Wild allegations surface in one of ugliest court battles to hit L.A. tech scene in years
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A Silicon Beach entrepreneur and her investor are suing each other — part of a growing legal brawl that includes a dispute over a private jet, claims of a workplace affair and allegations of a sexual assault in a West Hollywood hotel.
On May 14, Mahway founder Jessica Mah sued D Global Ventures Chief Executive Justin Caldbeck in Los Angeles County Superior Court, saying he groped her and repeatedly solicited her for sex, then attempted extortion and defamed her to other investors when she rejected him. Hours after Mah’s claim was docketed, Caldbeck filed his own suit, saying Mah “seduced investors” with false promises and used money she raised to prop up her “ersatz glamorous lifestyle” — including spending company cash on a private jet.
“Justin Caldbeck’s claims collapse under the weight of the very documents he read, approved, and signed,” a spokesman for Mah said. “Jessica Mah will not be intimidated. We expect the court to deliver a penalty to Caldbeck as substantial as his gross misconduct.”
A spokesperson for Caldbeck, Sallie Hofmeister, countered with a statement that called Mah’s lawsuit “nothing more than a calculated effort ... to distract from credible accusations that they have misused millions of dollars of investor funds.”
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“Nearly a year ago, she explicitly threatened to weaponize past allegations against Mr. Caldbeck if he pursued legal claims related to fraud and embezzlement against her,” Hofmeister said.
Mah has maintained a jet-piloting, Lamborghini-racing, party-DJ persona on Instagram and tech industry podcasts. Caldbeck became an early face of Silicon Valley’s #MeToo reckoning when he issued a public apology and left the company he co-founded after multiple Asian American entrepreneurs accused him of sexual misconduct in 2017.
Their court battle — one of the ugliest to hit L.A.’s tech scene in years — erupted at a moment of cultural crisis for the industry. Many companies have abandoned efforts to root out “bro culture,” with polarizing figures such as Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg embracing President Trump’s anti-woke agenda. At the same time, economic uncertainty has led to mass layoffs and forced companies to do away with luxurious perks for employees.
How Mah spends her company’s money and treats her team is the focus of other litigation. On May 15, two former Mahway employees — ex-President Walter Delph and William Mulholland, who served as chief financial officer — sued her for wrongful termination and whistleblower retaliation. Both are represented by Caldbeck’s longtime lawyer, Ivo Labar.
All three lawsuits filed against Mah allege that she “holds herself out as a ‘unicorn breeder,’” using an industry term for companies valued at more than $1 billion.
“In reality, Mah is a charlatan living on investors funds intended for Mahway’s portfolio of startup companies, the majority of which are only ‘unicorns’ in the sense that they are also imaginary,” Caldbeck‘s and Mulholland’s suits both claim.
The men’s complaints accuse Mah of using company funds for personal expenses and structuring investment payouts to unfairly benefit her. Mahway is operated out of her rented West Hollywood mansion, with the company footing the bill, the suits allege. Mah said on a recent podcast appearance that the rental cost is $16,500 per month.
Delph additionally accused Mah of age discrimination and sexual harassment, claiming she called him an “old man” and carried on a public affair with Mahway founding partner Andrea Barrica — a relationship both women deny.
According to Delph’s suit, Mah “would rub Barrica’s upper inner thighs” during company meetings. That allegation is similar to one Mah leveled against Caldbeck. In her May 14 lawsuit, she alleged he “touched the upper-most part of [her] thigh and put his hand next to her genitalia,” during a business meeting at the Pendry Hotel in 2022.
Caldbeck’s spokeswoman Hofmeister, who also represents Delph, called Mah’s claims “nothing more than a smokescreen to deflect attention” from the fraud allegations being leveled against her.
“Ms. Mah’s lawsuit is meritless and the latest example of her bullying tactics,” Hofmeister said.
Mah fired back at Delph on May 15 with a raft of civil conspiracy charges, filing a suit that alleged he colluded with Caldbeck and Mulholland to smear her and “shake down” the company.
The three men say their suits were filed independently of one another.
Mulholland said he was forced to resign this year “in order to avoid engaging in illegal activities at Mah’s direction,” according to his May 15 suit.
Barrica has also jumped into the fray, accusing Caldbeck of sexual harassment and extortion in a lawsuit filed May 20. Barrica claims he repeatedly tried to climb on top of her and kiss her in an Uber after a business meeting in Paris.
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The Mahway executive says Caldbeck tried to “leverage his repulsive behavior by threatening to spread objectively false allegations that Ms. Barrica was in a sexual and romantic relationship” with Mah. Barrica alleges Caldbeck pressured her to join his “unhinged and baseless campaign to destroy Ms. Mah.”
According to Barrica’s complaint — filed by Mah’s lawyer— when Mah learned of the alleged incident, she confided about her own experiences with Caldbeck.
The two women agreed to try to maintain a professional relationship with the investor while limiting contact, Barrica’s suit said. That seemed to work until a blowup over executive payouts in September.
Days before the first complaints were filed in the spring, Barrica reached out to Caldbeck “to make one last appeal for peace,” according to her complaint.
By Barrica’s account, the truce offer didn’t go over well.
“Even if Jess said that I raped her, I wouldn’t care,” Caldbeck said, according to Barrica’s suit. “My investors wouldn’t care either.”
According to Mulholland‘s and Delph’s suits, Caldbeck’s spat with Mah over payouts led the executives to probe the company’s operations. Both said in their claims they concluded she was bilking investors.
Delph contends in his complaint that he was fired after raising those concerns to his boss. Mulholland felt forced to resign amid growing fear he would be left holding the bag for Mah’s misdeeds, per his suit.
Caldbeck’s suit said his investment company has “suffered millions of dollars in damages” from Mahway’s mismanagement. His spokeswoman said he looks forward to setting the record straight.
“Mr. Caldbeck is confident the truth will continue to emerge and Ms. Mah’s allegations will be shown for what they are,” Hofmeister said.
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