Mom of 2 and contract worker faces foreclosure due to alleged missed payments from Vinivia

A mom of two says she was in danger of foreclosure after Vinivia, the company where she was a contract worker, allegedly missed payment deadlines.

The female contract worker, who asked to keep her identity confidential, said the delay and/or missed payments from the live stream company left her struggling financially. Things got so bad that the contract worker said she struggled to pay her mortgage and started having issues with her bank.

"You don’t know what to do anymore at some point," said the mother of two, who is based out of Europe.

"Six months of [payments,]" she added. "Which is quite some money… and my hopes are getting less and less that I will ever get it."

She’s apparently not alone. FOX 11 spoke with multiple former Vinivia employees and contractors, who all asked to not be identified in the story, accusing the live stream company of finding ways to get out of paying its workers.

A different former Vinivia employee shared a Guideline.com screenshot suggesting that the 401k contribution of the worker's paycheck was being reversed "due to employer bank failure." A separate document posted shows an employee being told their Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield health coverage are being terminated. 

In a statement released by Vinivia on July 12, the company claims it has rectified all 401k contributions and is working to address the apparent health insurance issue.

"We are currently working with our insurance broker team to insure no one has been at a loss of coverage of health insurance during this time," Vinivia's statement read, in-part.

The allegations of employees and contract workers struggling to get their money on time serve as a stark contrast to the optics shown by Vinivia’s social media pages, where the company shared photos of its lavish "brand launch" party back in April 2024 in Los Angeles with celebrity appearances including Kelly Rowland and Tyga.

According to Vinivia’s website, the company is based out of Switzerland with an office in Santa Clara, but a handful of its former employees were based out of Los Angeles before they were allegedly let go or laid off. 

In addition to its then-employees being based out of California, Vinivia’s CFO and co-founder Marcello Genovese posted photos of him living a lavish lifestyle during his visits to Los Angeles, posing with a company-branded Tesla Cybertruck and standing courtside at a Los Angeles Lakers game at Crypto.com Arena. 

According to his Instagram bio, Genovese is based out of Switzerland. While Genovese seems be be living a dream life on social media, former employees and contract workers who spoke with FOX 11 were quick to criticize the CFO/co-founder’s leadership. The female contract worker struggling to pay for her home called Genovese "evil," a different employee – who asked not to be identified – called the co-founder of having "no business etiquette." 

A third contract worker, who also asked to not be identified in the story, compared Vinivia of being run similar to Fyre Festival, a music festival that made headlines, and even featured in Hulu and Netflix documentaries, for ripping off investors and festivalgoers.  

The employer has drawn mixed reaction on Glassdoor, averaging three out of five stars on six total reviews. However, a screenshot of a now-deleted Glassdoor review claims "The epicenter of the major issues is with the [founders] of the company," comparing the experience to working in a "sweatshop."

"Employees would get called out if daily outputs are not within the founder super high unattainable quotas," the now-deleted review read, in-part.

A screenshot of a second now-deleted Glassdoor review claims Vinivia's leadership of having "no [management] skills."

"Pay was late (if on-time) and always came via sketchy wire Transfer. Vendors never paid on time or at all," the now-deleted review read in-part.

Vinivia also drew positive reviews on Glassdoor, with one of the Feb. 2024 reviews saying the company was a "Great place to do meaningful and impactful work."

A different review, published on Feb. 2024, said Vinivia is a "Great Place to Work" with an "exciting growth opportunity."

The female contract worker recalled some of the warning signs from the moment she took the Vinivia job as a freelancer in 2023.

"Interesting from the start because a lot of weird things happened already in the beginning," she said. "Let’s say, misalignments."

The contract worker said some of her colleagues were not getting their payments on time and the team was fully remote.

Initially, the contract worker thought it was a one-time deal and hoped Vinivia would resolve the issue.

"Turned out that it was going on for months," the contract worker said.

With the alleged missed payments, the contract worker began to wonder what that would mean for her.

"I slowly started to become a little worried," she said. "What about my [payments owed] and how will that go?"

The contract worker said she spoke with Genovese to address the rumors of his contractors not getting paid.

"I decided to have a meeting with Marcello," the contract worker said. "Have a talk with him like, ‘Hey, I heard a lot of people are not getting paid. What’s the deal? And how can we make sure that will not become an issue for me as well because I have a family. I have two kids as well to look after."

The contract worker said Genovese allegedly assured her that she has nothing to worry about.

"It was just a lot of blah blah," she recalled from her alleged conversation with Genovese.

In Vinivia's July 12 statement, the company said it paid out "all payroll for June 14 this week and all outstanding payroll will be up to date within a week time, by July 23, 2024."

Despite the alleged assurance talk with Genovese from 2023, the contract worker said she then became the victim of the missed payments.

"I really had to push to get my [invoices paid,]" she recalled. "The first month, I had to wait – I think – one or two extra months. Then I got paid for September and October [2023]. And then the same thing happened again for November and December [2023]."

She eventually got her Nov.-Dec. 2023 payments, but then said from January 2024, things started "going downhill."

"I really didn’t get my [invoices paid] anymore," she said.

On top of the missed or delayed payments, the contract worker was eventually terminated. The employee said the termination went against her contract where Vinivia is required to give her a 30-day notice, which she claims she never got.

"I was just cut off of everything," the contract worker said. "They also asked me to revise the last two invoices."

As of Friday, July 12, the now-terminated contract worker is still in search of a new job.

FOX 11 reached out to Vinivia and Genovese for comment. The company responded by issuing the statement below:

"Vinivia is a revolutionary live streaming app on a mission to break new ground in live streaming, combining cutting-edge technology and continuous innovation with a creator-centric approach. With a focus on transparency, innovation, and community, Vinivia is designed to benefit both creators and consumers in this dynamic digital age.

Originating in Switzerland, Vinivia, as many startups do, has faced challenges during this period of growth and expansion in the United States but stands firm in the future development. We have faced challenges with a few vendors which has stalled securing investments. This has delayed some internal operations but constant communication with employees and vendors is happening.

To specifically address the concerns mentioned, Vinivia has rectified all 401k contributions, we are currently working with our insurance broker team to insure no one has been at a loss of coverage
of health insurance during this time. We already payed out all payroll for June 14 this week and all outstanding payroll will be up to date within a week time, by July 23, 2024.

We understand your position in investigating these claims and we have no intention of doing anything but the best for the Vinivia employees."

Are you or anyone you know having trouble getting the employer to pay the agreed-upon salary? FOX 11 would love to hear from you. Email keiji.hiramoto@fox.com for tips and comments.

UPDATE: This story has been updated to clarify that one of our sources was an independent contractor for and not an employee of Vinivia.