Gearbox Software CEO Randy Pitchford and his wife Kristy have allegedly lost millions of dollars after their former personal assistant defrauded them. According to Dallas News, 33-year old John Wright Martin – who has been in and out of jail on a variety of charges in the past – is now on the run.
The Pitchfords hired Martin as a personal assistant in 2014, with a starting salary of $45,000 per annum. While Randy runs Gearbox, Kristy operates a restaurant and coffee shop. It was during this employment that Martin embezzled enough money to regularly shop at high-end luxury stores, drive expensive cars, buy designer clothes, and go on vacations to places like London and Italy. Interestingly, he also donated “tens of thousands of dollars” to charity.
Martin’s former friend, Matthew Worthen, called him a “master manipulator” and a “con artist.” He, too, alleges that he had $10,000 stolen from him.
By the time the Pitchfords discovered the fraud, Martin had already moved on to set up his own interior design business. Upon being confronted, he reportedly told the couple via his attorney that there was a “mix up,” and wrote them a check for $598,000, which bounced.
According to the Pitchford’s estimates, Martin has stolen nearly $3 million from them. Neither the couple nor Worthen expect to recover the full amount.
As for Martin, he agreed to Dallas News’ request for an interview via Facebook but didn’t follow through. “I can assure you there is much more to this story than me being charged for crimes I did not commit,” he said before he stopped responding to subsequent messages.
[Source: Dallas News via Game Informer]
