Latest news with #DanPrice
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Bombshell twist in rape case against woke CEO accused of sick sex crimes
The rape charges against woke CEO Dan Price have been dropped due to lack of evidence. Price, 41, was once hailed as the most loved CEO ever after he slashed $1 million from his own salary at his Seattle-based company Gravity Payments to raise his staff's minimum salaries to $70,000. However, his clean image was soiled when he was accused of rape by his model ex-girlfriend Kacie Margis. Margis came forward in a New York Times piece claiming that Price raped her in a Palm Springs, California hotel room in 2021. A grand jury in Riverside County indicted him on one count of rape of an unconscious victim in September, reported the Los Angeles Times. However, the charges were dropped on Tuesday after prosecutors decided they did not have enough evidence to pursue the case. The Riverside County district attorney's office told The Seattle Times, 'Our office thoroughly reviewed all available evidence and, after careful consideration, has determined that we are unable to pursue charges against Mr. Price.' At the time of the indictment, Price voluntarily appeared in court and posted a $55,000 bail. 'As I have said repeatedly throughout that time, I have never physically or sexually assaulted anyone; and I look forward to the opportunity to prove my innocence,' he said on X in October. Price denied the allegations but never entered a formal plea because his arraignment was delayed several times. His lawyer Vicki Podberesky said their team had submitted additional evidence to the district attorney's office and praised their decision to drop the case. 'Dan has never wavered in asserting his innocence. There was not a shred of credible evidence that Dan did anything wrong, and the dismissal of these charges was the only just result,' said Podberesky. Margis gave a statement to the court expressing her disappointment with the dismissal. '[The grand jury] believed me, but now I sit here watching that same man walk free again,' she said. 'I hope this court recognizes the strength it takes to survive something like this – to speak out, to relive it over and over and still stand tall.' Margis told the New York Times that Price reportedly said it was 'so hard being him in the world because of his intelligence.' The model returned to the hotel room after their argument, taking a cannabis edible before Price asked her for sex and she refused. She told cops that as she fell asleep she felt Price penetrate her even after she said no, and was worried 'he would kill her if she tried to stop him.' Margis said she asked Price 'did you just rape me?' before the multi-millionaire denied the allegation that he assaulted her. Price started dating Margis after messaging her on Instagram on Valentine's Day in 2020, but the model didn't reply until the following year. After the attack, Margis text a friend that she was 'shaking' and 'could hardly speak,' adding that Price had looked her 'dead in the eyes and said what I know happened didn't happen.' She only came across Price after spotting his posts on social media championing workers' rights and corporate responsibility. His ex-wife Kristie Colon appeared on Good Morning America to describe how he 'terrified' her during their marriage. 'He threw me on the ground, he punched me he got on top of me he strangled me, all of those things. 'It was always extremely less stressful for me if others were there because I knew he wouldn't be as brutal to me as he was in private. 'People were terrified of what Dan would potentially do... it's hard to go up against a well-curated persona,' she said.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rape charge dropped against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price
Riverside County prosecutors have dropped a rape charge against Dan Price, the former chief executive of Gravity Payments, who was accused of sexually assaulting a girlfriend at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs in 2021. The charge against the 41-year-old founder of the Seattle-based tech company was dismissed on Tuesday due to a lack of prosecutable evidence, according to the Riverside County district attorney's office. Price gained renown in 2015 when he took an almost 93% pay cut to raise his employees' starting salary to $70,000. But his reputation as a darling of the progressive movement was sullied in 2022 when the New York Times published an expose detailing an alleged history of abusing women — accusations he has denied. The article, based on interviews with more than a dozen women, painted the portrait of a predatory man who used his fame to enable a pattern of abuse in his personal life, including a domestic violence accusation by his ex-wife and an alleged assault of a woman in Seattle. It also shared the story of his former girlfriend Kacie Margis, who accused him of raping her in Palm Springs in April 2021 after she had told him she didn't want to have sex and had taken a cannabis edible to counter insomnia. The following morning, she fled her hotel room and reported the alleged rape to police. Read more: Dan Price, CEO known for giving raises, resigns after Palm Springs rape investigation Price stepped down from his executive role at credit card payment-processing company Gravity Payments in August 2022, saying in a statement on X that he needed "to focus full time on fighting false accusations" made against