Better sues Vishal Garg over alleged securities violations

Better Home & Finance Holding Co. has filed a federal lawsuit against former CEO and founder Vishal Garg, escalating a battle over leadership of the AI-focused mortgage lender. Better filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accusing Garg of violating U.S. securities laws while running what the board calls an “illegal, scorched-earth campaign” to replace directors and reinstall himself as CEO. “Garg has launched a scorched-earth campaign to retake control of the Company by surreptitiously cultivating a coalition of shareholders, failing to provide critical updates to the public that the securities laws require, and flooding the market with misleading statements in order to get shareholders to pledge their support for his attempt to reinstall himself as CEO and seize control of the Board,” the lawsuit states. Garg did not provide a comment at this time. The lawsuit comes after Better announced on Aug. 3 that Daniel Lewis would succeed Garg as interim CEO. At the time, the company said Garg had “mutually agreed with the Board to transition from his role as Chief Executive Officer” and would “continue to serve on the Board and work closel...