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Zynga sued over stock sales

Former product manager sues Farmville studio, alleging social game company did not allow lower-level employees to sell stock following IPO.

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A former Zynga product manager has sued the Farmville maker. As reported by Bloomberg, Wendy Lee claims Zynga barred non-executives from selling their shares following the initial public offering in 2011, while management was able to cash out.

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According to the lawsuit, Zynga executives "nearly doubled the proceeds from their [stock] sales" by being allowed to sell early. When Lee and other non-executives were allowed to sell, Zynga's share value had fallen 49.3 percent, she said.

Lee said she acquired 30,000 shares at $3.805 each and sold them for $3.15, for a net loss of $19,650. She has asked the court to order those who capitalized on "early sales" to pay unspecified damages to her and other non-executive shareholders.

A Zynga representative was not immediately available to comment.

Zynga CEO Mark Pincus recently reduced his annual salary to $1 and established a new performance-based compensation program for top management at the company.

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