Android founder Andy Rubin accused of participating in 'sex ring' in court docs

Yikes.
 By 
Karissa Bell
 on 
Android founder Andy Rubin accused of participating in 'sex ring' in court docs
Newly unsealed court docs delve into allegations Rubin had numerous affairs and "ownership relationships" with women. Credit: justin sullivan / Getty Images

A California court has unsealed documents that detail some of the explosive allegations against Android cofounder Andy Rubin, including his alleged participation in a "sex ring."

The documents stem from a civil suit filed by Rubin's wife last fall, but were just unsealed, as first reported by BuzzFeed. The lawsuit alleges that the former Google exec hid his vast wealth and coerced his pregnant wife into signing an unfair prenuptial agreement.

The lawsuit also delves into allegations that Rubin had numerous affairs and "ownership relationships" with women, whom he paid in exchange for allowing him to "loan" them to other men. "Rubin would pay for their expenses in exchange for offering them to other men," the lawsuit states. "Rubin did this so he could watch them engage in various sexual acts."

It also contains two screenshots of emails purportedly sent by Rubin in 2015, in which he discusses "what being owned means." The emails were previously reported by The New York Times, which first reported that Rubin left Google amid allegations of sexual misconduct. The company has faced heavy criticism from employees over Rubin's $90 million exit package.

But most of the lawsuit deals with claims about Rubin's handling of a prenuptial agreement and his finances. According to Rubin's wife, the lawyer who represented her at the time had previously worked for Rubin, which she was unaware of. She also says Rubin took steps to conceal money from her and that she "even now does not understand the full scope of his finances."

In a statement provided to Mashable, Rubin's lawyer said the suit was "full of false claims." "This is a family law dispute involving a wife who regrets her decision to execute a prenuptial agreement. It is full of false claims and we look forward to telling our side of the story."

While Rubin hasn't worked at Google since 2014, the search giant has faced backlash from employees and shareholders since news of its payouts to Rubin have surfaced. Google employees around the world staged walkouts over the company's handling of complaints about sexism soon after The New York Times report on Rubin was published last year. The issue was also raised at Alphabet's recent shareholder meeting.

UPDATE: July 2, 2019, 5:41 p.m. PDT Added the full statement from Rubin's lawyer.

Topics Google

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Karissa Bell

Karissa was Mashable's Senior Tech Reporter, and is based in San Francisco. She covers social media platforms, Silicon Valley, and the many ways technology is changing our lives. Her work has also appeared in Wired, Macworld, Popular Mechanics, and The Wirecutter. In her free time, she enjoys snowboarding and watching too many cat videos on Instagram. Follow her on Twitter @karissabe.

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