Cleared of abuse charges, start-up CEO seeks redemption and $100 million

Zain Jaffer was removed as CEO after he was arrested and charged with performing a lewd act on one of his children, as well as child abuse and battery

Zain Jaffer’s charmed, Silicon Valley life was about to collapse beneath him.

It was October 2017 and Jaffer, founder of a promising mobile ad startup, was suddenly arrested and charged with a series of crimes, including assault and sexual abuse. His company, Vungle Inc., promptly dismissed him.

But the case, it turned out, wasn’t what it seemed. And now that the charges have been dropped, Jaffer, 31, is taking Vungle to court. His unusual lawsuit is testing the limits of redemption in Silicon Valley after a run of troubling revelations about personal conduct at companies from Google to Uber.

Jaffer’s case hinges on