Silicon Valley espionage: Deel hired a corporate spy inside rival Rippling — DOJ opens criminal probe

A Silicon Valley Company Planted a Spy Inside Its Competitor. He Confessed.

Deel — an HR and payroll startup — allegedly placed a paid corporate spy inside its biggest rival, Rippling. The spy stole Slack messages, sales leads, product roadmaps, and employee information. He confessed to everything in an Irish court. The DOJ has opened a criminal investigation.

The Confession

Keith O'Brien was an employee at Rippling. He was also being paid by Deel. In a sworn written statement before an Irish court, O'Brien confessed to systematically stealing confidential information from Rippling and handing it to Deel executives. Sales leads. Product roadmaps. Customer account details. Names of top performers for recruitment.

The Money Trail

O'Brien wasn't paid through normal channels. The payments were routed through the personal bank account of Deel's COO's wife. That's not corporate espionage with plausible deniability — that's a money laundering scheme designed to hide the payments from investigators.

DOJ Criminal Investigation

The Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation and issued grand jury subpoenas. This isn't a civil dispute between two companies — federal prosecutors believe crimes were committed. Grand jury subpoenas mean they're building a case for potential criminal charges.

The Silicon Valley Reality

Tech companies present themselves as innovative disruptors changing the world. Behind the mission statements and ping pong tables, some of them operate like intelligence agencies — planting moles, stealing secrets, and laundering money through family members' bank accounts. This case proves it.