Former employee sues Skully

Skully, the crowdfunded manufacturer of augmented reality helmets, has had to endure one setback after another over the last few weeks; the CEO was ousted, deliveries of helmets were pushed back leading to speculation about Skully’s future, and finally the company officially closed.

Now, to add insult to injury, a former employee has sued the company at the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, claiming that Marcus and Mitchell Weller, the brothers who founded the company, squandered company money on holidays, fast cars and motorcycles.

The lawsuit comes from Isabelle Faithhauer who was “assigned responsibility for managing the books of Skully”. According to her,  “the Wellers used the corporate entities of Skully in such a fraudulent manner as to render the corporate entity a sham.” The list of grievances is 23 pages long, but here are some of the highlights of how company funds are alleged to have been used:

• A payout of $80,000 to a former co-founder of Skully was concealed from the accountants by recording the expense as a reimbursement of expenses during a trip to China.
• A non-business-related trip to Southern California, and rent of a Lamborghini for the weekend were expensed to Skully.
• Four motorcycles were purchased by Skully, two of which were for the Wellers’ personal use. Insurance for the motorcycles was also charged to Skully.
• In 2015, Marcus Weller and Mitchell Weller booked a non-refundable trip to Bermuda. Marcus Weller was not pleased with Bermuda, so he booked a last-minute flight to Hawaii, first class, at Skully’s expense.

The collapse of Skully might mean that people who have pre-ordered helmets will be left empty-handed, and may not receive a full refund.