Romance, lies, and ChatGPT: The scandal shaking Tel Aviv’s startup scene
Promai sues former CEO over bogus contracts with global giants and a web of personal deceit.
"The CEO posed as a senior officer in the Air Force and forged, cheated, lied, and defrauded the company" — this is what the startup Promai alleges in a 10 million shekel (approximately $2.7M) lawsuit filed Sunday with the Tel Aviv District Court.
According to the company, an investigation by the Wizman-Yaar business investigation firm revealed that its recently departed CEO, Erez Ben Eshay — who was also the romantic partner of the company’s founder and largest shareholder — allegedly forged documents, including using ChatGPT, to fabricate a contract for product development with Boeing.
Promai, which employed about 40 people and is based in Tel Aviv, has developed a technological solution intended to streamline the transfer of vital information to production lines and reduce operational malfunctions. The company was founded in 2022 by Dr. Dina Olga Goren-Bar, an expert in artificial intelligence, and has raised $7 million from private investors.
The Promai website and any LinkedIn presence have been deleted.
According to the lawsuit, Dr. Goren later met Ben Eshay, who presented himself as a test pilot and a reserve officer with the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Air Force. “The defendant fraudulently gained Dr. Goren’s trust, leading her to maintain a personal relationship with him,” the lawsuit states. “It has now become clear that the defendant is married and living with another woman, and that the stories he told Dr. Goren about being away for military or operational duties were fabricated.”
The suit further alleges: “Based on the defendant’s false representations, he received 12% of the company’s shares from Dr. Goren at the time of its founding and was appointed CEO.”
The company claims that over the past year it had been manufacturing products it believed were ordered by Medtronic and Boeing. These were purported to be prestigious contracts with global companies, whose execution would have conferred substantial revenue and reputational benefits on Promai.
“A few days before this lawsuit was filed,” the complaint continues, “it became clear that the defendant had falsified all the contract documentation related to Medtronic and Boeing, as well as other key contract documents of the company. This means the company spent about a year and a half manufacturing products that were never ordered — not by Medtronic, not by Boeing, and not by anyone else. Approximately 20 million shekels were spent under false pretenses.”
The lawsuit claims that the damage to Promai is “enormous.” “The company had a product in its early stages of development, and due to the defendant’s fraudulent actions, it invested nearly all of its resources in preparing products that were never ordered. This came at the expense of developing the product for real, potential customers.”
Attorneys Ariel Shmul and Avital Kidron, who represent Ben Eshay, responded:
“Our client denies all allegations against him. These claims are entirely baseless and completely fabricated. Our client acted lawfully and ethically in his capacity as CEO. He has suffered significant personal and financial harm due to the conduct of certain individuals within the company. The use of his name in this affair is a mistake, and he is not responsible for the situation. At most, this appears to be a commercial dispute among other parties — not one involving our client.”
