Report: Troubled RadiumOne Employed Federal Fugitive

Tech outfit known for CEO with domestic violence record had engineer on the lam on its books.

Tech firm RadiumOne has generated a lot of interest from law enforcement, including the US Secret Service.

Before the company's CEO, Gurbaksh Chahal, pleaded guilty to domestic violence and battery, the firm employed one "Brad Smith" -- who was working for the company under an assumed name after evading federal law enforcement for six years, CNET reported.

Smith, who was the mobile ad startup's director of engineering, is in fact "Bradley Raymond Anderson," who has been wanted since 2008 for making fake credit cards, the website reported.

Smith was arrested in February of this year, after fleeing San Francisco for Portland, where he was apprehended, the website reported.

He started with the company as an "aqui-hire": he worked for a company purchased by RadiumOne called Focal Labs, CNET reported.

So how did he slip past RadiumOne's HR team, who in theory would have vetted his identity, including his Social Security number? 

That's not clear, though Silicon Valley experts told the Web site that startups with young CEOs can be "sloppy," especially when there is demand to speedily resume work.

Other companies now have the opportunity to also make the same mistake. Smith, who is free on bail while awaiting trial, is still on LinkedIn looking for work --as "Brad the App Guy."

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
Contact Us