Man claiming to run Michigan company before viral ICE protest video lied about position, CEO says

Man lied about being CEO of Michigan company after viral anti-ICE video

According to the head of a private health care company based in Troy, another individual claiming to be the CEO of the firm said he stepped down after being caught yelling expletives at anti-ICE protesters.

(FOX 2) - The story involving a Michigan company's CEO resigning after being caught on camera lashing out at anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis has a new twist: The individual in the viral video is not who he says he is.

But that didn't stop media reports citing him as the latest piece of evolving news around protests directed toward the federal government.

The backstory:

A video from Minneapolis shows a man holding a megaphone yelling expletives at protesters while he stands in front of dozens of armed military members.

The man, Jayden Scott, says "And all you liberal commie ******* keep your hands to yourself or you are going to get hurt today alright."

"We executed one of you yesterday," he said, referring to 37-year-old Renee Good, who was killed by an ICE agent after a confrontation in Minneapolis last week.

Scott, a resident of Bay City, would later announce on LinkedIn that he would be stepping down as CEO of Harmony Investment Group, a private health care company based in Troy.

Except Scott is not in charge of Harmony Investment Group. 

Jayden Scott was caught on camera yelling expletives at anti-ICE protesters in Minneapolis. He later lied about being CEO of a health care company in Troy and said he had stepped down. 

Big picture view:

Scott's announcement went viral, and was part of several stories posted online in the wake of his declaration he would be stepping down.

The current CEO is Zain Sikander, who told FOX 2 and others that he runs the company and was blindsided by the news perpetuated by Scott.

He says Scott is an imposer who created a fake website for the company that included details about him working at the firm. Speaking to FOX 2 by phone, Zain said he has known Scott for a long time because both lived in the Saginaw-Bay City area. 

According to Zain, for some reason, Scott had claimed he had an affiliation with his companies before.

FOX 2 reached out to Scott for comment.

Bizarre situation spurs legal questions 

What can a company do if someone claims to be associated with it and brings about concerning coverage that may hurt its business?

According to attorney John Marko, a business that finds itself in this position has multiple options.

"If this is true, the company would have legal recourse against the individual for making these false and defamatory statements," he said. "There would be defamation claims. There could potentially be claims about torturous interference with a business."

Dig deeper:

There is also a crisis communication element to the situation as well.

Matt Friedman who works in public relations said the first thing a company can do is make sure current customers know the facts about what is happening.

"First things first from a communication’s standpoint is to make sure that current customers know the facts and get that reassurance that everything is ok," he said. "That the company is a victim here. And that is the most important message most immediately, is to current customers."

From there, the follow-up is to communicate to the outside world and set the record straight.

"The most important thing there is to get it right online because this story will live for a long time online, whether the company deserves it or not," he said.

 And then you sort of work outside from there."