Mahmoud Ashour has been named in a civil suit filed by Johnson Outdoors. According to the lawsuit, Ashour was dismissed from the company earlier last week after JOUT announced they were looking for a replacement.
The company claims that their former European diving division chief filed false expense reports, used unauthorized company credit cards, and gave unauthorized bonuses to employees.

JOUT claims that this was done in an attempt to harm the division financially so that he could buy it from the company at a lower price.

A spokesperson for JOUT told SEW that they could not comment on pending litigation and as a matter of policy, they do not discuss personnel matters.

Earlier this year the diving division took a $2.8 million hit from a recalled computer (SEW 0330). In response, the company brought in Exponent Failure Analysis Inc. to conduct a comprehensive audit of their product design process. JOUT also added a new GM for the UWATEC arm of their diving unit to round out the company’s “100% commitment to diving in the long-term.”