A former Rippling employee in Ireland, Keith O’Brien, recently got a court-ordered restraining order against a few shadowy figures, men in a gray Skoda and a black SUV (with a big dog in tow) who’ve allegedly been tailing him and keeping an eye on his house. His wife? Terrified. Kid-safety concerns? Through the roof.
Why’s this even happening? Back in April, Keith admitted in a high-stakes affidavit that he’d spied on Rippling for their rival, Deel, think €5,000 a month, James Bond promises, secret payments (sometimes in crypto), and instructions like “use code words, cover your tracks.”
Rippling set a honeytrap: they created a fake Slack channel and watched Keith fall into it. That’s how they caught the whole operation red-handed.
He was later served a court order to hand over his phone, but he locked himself in a bathroom and attempted to flush it. He smashed it with an axe and scattered the pieces down a drain at his mother-in-law’s house.
Now he’s pivotal in Rippling’s lawsuit against Deel, which accuses them of corporate espionage, charges that could even be framed under RICO laws. Deel has countersued, claiming Rippling also spied on them, and the rivalry is getting nastier by the day.
Keith is no longer facing punishment for destroying evidence. Irish judges noted he was under extreme stress, but he’s shaken. He’s hired security, is worried someone planted trackers on his car, and says he still feels followed even after evasive driving.
He and his wife say both are suffering from anxiety, poor sleep, and a fear for their four children’s safety. They feel like characters in some 1970s spy thriller, one Irish judge even said the whole thing felt like “a cops‑and‑robbers TV show.”
So yeah, if you romanticize corporate spying, spare a thought for Keith’s family. From adrenaline-fueled tales of covert payments and hidden Slack channels, it’s now cameras, court orders, constant stress… and a life that no fictional spy would envy.
