Google fired one in all its staff for blowing the whistle on a “doomsday” cult-like “religious group” inside the firm.
The worker, Kevin Lloyd, a video producer who labored within the Google Developer Studio, is now suing the tech large, claiming he was unfairly fired in retaliation after he raised alarm in regards to the spiritual group.
Lloyd warns the group referred to as the Fellowship of Associates has more and more gained energy on the firm by hiring members of its cult-like group to fill key positions.
Members of the Fellowship of Associates consider they’re referred to as to create a brand new civilization following a doomsday occasion and implores its followers to achieve enlightenment to transcend a state of “waking sleep” state. The group, which has roughly 1,500 members internationally, additionally believes enlightenment is attained by embracing arts together with ballet, portray, opera and wine. Associates of Fellowship
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The alleged cult-like group, which collects 10 % of its’ members’ earnings, was based within the Nineteen Seventies by Robert Earl Burton, who has been sued for sexually assaulting male members of the group.
The Fellowship of Associates founder Robert Earl Burton (proper)
“When you turn into conscious of this, you turn into accountable,” Kevin Lloyd instructed the New York Instances whereas recounting his choice to sound the alarm on the group’s infiltration of Google. “You’ll be able to’t look away.”
In his lawsuit, which was filed in a Californian Superior Court docket in Silicon Valley, Lloyd claims Peter Lubbersthe, director of the Google Developer Studio and a member of Fellowship of Associates, is funneling cash from Google to complement the spiritual group and that he was wrongfully terminated for informing his supervisors in regards to the subject.
“Mr. Lubbers gained standing and reward relative to the rise of cash flowing to the fellowship by his efforts at Google that put (and saved) different fellowship members – instantly or not directly – on Google’s payroll,” the grievance states.
The grievance additionally alleges Lubbers and the 12 members of the non-denominational spiritual group work at Google are utilizing their positions to line up work for its members inside the firm.
Lubbers confirmed he’s nonetheless a member of the sect and contends recruiting different Fellowship of Associates members for jobs at Google presents no battle of curiosity.
“My private spiritual beliefs are a deeply held personal matter,” Lubbers instructed the Instances. “In all my years in tech, they’ve by no means performed a task in hiring. I’ve at all times carried out my position by bringing in the suitable expertise for the scenario — bringing in the suitable distributors for the roles.”
Fellowship of Associates has a protracted historical past of intercourse trafficking. Burton allegedly engages in weird intercourse rituals, orders pregnant ladies to have abortions, preys on younger males and has slept with tons of of individuals per day throughout “love fests.”
In November 2021, investigative reporter Jennings Brown in contrast the Fellowship of Associates to the intercourse cult NXIVM.
Brown spent three years researching the spiritual group , visited Apollo, its world headquarters in Yuba County, California, and has performed interviews with seveal former male members who claimed they had been sexually abused by Burton.
“They instructed me about these intercourse rituals the place [the leader] would try to have intercourse with 100 followers in a day. He referred to as them love fests.” Brown instructed the New York Put up. “One of the vital horrifying issues I heard was the rule about abortions. I very a lot acquired the sense that girls had been second or third-class residents. I believe a number of them got here as a result of their husbands or boyfriends had been focused on religious awakening.”
Robert Earl Burton and the Fellowship of Associates
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In 1996, a lawsuit was filed by former member Troy Buzbee, who alleged Burton sexually exploited him when he was 17. In accordance with Brown’s reporting, within the mid-Nineties, Burton sexually assaulted Troy’s father, Richard Buzbee. Says Brown within the podcast, “Richard then instructed family and friends in regards to the abuse and located many others who alleged related experiences — together with, to his horror, his personal son. Richard included this in a letter he despatched out to different Fellowship members to warn them. He wrote: ‘The best shock got here from my son Troy, who instructed me that Robert had been actively pursuing him for intercourse from the time he entered the college — at age seventeen.’
The swimsuit was settled out of courtroom. And in 2005, Brown experiences, US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigated a tip that the Fellowship was bringing non-US residents into the nation and paying for his or her spiritual visas, intending for the recruits to be in sexual servitude to Burton. In 2012, Brown realized from federal paperwork obtained in a Freedom of Data Act request, the Drug Enforcement Administration, together with ICE, raided the Apollo compound, calling it a seek for proof of drug manufacturing.However nothing got here of it.
Lloyd is demanding a jury trial and monetary compensation for “spiritual discrimination, wrongful termination, retaliation and associated reason behind motion.”
A Google spokesperson maintains Lloyd was fired in February 2021 for efficiency causes and insists the corporate adheres to a coverage that forestalls discrimination.
“We’ve longstanding worker and provider insurance policies in place to stop discrimination and conflicts of curiosity, and we take these significantly,” the spokesperson instructed the New York Instances. “It’s towards the regulation to ask for the spiritual affiliations of those that work for us or for our suppliers, however we’ll in fact completely look into these allegations for any irregularities or improper contracting practices. If we discover proof of coverage violations, we’ll take motion.”
