Dev Pragad Lawsuit: Key Details Omitted, Downplayed in Bombshell Report
IBT Media purchased Newsweek in 2013 and according to a new lawsuit, alleges current CEO Dev Pragad of trying to steal the company.
IBT Media orchestrated a spin-off in 2018 to help shield the brand from bad press, according to its lawsuit and planned to return things after scrutiny on the company died down, but now Pragad is failing to honor the agreement and instead moving to steal the company.
IBT Media founder Etienne Uzac and Johnathan Davis bought Newsweek in 2013, and the company sold its 50 percent stake in the magazine to Dev Pragad in 2018. Uzac and Davis then set Pragad up as CEO to manage for the time-being.
The act separated IBT and Newsweek, which was announced shortly before the Manhattan district attorney indicted Uzac and IBT. Pragad was supposed to return the Newsweek shares to its rightful original owner IBT Media, but Pragad reneged on the deal, according to the lawsuit. It turns out that this was part of an alleged long-term scheme by Pragad to illegally take away the company.
Uzac and Davis are members of a Christian denomination known as Olivet, which Newsweek mischaracterizes as a 'sect.' The dispute between Newsweek's shareholders came into public in April when Pragad announced in an odd all-staff memo that he had left his church and in an attempt to "protect the company." But apparently Pragad was actually motivated by greed and fame, the lawsuit alleges, and HNGN reporting seems to confirm with messages from Pragad himself.
IBT Media Lawsuit Against Newsweek
IBT Media noted the "calculated and systematic deception" schemed by Pragad against the owners of IBT Media.
It also added how he created a false public image as the one who "saved the news," as reported by HNGN.
The lawsuit noted that Pragad collected "false claims and awards" while crowing about his claimed achievements with Newsweek in digital magazines, podcasts, and even a case study at Harvard Business School.
The lawsuit also seeks relief from the court that any transfer of shares to Pragad be declared "void and unenforceable" due to the Newsweek's CEO's allegedly repeated violations of law, including "Fraudulent Inducement."
Newsweek's counsel Robert Weigel of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP responded on behalf of Pragad, downplaying the merits of suit, and instead tying it to an unrelated matter about debts.
IBT Media Acquisition of Newsweek
In 2013, the international digital-only news company announced that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Newsweek from IAC.
PR News Wire noted that IBT would acquire the Newsweek brand and the operations of the online publication.
Uzac said at the time that they were thrilled to welcome the "iconic brand and global news property" into their portfolio.
He noted that they believed in the Newsweek brand and looked forward to growing it, fully transformed to the digital age.
IBT said at the time that it intended to build on the Newsweek brand and editorial, offering to grow the online franchise with readers around the world. According to the lawsuit, Pragad allegedly took credit for all the hard work that was put into the brand, and inappropriately burnished his own credentials.
Newsweek, under the acquisition, was reported to operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of IBT Media.
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