McDonald's is suing its former chief executive Stephen Easterbrook for allegedly lying to the company about sexual relationships with staff, according to public filings on Monday.
The fast-food chain is trying to recover millions in compensation and severance benefits it paid out to him.
McDonald's fired Easterbrook in November for having a consensual relationship with a subordinate, and conducted an investigation into his behaviour.
"Recently identified evidence shows that Easterbrook had physical sexual relationships with three McDonald’s employees in the year before his termination," the company said in the lawsuit in a Delaware state court.
He also "approved an extraordinary stock grant, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, for one of those employees in the midst of their sexual relationship," according to the document.
Evidence
Evidence included nude or sexually explicit photos of women, including of the McDonald's employees, which Easterbrook sent from his corporate to his personal email account, the lawsuit said.
The probe found that he lied to the company and "destroyed information regarding inappropriate personal behaviour," according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Easterbrook took over as McDonald's chief executive in 2015, and was succeeded by Christopher Kempczinski.
