PORTLAND, Ore. (CN) - A software company sued seven unknown Internet users for defamation after comments appeared on a website calling the company's CEO "incompetent," a "criminal" and a "turd." The posts also claimed the company, Lecere Corp., was "dead" and had "nothing of value left," according to the federal complaint.
The statements about Lecere and its CEO James Morris were posted on the InvestorsHub website by Internet users calling themselves Sheck, TavyCal and Advantagetrading, according to the complaint.
InvestorsHub is not a party to the complaint.
Lecere says the comments hurt the company's fund-raising ventures and caused its stock value to crash.
In the website's discussion forums, the anonymous members allegedly posted multiple comments claiming that Lecere "went bankrupt today," that the company's line of credit consists of "five bucks" and that the company's CEO is "a scam artist, scum bag (sic) who has fleeced every shareholder."
Another anonymous member called the CEO "a scum bag (sic) rotten piece of trash with no morals," according to the complaint.
The company seeks $2 million in damages from seven John Does. It is represented by Paul Spencer.
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