him. "I'm not going anywhere," he vowed. Last May, he announced that he had returned to Gravity Payments full time as an adviser to the CEO. In September, a Riverside County grand jury indicted him on one count of rape of an unconscious victim, according to court documents. He voluntarily appeared in court and posted $55,000 in bail. "I am going to prove that the allegation is false in court," he said in an October statement on X. "As I have said repeatedly ... I have never physically or sexually assaulted anyone." Price, ultimately, never entered a plea in the Palm Springs case as his arraignment was postponed multiple times. The Riverside County district attorney's office said in a statement shared with The Times that it "thoroughly reviewed all available evidence and, after careful consideration, has determined that we are unable to pursue charges against Mr. Price beyond a reasonable doubt." Price was represented by Vicki Podberesky, a noted criminal attorney who represented the Church of Scientology in a rape case involving "That '70s show" actor Danny Masterson and represented former USC Dean Marilyn Flynn during a federal corruption investigation. Price also has faced misdemeanor assault charges in the city of Seattle, after a woman he went to dinner with accused him of forcing unwanted kisses and grabbing her by the neck. Those charges were dropped against him in 2023, due to "proof" problems, according to the Seattle Times. In a recent court statement, Margis said that a grand jury believed her rape allegation after hearing testimony from hotel staff, law enforcement, another witness and herself, the news outlet reported. 'But now I sit here watching that same man walk free again," she wrote. "I hope this court recognizes the strength it takes to survive something like this — to speak out, to relive it over and over and still stand tall." Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- Los Angeles Times
Rape charge dropped against former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price
Riverside County prosecutors have dropped a rape charge against Dan Price, the former chief executive of Gravity Payments, who was accused of sexually assaulting a girlfriend at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs in 2021. The charge against the 41-year-old founder of the Seattle-based tech company was dismissed on Tuesday due to a lack of prosecutable evidence, according to the Riverside County district attorney's office. Price gained renown in 2015 when he took an almost 93% pay cut to raise his employees' starting salary to $70,000. But his reputation as a darling of the progressive movement was sullied in 2022 when the New York Times published an expose detailing an alleged history of abusing women — accusations he has denied. The article, based on interviews with more than a dozen women, painted the portrait of a predatory man who used his fame to enable a pattern of abuse in his personal life, including a domestic violence accusation by his ex-wife and an alleged assault of a woman in Seattle. It also shared the story of his former girlfriend Kacie Margis, who accused him of raping her in Palm Springs in April 2021 after she had told him she didn't want to have sex and had taken a cannabis edible to counter insomnia. The following morning, she fled her hotel room and reported the alleged rape to police. Price stepped down from his executive role at credit card payment-processing company Gravity Payments in August 2022, saying in a statement on X that he needed 'to focus full time on fighting false accusations' made against him. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he vowed. Last May, he announced that he had returned to Gravity Payments full time as an adviser to the CEO. In September, a Riverside County grand jury indicted him on one count of rape of an unconscious victim, according to court documents. He voluntarily appeared in court and posted $55,000 in bail. 'I am going to prove that the allegation is false in court,' he said in an October statement on X. 'As I have said repeatedly ... I have never physically or sexually assaulted anyone.' Price, ultimately, never entered a plea in the Palm Springs case as his arraignment was postponed multiple times. The Riverside County district attorney's office said in a statement shared with The Times that it 'thoroughly reviewed all available evidence and, after careful consideration, has determined that we are unable to pursue charges against Mr. Price beyond a reasonable doubt.' Price was represented by Vicki Podberesky, a noted criminal attorney who represented the Church of Scientology in a rape case involving 'That '70s show' actor Danny Masterson and represented former USC Dean Marilyn Flynn during a federal corruption investigation. Price also has faced misdemeanor assault charges in the city of Seattle, after a woman he went to dinner with accused him of forcing unwanted kisses and grabbing her by the neck. Those charges were dropped against him in 2023, due to 'proof' problems, according to the Seattle Times. In a recent court statement, Margis said that a grand jury believed her rape allegation after hearing testimony from hotel staff, law enforcement, another witness and herself, the news outlet reported. 'But now I sit here watching that same man walk free again,' she wrote. 'I hope this court recognizes the strength it takes to survive something like this — to speak out, to relive it over and over and still stand tall.'
