Any Lawyers here? Need a legal Perspective on the world’s most ridiculous scenario

[Thisisastupidscenario]

So in this hypothetical situation… which I’m aware is ridiculous.

If an individual with an axe to grind was to approach the HR department of a company or the company in general (a large international company that has large customers) and make some allegations against an employee (namely that they’ve lied about their qualifications, despite fairly rigorous onboarding). Would or could that company sue that individual with an axe to grind for several million (maybe billion, and this is just an average joe here) for fraud and reputation damage?

to me it sounds like utter dog poo. But I’m not a sharp legal kind.

You’re right of course!

it is just so exceptionally difficult to sit back and watch someone just ruin countless peoples lives and steal from them etc. It’s just awful. MN is some sense is my safe space because I’m too ashamed to talk in real life to anyone and I actually even wonder if they’d believe me. Family don’t. Thank you all for being my support network!

i wish he’d slip up and I could get some proof, I mean his stories are so ludicrous that common sense should prevail, but it’s not.

The ex who is being blackmailed could go to a solicitor. Put their cards on the table and see what advice they can give. The solicitor isn't going to tell their employer.

she may already have, I don’t know. She was a softie, a nice person but we don’t speak, ive been instructed to not engage with her. He was abusing her (shock horror I know) and they are already in a bitter legal dispute. He wants money he’s claiming is his, he could ruin her life with it, it’s along the lines of concrete proof of leaking confidential info and potentially stealing but all done under duress but of course the duress now can’t be proved because it’s years later but the actual ‘crime’ which is a criminal offence can

Walt sounds like a next-level Mitty.

Unfortunately Linked-In lets you post what you want about yourself, and allows you to claim to be working anywhere you like in any role you like. It's a major flaw and they seem reluctant to fix it.

I don't see an easy, non-confrontational way of tackling this when the fraud is within the family. Mittys are usually very plausible to the type of person they target, and they can deflect attempts to reveal the truth into them being the victim of a slur.

You could try calling his bluff. Appear to take the threat seriously, let him know you've taken legal advice (you asked here...), tell him you're instructing a solicitor and will need details of the company's legal representation in order that the matter can be rapidly resolved. Due to the serious nature of the allegations you've been advised (I've just told you) that you cannot discuss the details with him and it must now only be dealt with through legal representatives.

I'm not a solicitor (yet) but I can tell you a legal professional would need more information to understand what - if any - legal issues there are. However, even as a law student I can see that the company has no case (being told an employee doesn't have the qualifications they say they do is a quick matter of HR checking said qualifications and then sacking the individual for gross misconduct if they lied).

I’m laughing at this condensed chronology. Think you need to add “invented time travel” to his CV.

but seriously people like this can be rather dangerous so be careful.

But this is the level of lunacy we are dealing with. I despair.

semi recently he’d helped with a clear out before and was caught rifling through paper work and then several attempts were made to withdraw funds from a deceased persons bank account and he’d been asking for key personal info on that person too out of ‘curiosity’… just under the threshold for suspicious activity and just at the time he announces a fully funded by his company all American road trip that now has suddenly been cancelled. Now he’s planning on helping with another clear out… if at first you don’t succeed and all that

There is a scenario where if an individual lies about their qualifications, I did hear of a large company who got rid of said of employee, then at the very least attempted to pursue damages via the court system, as the individual had worked for them for about 5 years and taken a huge salary and in their eyes defrauded them.

in your scenario, can’t see anything like it happening. It’s all so employee favored that even if there’s theft of customer lists, supplier contracts, IP walking to the competitor it’s very expensive and low chance of success for recovery, and always ends up as bad publicity.

I had to sign 27 pages of confidentiality clauses in a settlement agreement once, but my lawyer thought it laughable and unenforceable, as it related to criminal activity where I had the option of being whistleblower and best they could do was regain the amount. In reality I’d already whistleblown with the authorities by that point (the company knew) so wheels were in motion anyway.

He sounds like a sociopath, not just a fantasist. If someone has lied about their qualifications and experience to get a job they can be prosecuted for fraud, not just lose their job.

Obviously you're concerned because he's knows you and your family well. I'm guessing either brother or cousin. If you truly suspect him of stealing and/or extorting money from relatives go to the police.

That aside, can the person you know who works there not look him up and find out what his job title is? They may be able to see who his manager is and that will give an indication as to the level of his job.

He kind of sounds like he has the same psychological profile as Donald Trump.

It must have been a trip, being his parent or sibling, as he was growing up. And not in a good way.

