AshleyMadison Member Seeks Class-Action Status in Fembots Suit

AshleyMadison Member Seeks Class-Action Status in Fembots Suit

SAN DIEGO — A former AshleyMadison.com member claims that the online cheating site not only embarrassed people after a massive data leak this past summer, it bamboozled men by concealing that only 15 percent of its users were real women.

David Poyet’s federal suit, which seeks class action status, said that more than 70,000 “women” on the site — 85 percent — were "fembots," and that data supplied from hackers showed that Ashley Madison “went to extreme measures to fraudulently lure in and profit from customers.”

AshleyMadison and its CEO, Noel Biderman, made headlines in July after hackers calling themselves the “Impact Team” stole data of the site's 37 million members, including passwords, financial data and people’s sexual fantasies.

The next month the hackers released volumes of information in two data dump after Biderman and AshleyMadison’s Canadian parent company, Avid Life Media Inc., refused demands to shut down the site.

Poyet’s suit said that the Impact Team showed that AshleyMadison marketed that the site had 5.5 million female profiles, when only a small percentage of the profiles belonged to actual women who used the site.

Had Poyet known that most of the female profiles contacting him were fembots,   he never would have joined the site, the suit said.

“This comprehensive scheme is further highlighted by the fact that defendants had their fake accounts contact members over 20 million times,” the suit said. “The fake profiles not only initiated contact but would continue to communicate and encourage the users to purchase more credits to allow contact.”

Once the Impact Team revealed information in August about the “army of fembots” said to be blanketing the Ashley Madison website, one of the top marketers of online dating sites scolded the practice.

Andrew Conru, chairman and founder of FriendFinder, said that his organization had never created or used computer-generated accounts to garner business on any of its sites and that “this win-at-any-cost business practice is repugnant to us; it shows a total lack of respect for the users that support these sites.”

“Companies that cannot commit to stop charging people money to interact with their self-created bots need to exit this industry,” Conru stressed.

Poyet, who is suing for AshleyMadison for fraud, negligent misrepresentation, unjust enrichment, violation of California’s unfair competition law and its false advertising law, seeks an order certifying the case as class action, a declaratory judgment prohibiting the use of fake profiles, damages, damages and punitive damages, as well as court costs and attorneys fees.

View lawsuit seeking class status

Related:  

Copyright © 2025 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Strike 3 Holdings Sues Meta for Pirating Vixen Media Group Content to Train AI

Vixen Media Group owner Strike 3 Holdings filed suit in federal court this week, accusing Facebook parent company Meta of copyright infringement and alleging that Meta has extensively pirated VMG content to train its artificial intelligence models.

Pineapple Support, Streamate to Host 'Navigating Grief and Loss' Support Group

Pineapple Support and Streamate are hosting a free online support group to help performers cope with grief and loss.

Friday is Final AV Compliance Deadline in UK

Friday, July 25 marks U.K. media regulator Ofcom’s deadline for user-to-user services such as tube, cam and fan sites to implement its requisite “highly effective age assurance” measures for preventing minors from viewing adult content.

AEBN Publishes Popular Searches for May, June

AEBN has released the top search terms for the months of May and June from its straight and gay theaters in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Two Texas Bills Restricting Sex Toy Sales Fail to Pass

Two bills aimed at restricting sales of sex toys have failed to pass the Texas state legislature during its 2025 session.

NYC Adult Stores Petition for Rehearing in Zoning Law Case

A group of adult businesses on Tuesday petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to rehear a case involving a zoning law that could severely limit adult stores’ operations in New York City.

Ofcom Releases Transparency Reporting Guidelines

Ofcom, the U.K. media regulator, has made public its official guidance detailing how online service providers — including adult sites — will be required to publish annual transparency reports on their efforts to protect children from online harms.

New AV Rules Take Effect for Ireland-Based Sites

Ireland’s Online Safety Code came into force Monday, including a provision requiring adult sites headquartered in Ireland to implement age assurance measures beyond self-declaration.

XBIZ Amsterdam Calls on New Startups for 'Spotlight' Program

XBIZ is pleased to announce that its new “Startup Spotlight” programming will make its European premiere at XBIZ Amsterdam 2025, set to take place Sept. 2-5 at the Jakarta Hotel Amsterdam.

Texas Resumes AV Lawsuit Against Aylo Following SCOTUS Decision

A district court judge in Texas has unfrozen the state’s $1.6 million lawsuit against Aylo for allegedly failing to comply with age verification requirements, Bloomberg Law is reporting.

Show More