A former worker has accused her previous employer of unlawfully accessing her online professional profile and publishing false information about her employment history, according to a federal court filing. The complaint was submitted by Jacqueline Smith in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey on April 9, 2026, naming National Publisher Services, LLC doing business as NPS Media Group, Thomas Brophy, and unidentified individuals as defendants.
The lawsuit alleges that after Smith resigned from National Publisher Services (NPS) in December 2025 to join a competing company called Four String Media, LLC, NPS and its management-level employee Thomas Brophy engaged in what the complaint describes as a “deliberate, malicious, and unlawful scheme” to retaliate against her. According to the filing, this included unauthorized access to Smith’s LinkedIn account using credentials stored on company systems. The complaint states that defendants deleted nearly two decades of Smith’s authentic employment history from her LinkedIn profile and replaced it with false information stating she worked as a janitor at Walmart—a position she claims never to have held.
Smith’s attorneys argue that these actions were intended to damage her professional reputation and interfere with her new employment. The complaint asserts that “Defendants intentionally and without authorization accessed Ms. Smith’s LinkedIn account, deleted her authentic professional employment history, and replaced it with a false and defamatory description portraying Ms. Smith as having worked as a janitor at Walmart — a fabrication designed to humiliate her.” It further alleges that this conduct was part of “a broader retaliatory campaign by NPS against former employees who have departed the company to join Four String Media.”
The legal claims outlined in the document include violations of several statutes: the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA), the Stored Communications Act (SCA), New Jersey’s Computer Related Offenses Act (NJCROA), as well as common law claims such as defamation per se, false light invasion of privacy, impersonation or identity theft, trespass to chattels (interference with property), and intentional interference with prospective economic advantage. The complaint states that “Defendants’ unauthorized intrusion into Ms. Smith’s LinkedIn account… constitutes a knowing and intentional violation” of federal computer crime laws.
Smith claims that she suffered significant harm due to these alleged actions—including loss of professional reputation, interference with current employment opportunities at Four String Media, humiliation, embarrassment, costs associated with restoring her online presence, and other damages exceeding $75,000. She also points out that at no time was she under any contractual restriction preventing her from leaving NPS or joining its competitors.
The document references another related case before the same court—National Publisher Services v. Katzman et al.—in which NPS sued other former employees for allegedly misappropriating trade secrets after joining Four String Media. In this context, Smith’s filing characterizes both lawsuits as part of an ongoing pattern by NPS management aimed at punishing perceived disloyalty among staff.
As relief from the court, Smith seeks compensatory damages for reputational harm; presumed damages specifically for defamation; punitive damages “commensurate with the willful [and] malicious nature” of defendants’ conduct; injunctive relief requiring restoration of her authentic LinkedIn profile; orders prohibiting further harassment or retaliation; attorney’s fees; interest; and any other remedies deemed appropriate by the court.
The case is being handled by Steven M. Kaplan of Kaplan Levenson P.C., representing Jacqueline Smith. The case number is 2:26-cv-3764.
Source: 226cv03764_Smith_v_National_Publisher_Services_LLC_Complaint_District_New_Jersey.pdf
