As if There Wasn't Already Enough Wrong With That Dating Website for Married People, A Lawsuit Now Claims There's a Big Secret They're Hiding From Visitors

A woman is suing her former employer because she says she hurt her wrist typing hundreds of “fake female profiles.”

Getty Images

Doriana Silva claims her time with the infamous adultery website Ashley Madison involved her writing hundreds of profiles for women who don’t actually exist.

The website is described as a dating site for married people, with the slogan, "Life is short. Have an affair." But according to Silva's lawsuit, many of the profiles people pay to “connect” with are apparently fake.

Silva is seeking a $20 million payout from Ashley Madison, claiming the company has benefited at her expense, and an additional $1 million in punitive and general damages, according to the Canadian Press.

The Brazilian immigrant, who resides in Toronto, said in a statement she was brought on to work on a Portuguese-language version of the site. She was promised $34,000 and benefits.

According to her claim, she was soon tasked with the job of creating 1,000 fake female accounts meant to lure men onto the site, and given only three weeks to do it.

"The purpose of these profiles is to entice paying heterosexual male members to join and spend money on the website," the document reads. "They do not belong to any genuine members of Ashley Madison — or any real human beings at all."

Silva said she didn’t second-guess the assignment and didn’t think there was anything unlawful about it. In fact, she said she thought her assignment was “some sort of a normal business practice in the industry.”

However, she adds, if she knew of the "ethical and legal issues arising in relation to online fraud," she would’ve turned down the job.

She went to work creating the many profiles, which "required an enormous amount of keyboarding.” She soon developed sharp pain in her wrists and forearms. She says management ignored her repeated requests for a wrist wrest.

The documents allege that due to unbearable pain, she has been unable to work since 2011, adding she "remains seriously disabled in many if not all aspects of her life."

"Doriana's injuries are permanent and her prognosis is uncertain," the document states.

Silva filed suit in 2012, but Ashley Madison has stalled the proceedings by petitioning to have “ethics" and "unethical practices" struck from the statement of claim.

Despite the company’s efforts, however, a judge said the references were necessary to describe "the factual context in which the injuries were sustained.”

His decision was upheld on appeal this month, the Canadian Press reported. Silva’s claims have yet to be proven in a court of law and the adultery website has yet to file a statement of defense.

--

Follow Becket Adams (@BecketAdams) on Twitter

[related]