In a compelling legal battle, a former executive is taking on her previous employer, alleging a slew of discriminatory practices and retaliatory actions. J. Grace de Leon filed a complaint in the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, on May 6, 2025, against Luma Health, Inc., LH Parent, Inc., LH TopCo, LLC, and other unnamed defendants. The case highlights issues of gender discrimination, unequal pay, retaliation for whistleblowing activities, and wrongful termination.
J. Grace de Leon served as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Luma Health from September 7, 2022, until her termination on August 9, 2024. De Leon alleges that during her tenure at Luma Health—a Delaware corporation conducting business in California—she faced persistent gender-based discrimination and was subjected to unfair treatment compared to her male counterparts. According to the complaint, she was offered significantly less equity than lower-level male employees under the pretext of being inexperienced as a first-time CFO. The complaint further states that despite promises of increased equity after one year through the Management Incentive Plan (MIP), this promise was not honored.
The plaintiff accuses Adnan Iqbal, CEO of Luma Health, and Dave Smith, Senior Vice President of Revenue at the company, of pressuring her to manipulate financial data to present an inflated picture of the company's performance. She claims that they attempted to falsify revenue figures by booking sales without valid contracts and inflating Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR). When de Leon refused to comply with these unethical practices and reported them internally—believing them to be violations of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and other laws—she allegedly faced retaliation from Iqbal and Smith.
De Leon's complaint outlines multiple instances where she raised concerns about gender inequity within the company. She noted that female leaders were excluded from receiving equity shares under MIP while their male counterparts were granted such benefits. Additionally, she highlighted systemic issues within Luma Health's culture that led to unfair pay practices against women across all departments.
The lawsuit also details how de Leon's efforts to report compliance issues related to Brazilian tax laws were ignored by Ed Furlong—the newly appointed Chief Operating Officer—and others in leadership positions. Her insistence on maintaining transparency with the Board regarding financial discrepancies reportedly led to further isolation and eventual termination under dubious circumstances.
Seeking justice for what she describes as wrongful termination in violation of public policy along with several breaches under California labor codes including retaliation protections (Lab. Code §1102.5), equal pay act violations (Lab. Code §1197.5), gender discrimination (Govt Code §12940), among others; de Leon demands compensatory damages covering lost wages/benefits/emotional distress alongside punitive damages for malicious conduct by defendants.
Representing J. Grace de Leon are attorneys David S. Ratner and Shelley A. Molineaux from Ratner Molineaux LLP based out of Walnut Creek CA while Judge Sahar Enayati presides over case number CGC-25-625097.