Tony Hsieh’s family accuses his former assistant of manipulating, swindling the late billionaire

October 27, 2021

The family of late billionaire Tony Hsieh has accused his assistant Jennifer “Mimi” Pham of swindling the Zappos founder out of millions of dollars.

A grieving family’s response: Pham, who sued Tony’s estate for $93 million in February, is now facing a counterclaim from Tony’s father Richard and brother Andy that detailed how she allegedly looted the entrepreneur’s fortune through “manipulative” contracts, reported Daily Mail.

Filed in August, the family’s counterclaim accused Pham and her lawyer boyfriend Roberto Grande of exploiting Tony while he was suffering from drug addiction.
According to court documents obtained by Daily Mail, the pair engaged in an “abuse of fiduciary relationship” aimed at manipulating and squeezing the entrepreneur out of millions of dollars.
Pham allegedly used her Nevada company, Baby Monster LLC, to create a series of outrageous contracts that would earn her and her boyfriend millions of dollars.
Pham, who was previously paid a flat rate of $9,000 per month plus travel expenses, suddenly received a pay raise of up to $30,000 and a 10% commission on any funds she spent or invested for Tony.
The documents alleged that Pham’s commission was for “virtually anything and everything imaginable, with no oversight whatsoever – which increased her income, in a single year, by millions of dollars.”
The family pointed out that “this drastic increase in Pham’s compensation coincided with Tony’s debilitating addiction to Ketamine.”

Sticky note contracts: Pham also created an unusual contract that would grant her $30,000 payment each day Tony’s associate Suzie Baleson visited Tony’s property. This contract reportedly stemmed from a “jealous feud” Pham developed with Baleson.

From mid-September up until his death in November last year, Pham invoiced Tony for $1,830,000 through her company.
Pham purportedly received “at least $420,000,” which the complaint noted as “a testament to the toxic influence Pham exerted over Tony.”
The documents also accused Pham of monitoring Hsieh “against his wishes” using a camera set up in his bedroom in Park City, Utah, while she stayed in Las Vegas.
Pham also allegedly wrote a $10 million contract on a sticky note to fund documentary company XTR’s film projects and other joint ventures through Hsieh’s firm Pickled Entertainment. As part of the deal, Grande was to receive $1 million and a further 10% “management fee” Pham charged for documenting the attorney’s fees.
According to documents, Grande and Pham were set to divert all the profits to an entity called Mr. Taken LLC, from which they would take 55%.
Pham has since filed a response denying all the allegations of wrongdoing.

Hsieh, who had earned a reputation for generosity toward friends and colleagues, passed away at age 46 after inhaling excess smoke in a house fire on Nov. 27, 2020, NextShark previously reported. In the last weeks leading up to his death, he reportedly abused drugs to self-medicate his social anxiety.

Featured Image via Getty

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