$5,000 in Ethereum: Crypto-Paid Mole Leaked Rippling Secrets to Deel

The arrangement, which allegedly ran from September 2024 to March 2025, involved O’Brien sending daily updates through Telegram to Deel.

According to a signed affidavit filed in a Dublin court, O’Brien said he was encouraged by Deel’s CEO, Alex Bouaziz, to stay at Rippling and share company data.

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O’Brien said Deel sent him $5,000 worth of Ethereum each month, with the promise that using crypto would not leave any record. He claimed he used a Blockchain.com wallet to receive the funds, converted them into cash, and moved the money to his bank account.

The information Deel asked for included internal messages, sales leads, and strategic plans. O’Brien said he was asked to search through Rippling’s internal systems, including Slack, Salesforce, and Google Drive. He said he was told to look up terms like "Tom brady", "iran", "tinybird", and "sanctioned countries".

Deel also appeared interested in Rippling’s potential customers, especially those who had booked product demos.

The case ended in March when a court order required O’Brien to hand over his devices. He said Deel’s lawyers contacted him that same night and discussed whether he should flee to Dubai with his family.

On March 28, O’Brien decided to confess by saying that he no longer wanted to protect Deel at the expense of his own family. While he admitted he was still afraid of the company’s influence, he said he wanted to take responsibility for his actions.

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