Former Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price denies the rape allegations

Dan Price, the former CEO of Gravity Payments, a Seattle-based credit card processing company, is charged with sexual assault in California.

According to a September indictment in Riverside County Superior Court, Price was charged with rape of an unconscious victim. On Friday, Price and his attorney denied the allegations and stated their intention to contest the allegations in court.

“This false accusation was first spread in 2021 in a blog about someone trying to take me down and then spread worldwide in the press in 2022,” Price said in a post on X. “I will prove that the claim is false.” Court. As I have said repeatedly during this time, I have never physically or sexually assaulted anyone; and I look forward to the opportunity to prove my innocence.”

Yesterday I appeared in court in Riverside County, California on charges of sexual assault. The prosecutor immediately dismissed one of two charges.

This false accusation was first spread in 2021 on a blog where someone was trying to take me down and then spread worldwide…

– Dan Price (@DanPriceSeattle) October 25, 2024

Court records unsealed Thursday show Price posted $55,000 bail. However, the charging documents were not immediately available.

Price founded Gravity Payments in Seattle in 2004 and gained widespread attention in 2014 when he increased his employees' salaries to $70,000 while cutting his own salary. He is a social media personality known for criticizing corporate greed.

Related story: Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price is resigning as he faces assault and reckless driving charges

But former employees told the Seattle Times that Price's public persona didn't match his behavior behind the scenes.

Outside of work, Price has been accused of misconduct on multiple occasions, leading to two police investigations. One investigation in Seattle was closed due to insufficient evidence, while the other led to the current indictment being filed in September and quashed Thursday.

Background: Gravity Payments CEO Dan Price faces sexual assault charges as part of an ongoing rape investigation

In the current case, Price is accused of raping a drunk person in Palm Springs, California. Palm Springs police recommended the Riverside County District Attorney's Office file charges in 2022. Price, who is not incarcerated, was charged last month with a single count of rape of an unconscious victim, a felony.

Price returned to Gravity in May this year in a new role, advising and supporting the CEO on strategy, he told his social media followers.

Price is scheduled to be arraigned Jan. 10 in Riverside County Superior Court.

Bill Kaczaraba is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here. Follow Bill on X, formerly known as Twitter, Here and send him an email here.