‘Borderlands’ Maker Had Millions Allegedly Embezzled By Personal Assistant

According to a new report from Dallas News, Randy Pitchford, the founder and CEO of Gearbox Software — the creators of series like Borderlands and Brothers In Arms – had millions embezzled by a former personal assistant, John Wright Martin.

According to the Dallas outlet, Martin was employed by the Pitchfords in 2014, after years of personal troubles, which included at one point, being arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Not long after his employment, he was given access to the Pitchford’s American Express business account, and them promptly started spending wads of money on luxury items, such as designer clothes, and eventually even a $591,000 house with custom finishes.

Martin got “better and better at finding ways of spending our money,” said Pitchford.

The story notes that beyond personal items, Martin also forged the Pitchford’s name on multiple checks for events and donations to charities upwards of $50,000.

After years of irresponsible spending by Martin, one day the Pitchfords became aware that he had drained a holding account of theirs, tipping them off to Martin’s theft.

This prompted Kristy Pitchford — wife of Randy Pitchford — to call Martin, who had recently stopped working for the couple to pursue his own interior design business. She said that Martin apologized and said he simply mixed his account with theirs, and promised to make it right. But this never happened.

And so the Pitchford’s drew up an agreement — that Martin would sign — which would see Martin pay the couple $780,000.

According to Randy, the couple have since realized that number was quite under the reality of what Martin owed them, which was actually about three million.

Martin is said to at one point began the process of paying back the Pitchfords with a check worth $598,000, but it bounced.

A court has since ordered Martin to pay the Pitchford’s two million, plus their lawyer fees, but that hasn’t happened, and at the moment, Martin is missing. There is currently a warrant for his arrest plus similar cases of criminality involving the Pitchfords’ former assistant.

For more on this story, be sure to check out the full and wonderfully reported article on the Dallas News by Valerie Wigglesworth. It is packed full of more details, reporting, and is a wonderful read.