Ex-Worker: Ashley Madison Makes Fake Profiles

Doriana Silva sues, company sues back
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 24, 2014 9:37 AM CDT
Ex-Worker: Ashley Madison Makes Fake Profiles
A screenshot for cheater site Ashley Madison.   (AshleyMadison.com)

Doriana Silva spent her days working for cheater site Ashley Madison typing up hundreds of fake profiles of sexy women to "entice paying heterosexual male members to join and spend money on the website." That, from a lawsuit Silva has filed seeking $20 million for "unjust enrichment" at her expense, plus another $1 million for punitive and general damages after she says she damaged her arms and wrists creating 1,000 "fake female profiles" in three weeks for a Brazilian version of the site, the Canadian Press reports. Ashley Madison, however, says the profiles were part of testing; parent company Avid Life Media has counter-sued for $100,000 in damages plus legal costs, and wants Silva to return copies of her "work product and training materials" the company says are confidential.

The suit gets messier from there: Silva, a Brazilian immigrant living in Toronto says she was led to believe fake profiles were the industry norm, and she would have turned down the job if she knew the "ethical and legal issues arising in relation to online fraud." She adds she has been unable to work since 2011 because of injuries to her arms and wrists. Ashley Madison has countered, noting that a day after her probation period ended, Silva complained of her injuries then spent six months in Brazil for treatment, which included numerous beach trips and ... jet-skiing. She also requested a "large lump sum payment" for lost wages, plus a weekly payment "nearly triple her gross salary," the company claims, adding, "despite the allegation that Ms. Silva remains unable to keyboard, Ms. Silva has maintained a very active presence on the internet," including her Facebook account. (More Ashley Madison stories.)

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