Evolv Technologies, the Massachusetts-based company whose weapons detectors had been the focus of a recent NBC 5 investigation, announced Thursday that its chief financial officer had stepped down and that four other employees were either “terminated or resigned” following an internal investigation into alleged misconduct, the company reported in a SEC filing.
The company first announced late last month that an internal committee had begun investigating the company’s sales practices and discovered that “certain sales… were subject to extra-contractual terms and conditions” and that certain “personnel engaged in misconduct in connection with those transactions.”
In the update released Thursday by the company, Evolv said its internal investigation “found that certain accounting personnel were aware of indications of these extra-contractual terms and conditions” and that the allegations were raised internally in July 2024 to senior finance and accounting personnel, but “those allegations were not escalated to the audit committee” or to its accounting firm before the filing second quarter 2024 financial statements.
An Evolv spokeswoman referred NBC 5 Investigates’ questions back to a news release when we asked about what was meant by “extra-contractual terms and conditions.”
The company’s board released a statement that read in part:
“With the investigation concluding, our attention has turned to addressing the issues that led to the misconduct, ensuring that future financial disclosures are timely and accurate, releasing our financial results for the third quarter of 2024 and preparing restated financials for the affected periods. We are committed to pursuing remedial actions that we believe will enhance the reliability of our financial statements and help prevent these issues from occurring in the future. We are confident that Evolv is well positioned to continue its important work and to achieve its strategic objectives. The Board embraces the Company’s mission of making the world safer and will continue to take steps to advance our vision while delivering long-term value for all stakeholders…”
As NBC 5 Investigates reported earlier this week, Evolv Technologies’ weapons detectors have become increasingly popular at sports stadiums, theaters and schools. We found them at Chicago festivals, at Wrigley Field and the Chicago Police headquarters.
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They’re supposed to flag weapons, but as our investigation pointed out - incidents across the country have raised questions about their efficacy. They include stabbing incidents at schools in New York and Ohio that occurred after Evolv scanners were installed. And just last month, a report by the NYPD showed in 3,000 searches on city’s subway system, Evolv scanners did find 12 knives, did not find any guns but had more than 100 false positives, according to a report from our sister stations NBC New York.
In a video statement posted to the company’s YouTube page Thursday, