Polymarket ousts marketing chief amid fake-trade video and payment probe
Regulation & Gov ·
The prediction market platform dismissed chief marketing officer Matthew Modabber after months of internal scrutiny into staged promotional content and unreported influencer payments, a move that lands as the company weighs a public listing.
Modabber, who joined as the eleventh employee and took the CMO title in January 2024, is reported to have overseen a team that built a fabricated webpage showcasing staged footage of users profiting from bets, according to TheBlockCo. That episode, first exposed by a June report, prompted a review by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission that remains open, with no findings of wrongdoing confirmed so far.
Separately, investigators looked into Modabber's alleged use of a personal payment account tied to Salad House, an Italian salad chain he co-founded, to compensate influencers for Polymarket promotion. More than $2.5 million reportedly moved through that account, including roughly $350,000 paid to creators for posts that did not disclose the sponsorship arrangement, a detail corroborated by wublockchain.xyz.
Under Modabber's growth push, daily trading volume reportedly climbed from roughly $300,000 to the mid-nine-figure range, and his division expanded to more than 50 staff spanning marketing, partnerships and growth. His removal was reportedly contentious given his longstanding personal ties to chief executive Shayne Coplan, with Coplan said to have initially resisted the firing before the board, which includes investor Nick Tomaino, lawyer Alex Spiro and a representative from Founders Fund, determined the executive had become a liability as the company tries to shed its early-stage reputation ahead of a potential IPO.
A restructuring in August had already pulled in the former head of e-scooter company Bird to lead marketing, a shift described as a de facto demotion for Modabber before his eventual exit. The company is said to be finalizing a separation agreement, and representatives for Polymarket, Modabber and Coplan have not issued public comment.
What remains unresolved is the outcome of the CFTC inquiry and whether additional disclosures about the promotional practices or payment flows will surface as Polymarket proceeds toward a possible public offering.