I think he’s got a job there but a lower level one and just like any company it will have pretty serious onboarding checks so I doubt he’s lied to them, he’s probably bullshitted an interview, but don’t we all to an extent. It’s just outside of work he’s created this persona.

i know he’s stolen and embezzled upwards of £50k at least, but it’s the proof I don’t have any hard evidence and the family would support him in this not me.:

i think that’s what he’s afraid of, that I’ll contact his colleague and rumble him..and he’s invented this whole scenario about a stranger contacting to see if I a) already have and b) to scare me. He’s so manipulative he’s told people that me and his ex are no in cahoots to discredit him. Apparently that is more plausible than him lying about the position he holds there

Growing up around him was living in fear, he was extremely physically aggressive, he would get his friends to pelt me with rubbish as I walked home from school. He’d regularly attack me, sonne from our town once saw and dragged him off and called the police, it was swept under the rug. You couldn’t have any money on you it would be stolen, no jewellery, no car keys nothing, cards had to be hidden

I've seen it happen in the UK too. And the guy involved had the qualifications he claimed but he wasn't actually in quite such a senior position at his previous employers as he told us. He wasn't bad at his job either but HR had him out the door the day it was discovered.

From what you'd written I thought he was in his 40s or 50s. I can't believe people fall for this. Cam his ex go to the police over the blackmail? Can you over the harassment? It won't be wasting police time.

What would happen if you just laughed at his outlandish claims?

We had a Walter in our family. Sadly no longer with us. Very unwell person.

If you reported him to his employers for claiming exaggerated qualifications and it was true that he had done this, you could, and would not, be successfully sued. His claim that they would sue for millions laughable. He’s just a fruit loop and I’d get him out of my life ASAP.

He sounds like a difficult family member. I have a few with aspirations/delusions of grandeur, but in no way anywhere near his league!

He reminds me of the Gavin and Stacey character - Stacey's welsh friend - her name escapes me - but she had apparently had a succession of high powered jobs with high powered people.

Not a lawyer so can’t comment in that respect.

Have come across a petty crook in the past (boyfriend of one of my fellow bedsit house residents) and he claimed to have a “friend” in the local Police so that if we ever complained to them about him then it would rebound on the rest of us big time, as his “friend” would have his back.

When you stop to think about it, it’s all threatening, unbelievable bullshit isn’t it!

but Nessa was actually telling the truth - didn't John Prescott turn up at her wedding?

With the linked in profile, i would send it to his HR department - they can easily check its correct and could probably enforce him amending it - if he is presenting himself as a senior decisoin maker, with authority to do deals, that could land the company in hot water if clients reach out to him.

Or HR could ignore it (but honestly, most people would look at it and do a 5 second check of listed role and actual role)

He’s not even 30.

I don’t know if his ex could, what she actually did and there is proof is a criminal offence so she could not only lose her job but she could face prosecution. The subtly here is that he coerced her into doing it. I’m not in contact with her though.

ive gone to the police about what’s happening and at the moment it is all circumstantial evidence so they’ve just advised cameras. Which will be put up but next month.

i did laugh at him initially because it’s so outlandish but then his new partner was interfering and butting in and calling my objections jealousy. I’m not sure if this partner is either the stupides woman on the planet or actually in cahoots with him

i don’t think he’s believing his own delusions but i do think he has anti social personality disorder. The list of things he’s done, and his behaviour has never got challenged or his stories never raised an eye brow and he keeps getting lucky. Like the person he embezzled 50k from, they died just as his story fell apart. Natural causes

id need to create a fake email or something so it couldn’t be traced back to me… unfortunately it would blow up in my face

you say you have a friend of a a friend who works there? surely they could raise it privately as they could probably check job title somehow? usually some sort of intranet/ org structure available internally.

It’s a friend of a friend sort of thing, truthfully maybe you’d give a wave to in the street or maybe the old smile and nod enough to make him sweat but it would still clearly come from me and then backlash id face from family would be huge

but it would not come from you - loads of people in HR manage their Companies linked in account and check who is on it (to ensure say ex employees aren;t still saying they work there or total fruadsters).

Nessa? But all the things she said were true. Don't you remember John Prescott coming to her wedding?

I really wouldn't bother trying to expose his lies.

Even if you can prove he is lying he will just come up with more fanciful stories:- engaged on a top secret mission in the company reporting directly to the chairman, still working for MI6, take your pick really.

You have tried to warn your family but they would rather believe Walter - it's more exciting.

For your own safety keep as much distance as possible. He may not believe his own lies but it is important to him that other people do believe them. You don't know what lengths he will go to to keep the deceit going.