Angry Mom Sank Tech Firm to Avenge Jailed Son, Biz Partner Says

A former Goldman Sachs investment banker who went to prison in 2018 for stalking his ex and beating her new beau with a hammer claims his then-business partner stole their tech company out from under him while he was behind bars.

But the other man, Dennis Thankachan, a serial entrepreneur backed by Mark Cuban, argues that he’s the one who was wronged by the “lovestruck loon” and his computer-savvy mom, who allegedly hacked into his email accounts to destroy a much-needed corporate rescue deal. She then duped the techie into selling the firm to her for $1, Thankachan says, calling it a price he would never have agreed to had he known what was going on behind the scenes.

“I partnered with a guy that did some pretty messed up things… And he sort of ruined his own life,” Thankachan told The Daily Beast. “I tried to pull away from the business, and he tried to make my life difficult in different ways.” “Difficult” is a dramatic understatement, according to a lawsuit Thankachan filed Tuesday in New York State Supreme Court. It accuses Alexander Hsu Pugmire, along with Pugmire’s mother, Helen, of carrying out a “misguided revenge campaign” against Thankachan after becoming jealous of his success during Pugmire’s three-year incarceration. In Thankachan’s complaint, which alleges tortious interference and breach of fiduciary duty, he claims Pugmire’s mom ultimately sunk their venture after Pugmire got sent up the river on felony charges.

Read more at The Daily Beast.