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans submitted to turn former 160-year-old family shop into nursery
PLANS have been submitted to turn a 160-year-old family-run toy store in Sedgley into a day nursery. The famous BD Price toy and bike store closed its doors last month, with owner Dan Price saying the current cost of living crisis has led to a drop in footfall, with sales decreasing and the costs of running the business increasing. Plans have now been submitted to Dudley Council by Loraine McHale, who runs the Cloud 9 Day Nursery next door to the old toy shop and bike manufacturer in High Holborn. The plans seek to change the use of the building from a retail store to a day nursery, as well as install new windows at the front of the building. If approved, it would see the historic family enterprise become a new day nursery. The plans will now be considered by council planners. Before he closed, Mr Price issued a heartfelt thank you to the many customers the store has welcomed over the years who supported the business. He said: 'We've encountered a lot of incredibly nice people over the years and I would like to thank them for supporting us.'
BBC News
14-05-2025
- BBC News
Cheshire Police harnessing AI to help officers catch stalkers
Cheshire Police has become the first force in the UK to use artificial intelligence (AI) as a tool during stalking investigations. The force hopes the technology will identify suspects' patterns of behaviours at a much earlier Ch Insp Danielle Knox, who leads its stalking unit, said that while AI would never "replace the human element", it would instead "enhance" what officers currently do."We have ethics committees and checks and balances in place to make sure the algorithms work in the way we want them to," she said. Currently officers in the county's Harm Reduction Unit (HRU), which investigates stalking and harassment allegations, review evidence unit typically deals with 10 cases of stalking each day. The force believes AI can analyse incident reports while alleged victims are still talking with police call information provided by the force's HRU and the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the algorithm will be "trained" to help detectives identify stalking aim is for the technology to be smart enough to flag up potential cases of stalking regardless of whether the word "stalking" is actually mentioned by victims or witnesses. 'Sifting through data' Cheshire's Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price said he was confident the technology would "speed up investigations". He applied for £300,000 from the Police STAR (Science, Technology, Analysis and Research) Fund to pay for the new than teams of people "sifting through layers" of data, he said AI could identify patterns and behaviours and "build cases" at a much earlier said that where AI had been used to investigate different crimes in other parts of the country, it had been "25 times more effective than an individual detective".Currently three-quarters of cases which are dealt with by the HRU conclude with a suspect being is confident the technology will lead to even more convictions and "give victims more protection, faster". One victim, who the BBC has agreed to refer to as Amy because she remains fearful of her stalker, said she believed AI technology could have ended her ordeal said she was the victim of a prolonged campaign of harassment by someone she said it grew "in intensity" over time and she was harassed at work, received frightening phone calls at home, and was abused who has now returned to work but says she still suffers from the trauma of what happened to her, said the stalking culminated in her being violently assaulted."While no-one could have predicted a violent assault, what could've been picked up were elements of harassing behaviour," Amy told BBC News."Had things been picked up sooner, who knows? Things could potentially have been prevented." Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. "Anything that allows these specialist people in their different roles to support victims is certainly something I would advocate," said who has now returned to work, said she still suffered from the trauma of what her stalker did to her. She said she finds it difficult to leave the house and form new work relationships."While no-one could have predicted a violent assault, what could've been picked up were elements of harassing behaviour," she said. "Had things been picked up sooner, who knows? Things could potentially have been prevented."If the programme is successful in Cheshire, it could be rolled out nationally by other polices forces.
