Virgin Hyperloop One co-founder and venture capitalist Shervin Pishevar has taken a leave of absence from all his business responsibilities.
He cited his need to pursue a lawsuit against a research firm that he alleges is responsible for a smear campaign against him.
Less than a week ago Pishevar was hit with multiple claims of sexual harassment from at least six women.
At the time, a spokesperson for crisis management, Mark Fabiani, said that Pishevar was being targeted by a smear campaign.
On Tuesday, Pishevar announced that he has “decided to take an immediate leave of absence from my duties at Sherpa Capital and Virgin Hyperloop One, as well as my portfolio company board responsibilities, so that I can pursue the prosecution of my lawsuit, where I am confident I will be vindicated.”
Quick to distance themselves from the issue, two senators, Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) have said that donations of $19,000 and $15,000 given to them by Pishevar, respectively, were now being donated to organizations that help women deal with sexual violence.
In an earlier incident in the UK, where Pishevar was briefly arrested after a woman told London police that the early Uber investor had raped her, he was subsequently released and the case closed due to insufficient evidence.
For more background on the story, please read the original Bloomberg post.
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