Greg Moran Sues Zoomcar India In US Court Over Unpaid Dues

Greg Moran Sues Zoomcar India In US Court Over Unpaid Dues

He claimed being pressured to relinquish employment rights and owes over $238,000 in compensation

Greg Moran, the co-founder of Zoomcar, has filed a lawsuit against Zoomcar India, Zoomcar Holdings, Sternaegis Ventures, and Aegis Capital Corporation (collectively referred to as Aegis defendants), after being dismissed as the company’s CEO.

He alleged being denied the vesting of his 8 percent stake in the firm, valued at approximately 16 million shares. Though dismissed for a cause, no such reason was specified.

Moran complained that the defendants threatened him with termination of his CEO role if he did not give up rights in the employment agreement and agreed to other employment terms. He did not receive the compensation of $238,000 that was overdue based on wage-related statutes and provisions outlined in his amended and restated employment agreement of 22 December 2023.

Zoomcar went public on the Nasdaq through the Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) route and raised about $230 million.

The self-drive car rental startup was started in Bengaluru in 2013 by two college mates Moran and David Back, who dumped the idea of pursuing their fully-funded management degrees at the University of Southern California and Cambridge University's Judge School of Business respectively, to launch a car rental business, Zoomcar India. Back is no longer with the company.

In 2022, the Aegis defendants took the company public via SPAC, exploring potential arrangements with sponsor and investor groups.

During each commercial structuring discussion, the Zoomcar board of directors consistently and unambiguously reaffirmed their commitment and obligation to maintain the plaintiff's ownership stake at "8 percent fully diluted" of Zoomcar's equity.

The complainant added that the commitment was upheld regardless of the approach of any corporate transaction or investment strategy. The board said that the plaintiff's ownership would remain unchanged, irrespective of the specific details or structure of the SPAC deal or any other investment avenue pursued by the company.

Moran stated, "The Aegis defendants continued to engage in self-dealing to further their interests at the expense of Zoomcar, and to harm him.”

For instance, in early 2023, the chairman of Zoomcar board and Waze co-founder Uri Levine demanded a re-negotiation of his director compensation. He demanded $500,000 in cash compensation and a stock grant to increase his ownership above 1 percent of Zoomcar.

The former CEO explained, “The ownership interest would have been higher than any other Zoomcar employee except for the plaintiff. Also, the cash compensation would exceed all company employees, including the plaintiff.”