Vishal Garg, the former chief executive who abruptly dismissed 900 employees during a two-minute virtual meeting, is now facing intense legal action from his former employer.
Better Home & Finance has filed a lawsuit against its founder in federal court, accusing the ousted executive of orchestrating a 'scorched-earth campaign' to forcefully regain control of the business.
Garg initially captured global attention during the pandemic after a recorded broadcast of his mass firing leaked to the public.
The current legal confrontation follows a decisive board vote on 3 August, when every director aside from Garg himself opted to terminate his position due to significant financial losses and a declining stock price.
Financial Turmoil Under the CEO Who Fired 900 on Zoom
Court records indicate that the internal fracture at the digital mortgage lender had been widening for several months prior to his ultimate removal. The lawsuit details a series of volatile interactions, alleging that the founder routinely disparaged his workforce in internal communications.
Legal filings claim he directed hostile language at staff members, branding them with insults such as 'monkeys' and 'dumb dolphins' in company emails during his tenure.
The board justified its decision to sever ties with the founder by pointing to a substantial drop in the corporate valuation. According to the detailed lawsuit, the enterprise sustained staggering net losses exceeding £1.16 billion ($1.5 billion) since the start of 2022.
Alongside these significant net losses, executive directors noted a 90 per cent collapse in the overall stock price while Garg remained at the helm. Rather than accepting his dismissal quietly, the founder reportedly launched what the firm characterises in its legal filings as a 'campaign of retribution'.
Documents submitted to the court allege that the executive immediately sought to build a coalition of sympathetic shareholders to reverse the unanimous board decision and reinstall himself at the top of the corporate hierarchy.
On 10 August, exactly one week after his formal termination, Garg allegedly escalated the corporate dispute by sending a formal legal letter demanding the immediate resignation of all current board members.
Within this correspondence, he asserted that he possessed the active backing of a large group of 'concerned shareholders' who supported his immediate reinstatement and opposed the recent leadership changes.
Securities Law Violations in the Push To Regain His Very Own Company
The mortgage firm claims that Garg amassed this shareholder group through an aggressive and highly misleading media strategy.
The lawsuit explicitly accuses him of flooding the market with false statements across carefully timed press releases, various social media platforms, and traditional television spots.
A central component of the corporate legal argument revolves around strict federal securities regulations.
The complaint states that the former executive publicly claimed to have 'already corralled 52 per cent' of the shareholder vote, effectively presenting his return to power as an inevitability. However, the company argues he completely bypassed proper regulatory channels to secure these figures.
According to the filings, the former chief executive failed to submit the required proxy statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission before soliciting this crucial backing.
Proxy disclosures serve as a fundamental legal mechanism designed to inform investors who cannot attend critical board meetings about essential company data, financial outlooks, and operational performance.
Bypassing this regulatory step, the firm alleges, constitutes a direct and deliberate violation of federal securities law.
The CEO who became famous for firing around 900 employees during a Zoom call just before Christmas has now been fired himself.
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) August 19, 2026
Vishal Garg, CEO of Better Home & Finance, was removed from his job on August 3 and replaced by Daniel Lewis, who had joined the company’s board just a… pic.twitter.com/kV04pVxJQ9
Legal Petitions Against the CEO Who Called Staff Monkeys
Better Home & Finance is currently petitioning the federal court for immediate judicial intervention to halt the founder. The company requested a legal order to nullify all of the shareholder support Garg claims to have gathered so far, arguing that it was obtained through deceptive practices.
Furthermore, the board is seeking a strict injunction that would prevent the ousted executive from soliciting any additional investor backing for a minimum period of 30 days.
The company insists this regulatory freeze is necessary to correct the public record and allow shareholders to review accurate financial data without external pressure.
The current leadership team maintains that the former executive is actively harming the long-term stability of the enterprise through his aggressive public relations offensive.
The ousted founder has flatly rejected the corporate allegations and directed the blame back toward the current leadership structure.
Responding to the federal legal action, Garg issued a written statement asserting that he followed all required protocols during his investor outreach efforts.
He maintained his combative posture against the specific directors who voted to remove him from power. According to his written defence reviewed by financial reporters, the founder believes the legal fault lies entirely with the current administration.
Garg wrote that 'the only people who may have committed securities law violations are Daniel Lewis and the board', referring directly to the newly appointed interim chief executive.
