuant to California Business and Professions Code § 17200 et al., Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Relations, Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Relations, Intentional Interference with Contractual Relations, and Inducing Breach of Contract. As it currently stands, Altepeter is suing for millions of dollars in damages and is in the process of completing written discovery as well as depositions with several individuals and entities involved in the case.
"The way in which I was treated as a woman in leadership by the CBC team was completely unfair and and I am taking a stand against unfair practices as it relates to being a female executive, entrepreneur and founder who built a company previously valued at nearly $1B," said Heather Altepeter, CEO and founder of NMA. "We're fighting for respect as a result of the several alleged inappropriate remarks made by Ash Patel and others involved. Allegedly, CBC became motivated by gender-based biases to get me out of the picture and either take over ownership of NMA's assets and relationships or replace me with what they viewed as more gender-appropriate leadership and in the process improve their profit margins and positioning in the industry."
The alleged unethical and unfair business practices executed by current and former executives of Commercial Bank of California including Ash Patel, Shazhad Khan, Houri Simon, John Friedemann, Neel Pinge, Alex Meruelo and Thomas McCullough are as follows:
- Unfair Business Practices, California Business and Professions Code § 17200 et seq.
- Intentional Interference with Prospective Economic Relations
- Negligent Interference with Prospective Economic Relations
- Intentional Interference with Prospective Contractual Relations
- Inducing Breach of Contract
- Unreasonably and deliberately delaying and rejecting new merchant processing applications;
- Imposing overly restrictive policies against NMA's core merchant classes;
- Taking NMA's proprietary processes and information
- Distributing misinformation about Heather and NMA to merchants and competitors
- Causing the temporary termination of Heather from her leadership position with NMA
National Merchants Association will release milestone updates as the legal process proceeds. For questions or comments, email [email protected]. For more information on National Merchants Association, visit NationalMerchants.com.
About National Merchants Association (NMA)
National Merchants Association (NMA) is a powerhouse in the payment processing industry and a merchant advocacy group that champions for every merchant, regardless of their risk level, to ensure fair and affordable electronic payment options for businesses of all sizes. As a premier card-not-present service provider and trusted partner to brick-and-mortar businesses across the globe for nearly 20 years, NMA has revolutionized the payment processing space by creating a trusted and easy-to-use payment experience for merchants, agents, referral partners and consumers. NMA has achieved remarkable success since its inception – securing a spot on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies for three consecutive years and landing partnerships that afford exclusive access to innovative FinTech and payments solutions. For more information about NMA, visit https://www.nationalmerchants.com/NationalMerchants.com.
Media Contact
National Merchants Association, National Merchants Association, 1 619-507-5281, [email protected]
SOURCE National Merchants Association
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