Cell Tower Company Sues Impostor CEO

Cellular infrastructure company American Tower Corp has sued Jide Zeitlin, the founder of one of its direct competitors, accusing him of impersonating its chief executive through an email sent to investors. Zeitlin allegedly provided Money magazine with negative reports regarding American Tower, later forwarding the published article online with the American Tower chief’s email address listed as the sender.

The Money article, sent to two of American Tower’s largest investors, compared some of the company’s business practices to those of Enron. American Tower is seeking damages for defamation and computer fraud, among other charges. Zeitlin has admitted to impersonating the American Tower exec, but has refused to cooperate with its investigation. (More fraud stories.)