(José Niño, Headline USA) A federal lawsuit filed in district court alleges that executives at Strive Asset Management, the investment firm founded by Vivek Ramaswamy, pressured a female employee to engage in conduct she believed would violate securities law, retaliated when she refused, and ultimately terminated her employment after she declined an alleged sexual relationship with a senior executive.
According to court documents, the employee was allegedly coerced into using sales materials that “improperly promised future investment returns” and instructed to begin selling products before obtaining mandatory securities licenses.
The filing further alleges that both Ramaswamy and company co-founder Anson Frericks “unlawfully engaged in securities sales activities despite the fact that neither has a securities license,” with Ramaswamy specifically accused of conducting improper securities marketing through his Twitter account.
Per a report by Allen Analysis, the complaint further contends that Strive used social media platforms as vehicles to market investment products in ways the plaintiff believed constituted unlawful securities solicitation, including impermissible performance representations.
These accusations represent more than isolated incidents. Forbes reported that two previous employees filed remarkably similar lawsuits in 2023. Joyce Rosely, formerly co-head of institutional sales, filed in New Jersey courts last August, while John Phillips brought his case in Kansas that June. Both accused Ramaswamy and Frericks of aggressively pushing workers to violate securities law while misrepresenting the company’s financial condition.
Christopher Lenzo, attorney for Rosely, characterized the operation bluntly: “Strive was founded, in retrospect, largely as a PR mechanism for the presidential campaign of Ramaswamy. Not a lot of thought was given to running it as an investment firm,” according to InvestmentNews.
The legal troubles extend beyond employment disputes. A separate federal RICO lawsuit filed in Georgia’s Northern District names Ramaswamy as part of an alleged network of investors who participated in a coordinated scheme to sabotage competitor GloriFi, steal its intellectual property, and replicate its business model through Strive.
That complaint alleges an organized effort to seize or neutralize a company after defendants reviewed confidential materials under non-disclosure agreements.
Strive reportedly declined to comment.
“Strive intends to vigorously defend itself,” the company told Yahoo News. “Beyond that, it is our policy not to comment on active litigation.”
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
