Former Employee Sues Alex and Ani, Alleges Illegal Activity

A former employee of Alex and Ani has sued the company and alleges that executives for the popular jewelry maker and lifestyle brand bullied him when he raised concerns about alleged illegal activity committed by company leaders.

The lawsuit was filed in Providence County Superior Court by Michael Mota, a former employee who helped facilitate Alex and Ani’s purchase of the marketing firm Mediapeel and reorganize it into the company’s Seven Swords Media brand.

Alex and Ani is headquartered in Cranston.

In the lawsuit, Mota alleges that Alex and Ani founder and CEO Carolyn Rafaelian had employees take care of her personal matters on the clock, directed Seven Swords employees to “disregard or otherwise destroy invoices for work performed on behalf of Rafaelian personal ventures,” and then led a campaign to intimidate and eventually fire Mota after he raised concerns with general counsel.

“These irregularities and unlawful practices were conducted without full disclosure to Alex and Ani stockholders and/or investors, and in violation of several State and Federal tax codes and laws governing corporations,” the lawsuit alleges.

Mota claimed that he even was held prisoner in his office with a burly security guard standing by the door as company executives demanded he turn over his personal cell phone and computer that were eventually illegally rifled through, the lawsuit alleges.

In a statement, Alex and Ani Spokesman Gregg Perry said that Mota was terminated from Seven Swords Media more than a year ago when his position was eliminated during a restructuring.

“He never worked for Alex and Ani. However, even if he had not otherwise been terminated as part of the Seven Swords restructuring, there were numerous documented, legitimate and non-discriminatory grounds that supported his termination from Seven Swords, including his inappropriate and unprofessional management style,” Perry said. “In addition, Mr. Mota has admitted publically in his interview with the Providence Business News that his termination was part of dissolving the Seven Swords entity.

“Mr. Mota’s allegations are both factually and legally wrong, and the company will vigorously defend this suit. Alex and Ani is confident that these baseless claims will ultimately be rejected by a judge or a jury,” Perry said.

Mota also claims that he was deceived and ultimately screwed over in a deal for Alex and Ani’s Seven Swords unit to buy GoGo Media. Mota was poised to get enriched by the deal but the transaction fell apart at the last minute.

That collapse coincided with the firing of former CEO Giovanni Feroce and what is described as a “systematic termination of male executives and management at the company,” according to the lawsuit. Fired were: Antonio Lopes, CEO of Seven Swords; David Rozen, CFO of Alex and Ani; Daniel Mercer, VP of operations for Seven Swords;  Taylor Rettig, CSO of Alex and Ani and David Medeiros, acting COO of Alex and Ani.

This is a developing story. It will be updated throughout the day.