Westlake Village-based iPayment, a credit card services provider recently acquired by London, England-based Paysafe Group, a global payments provider, has announced the layoff of 30 employees in its Westlake Village headquarters. Possibly to eliminate redundancies between the two organizations.
What makes this company interesting is the tale of management malfeasance, sex, fraud, and lies that played out in court leading up to the Paysafe acquisition. Unusual for a company that routinely touted its security and safety in the financial services sector.
June 2018 -- iPayment, Inc. Executives Named Semifinalists for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award
"iPayment, Inc., a trusted provider of payment and processing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), announced that CEO and President, O.B. Rawls IV, and CFO, Robert Purcell, have been named semifinalists for Ernst & Young’s 2018 Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Greater Los Angeles area. This award recognizes entrepreneurs who demonstrate excellent success in areas such as financial performance, innovation, and commitment to their businesses and communities.
June 2018 - Paysafe completes acquisition of iPayment
"Paysafe emerges as a top five, non-bank, payment processor in the U.S.
Paysafe Group, a leading global payments provider, announces today that it has completed the acquisition of iPayment Holdings, Inc. (iPayment) which was signed on April 12, 2018."
"iPayment, a U.S. based provider of payment and processing solutions for small and medium-sized businesses, generated processing volumes of over $25 billion in 2017 from more than 137,000 merchant customers across the country. Combined with Paysafe’s acquisition of MCPS last year, the acquisition establishes Paysafe as a top 5, non-bank, payment processor in the U.S."
August 2017 - The Association for Corporate Growth 101 is offering its first ACG 101 Meet the Innovators field trip.
"The first stop will be Aug. 24 at iPayment with its chief financial officer, Robert Purcell, and other C suite executives at iPayment's corporate headquarters in Westlake Village. Participants will get a quick tour, lunch, and opportunity to learn all about iPayment's culture and business growth plans."
August 2017 - "After watching his reputation get dragged through the dirt in a lurid, yearlong legal drama, a former CEO has scored an $11 million payday.
Carl Grimstad, the ousted chief executive of payment processor iPayment, landed the fat settlement after battling allegations that he looted half a million dollars from the company’s coffers to fund his wife’s shopping sprees — as well as his own alleged penchant for strip clubs and escorts. Grimstad will get a cash payment of $3 million and $4 million in preferred stock. He also will be retained as a special adviser to iPayment, earning $220,000 a month for the next 18 months, court documents show."
March 2017 - "The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged two former executives at a credit card processing company with masterminding a fraudulent scheme to steal millions of dollars through phony expense reimbursements, inflated invoices, and other improper accounting tactics."
"The SEC’s complaint alleges that iPayment’s then-senior vice president of sales and marketing Nasir N. Shakouri and then-executive vice president and chief operating officer Robert S. Torino routinely reimbursed themselves for payments that were never actually made to third-party vendors using their personal credit cards. They also allegedly conspired with vendors to inflate invoices and receive kickbacks from the overpayments and claimed improper commissions and bonuses related to other corporate funds they improperly diverted in various ways."
Are you wondering, Am I Next?