Uber investor sues former CEO Kalanick for fraud

SAN FRANCISCO (UPI) — One of the investors behind the ousting of Travis Kalanick from Uber earlier this summer sued the former CEO on allegations of fraud Thursday.

Benchmark Capital Partners, one of the largest shareholders in the ride-hailing service, filed the lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court. It accused Kalanick of breaching his fiduciary duty and contractural obligations by loading up Uber’s board with friends.

Though Kalanick resigned as CEO in June, he remains on the company’s board.

The lawsuit says Kalanick stacked the board to pave a “clear the path for his eventual return as CEO — all to the detriment of Uber’s stockholders, employees, driver-partners, and customers.”

Benchmark says Kalanick obtained control over multiple seats on the Uber board through “material misstatements and fraudulent concealment.” The suit calls for an invalidation of Kalanick’s position on the board.

His sudden departure as CEO came after investors in the multi-billion dollar company demanded the resignation of Kalanick, who then agreed to step down.

“I love Uber more than anything in the world and at this difficult moment in my personal life I have accepted the investors request to step aside so that Uber can go back to building rather than be distracted with another fight,” Kalanick said in a statement at the time.

Earlier in the day, Uber’s vice president of operations, Ryan Graves, announced he is stepping down from his position in the company, but would remain on the board to help in the search for a new CEO.

Written by UPI writer Danielle Haynes