Former Real Brokerage chief financial officer Michelle Ressler, who was terminated in April based on what the company described as violations of policy, is suing her former employer in federal court, claiming that the company pushed her out due to her becoming a mother.
Accusing Real of gender and pregnancy discrimination, defamation and retaliation, in violation of state and federal laws, Ressler is seeking back pay and unspecified damages.
In response to RISMedia’s inquiries, a Real Brokerage spokesperson said that “(a)s a matter of policy, Real does not comment on pending litigation.”
According to Ressler’s lawsuit, Real CEO Tamir Poleg abruptly fired Ressler after her return from maternity leave, claiming she had engaged in “gross misconduct” in spending $17,000 on travel and entertainment which Ressler contends was “related to networking in her capacity as CFO.”
But according to Ressler, this was “pretextual” after Poleg and others tried to push her out of the company leading up to, during and after her maternity leave, making “discriminatory comments” related to how she would be able to handle her job responsibilities as a mother.
“Defendants progressively reassigned her duties, business units and reports, marginalized and undermined her, excluded her, and demeaned her to her team and leadership,” Ressler claims.
That led to her abrupt firing three months after her return from maternity leave, with Poleg further threatening a criminal investigation into the funds she allegedly misspent.
In an emailed statement obtained by RISMedia, Ressler said that the lawsuit “is about the truth.”
“In an industry where women comprise a majority of the workforce but too few of the decision-makers, we need more leaders willing to challenge outdated, discriminatory norms and lead with integrity,” she said. “I’m coming forward not just to right Real’s wrongs against me and hold it accountable, but also to demonstrate what resilience looks like when it’s rooted in principle, precision, and results.”
Real has been one of the fastest growing brokerages in recent years, nearly doubling its agent count between 2023 and 2024, with revenue up 80% this year. The company has focused on culture, tech and AI, with Poleg going as far as to have an AI replica of his voice stand in on Real’s latest earnings call.
According to her lawsuit, Ressler claims that new CFO Ravi Jani was promised her job while she was out on maternity leave, and that generally “male leadership” reacted with hostility to her decision to become a mother. She was also required to work while on federally protected leave, according to the lawsuit, but also excluded from some projects as the company “groomed” her successor.
Poleg and Real went as far as to launch an incomplete product—Real Wallet—without her input, with Ressler claiming this led to major dysfunction. Real Wallet, which is meant to serve as a debit card and financial management platform, “did not comply with the underlying legal agreements, had no back-office compliance or financial infrastructure, and was nonfunctional in Canada” when launched.
Ressler, upon her return, raised concerns about the product but was dismissed by Poleg, she alleges.
“Defendants needed to impress investors with flashy, attention-grabbing product launches—even if the products were nonfunctional or noncompliant—to distract from the Company’s mounting operational risks and inability to generate sustainable profit margins through its revenue diversification strategy,” the lawsuit claims.
Real Wallet had a 21% delinquency rate when Ressler departed the company, she said, and the product left the company “exposed” to regulatory and operational risks. Another product, Mortgage Early Commission Payments, also has “fundamental problems” and was launched with “the same reckless approach.”
In the lawsuit, Ressler claims that her pushback on the Real Wallet missteps and Poleg’s “recurring (and unchecked) disregard for financial controls and compliance when launching products,” resulted in Real leadership pushing harder for her to resign.
Weeks before she was fired, Ressler claims that board member Guy Gamzu told her, “Maybe your sweet spot is not in a company that is larger, but in a small startup that you can grow and bring to scale. Life is going to change, and it will always get more beautiful, now you have and you should focus on that.” Ressler claims this and other comments, including multiple comments by Poleg regarding her priorities and challenges around being a mother, as attempts to push her out.
When she was eventually confronted with the allegedly fraudulent expenses, Ressler claims she offered to pay back the money while still insisting the charges were work related. She also alleges male executives spent money with company accounts for similar reasons, but were not scrutinized in the audit that resulted in her firing.
“As just one example, CEO Poleg (giving him the benefit of the doubt, inadvertently) charged substantial personal expenses to his corporate AmEx during a family vacation in Dubai just weeks before Defendants fired Ms. Ressler,” the lawsuit claims.
Other executives were also fast and loose with expenses, even as Ressler urged Poleg to update the company’s procedures and processes as it scaled. Poleg continued to charge personal expenses through a “black box” third-party Israeli subsidiary, “shielding” it from any oversight, she claimed, while other executives mixed personal and business expenses.
Further, Ressler claims the statement put forward by Real at the time of her termination was intended to cast doubt on her character and exaggerate the extent of her alleged misconduct. The lawsuit points specifically to a statement made by Real that a “review of Ms. Ressler’s actions is ongoing” but “the actions of the former CFO had any material impact on the Company’s previously issued financial statements.”
“The press release…was designed to (and did) imply that she was fired for serious financial misconduct,” the lawsuit said.
