Ex-Rippling Staff Paid $5K in ETH Monthly to Snoop for Competitor

An Irish man has confessed to accepting $5,000 per month in cryptocurrency to spy on Rippling, a payroll management company, on behalf of its rival, Deel.

This Hollywood-style corporate espionage plot garnered global attention and nearly prompted him to flee to Dubai.

In an affidavit filed in Dublin court on 1 April, Keith O’Brien revealed that he began working as a corporate spy for Deel in September 2024 while still employed by Rippling.

Over the following months, O’Brien allegedly provided Deel CEO Alex Bouaziz with daily updates on Rippling’s corporate strategy and customer insights, often including weekends, through Telegram.

O’Brien said in the statement:

“[Deel’s CEO] suggested that I remain at Rippling and become a ‘spy’ for Deel, and I recall him specifically mentioning James Bond.”

Deel executives paid him in Ethereum per month, assuring him the method would be untraceable.

O’Brien admitted to reluctantly accepting the cryptocurrency in his Blockchain.com wallet, converting it to cash due to concerns over market fluctuations.

Rippling Sues Ex-Staff for Spying

This admission follows a lawsuit filed by Rippling against Deel in federal court in San Francisco, accusing Deel of orchestrating a "calculated and unlawful corporate espionage scheme."

The legal battle is the latest chapter in the ongoing rivalry between the two HR software giants, both valued at over $10 billion a few years ago for their solutions aimed at managing remote workforces—a sector that has seen a decline in the post-pandemic landscape.

The timing of the lawsuit also coincides with the crypto industry's efforts to rebuild its reputation, as it faces scrutiny over claims that digital assets are often used for illicit purposes.

In his affidavit, O’Brien detailed how Bouaziz instructed him to gather specific information from Rippling’s internal systems, including Slack, Salesforce, and Google Drive.

O’Brien was directed to search for terms such as "Tom Brady," "Iran," "Tinybird," and "sanctioned countries," and was reportedly urged to focus particularly on customers of Deel who had shown interest in Rippling's product demonstrations.

Former Rippling Staff Who Spied for Rival Firm Had Change of Heart

The alleged scheme unravelled in mid-March when an independent solicitor served O’Brien with a court order at Rippling’s Dublin office, mandating a forensic inspection of his devices.

That same evening, Deel’s legal team reportedly discussed the option of O’Brien fleeing to Dubai with his family.

In the days that followed, O’Brien performed a factory reset on his phone, destroyed it with an axe, and disposed of the remains down a drain at his mother’s home—all, he claims, under the instruction of Deel’s lawyers.

Yet, nearly two weeks later, O’Brien chose to come forward and confess to his alleged role in the espionage.

He confessed in the statement:

“I realized that I was harming myself and my family to protect Deel. I was concerned, and I am still concerned about how wealthy and powerful [Deel’s executives] are, but…I want to do what I can to start making amends and righting these wrongs.”