Tech

Fired CEO is accused of epic theft

Like a true gentleman, Manhattan tech CEO Carl Grimstad took care of all the ladies in his life.

For his socialite wife, there were epic shopping sprees at Bergdorfs on his company’s dime.

For his favorite strip club “escort” — a sweet job at the firm.

He even carved out a place at work for the stripper’s mother, in customer service of course.

The stunning allegations against Grimstad were laid out in a lawsuit filed Wednesday by iPayment, which he founded, accusing him of stealing nearly half a million dollars to pay for his vices.

“Although the sordid details of his tenure as CEO of iPayment are still under investigation, it has now become clear that Grimstad used the company as a piggybank for himself and for his wife, Defendant Jessica ‘Gigi’ Grimstad,” the Manhattan Supreme Court suit says.

Grimstad, 49, and his spouse’s “wasteful and lavish spending” included allegedly dropping $288,000 at the luxury Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side as they relocated from Nashville in 2011, the papers say.

Four years earlier, Grimstad jetted out to Las Vegas with an iPayment employee and visited the Spearmint Rhino strip club.

That’s where he took a shine to a 26-year-old “escort.”

“According to the escort, Grimstad asked her to return with him to his hotel room, where he proceeded to offer her $4,000 in exchange for certain sexual activities,” the suit says.

He also asked her to “dance like a ballerina,” according to a source close to the case.

The married dad was so infatuated that he hired her in 2008 to work for his company, “despite lacking any apparent qualifications” — and even brought her mom on as well, the suit says.

The mom, who lives in Los Angeles, worked in customer service as a training supervisor for the company’s call center, the source said.

Reached by phone, the mother refused to discuss her employment at iPayment.

“I have nothing to say to you nor does my daughter regarding that company or anyone associated with it,” she said.

The mother and daughter were eventually fired, with the escort reaping a $37,000 severance in 2012, according to court papers.

Meanwhile, Grimstad allegedly billed the company $70,000 for his wife’s shopping at Bergdorf Goodman and other personal expenses.

He also paid her interior design firm $60,000, the suit says.

Grimstad kept himself busy with “a prodigious golf habit while serving as CEO” — playing astounding 400 rounds of golf between April 2013 and November 2016, the suit says.

The court papers call Gigi Grimstad is a “bit player on the New York social scene, having been transplanted from Nashville to New York.”

Grimstad, who was earning a $1 million yearly salary plus another $1.2 million annual cash bonus, charged the company for his personal expenses because he was “seduced by the scene and the idea of being a Hamptons-frequenting, New York socialite,” the source explained.

His wife only learned about the alleged escorts when the family was served with court papers Thursday morning, the source said.

Grimstad declined to comment when reached by The Post.

His attorney, Marc Kasowitz, said “these allegations were made by a terminated employee, investigated and found to be false.

“Those bringing this lawsuit either know or should have known this. Carl was not terminated for cause.”