By Derek Gilliam | Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Presenters of the report on the election audit, from left, Ben Cotton, the founder of CyFIR, Doug Logan, the CEO of Cyber Ninjas and Randy Pullen, the audit spokesman, look on before the start of the presentation to the Arizona lawmakers in the Senate chambers of the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Sept. 24, 2021.
The CEO of the Florida cybersecurity company that conducted a highly contested election review in Arizona confirmed Friday that his company has closed and laid off its employees.
News of the closure had reached Arizona on Thursday shortly before a judge issued an order finding the company in contempt of court and imposing a fine of $50,000 a day for its failure to produce records requested by The Arizona Republic.
Company founder Doug Logan on Friday confirmed the shutdown to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, but said it wasn’t because of the fines, pointing instead to cash flow issues.
He notified the remaining four employees — down from eight when the audit started last year in Maricopa County — of the decision to close the business the first week of December.
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“Yes, we closed our doors and laid off our employees,” he said. “No. It did not have anything to do with what happened yesterday.”
The employees were laid off Jan. 1 and will have health insurance through the month, he said.
Part of Cyber Ninjas’ cash flow problems, Logan said, stemmed from the Arizona Senate not adhering to the contract signed when it hired the company to conduct the audit. Logan said the company was never fully paid for the audit, nor did the Senate indemnify the company as was required by the company’s contract.
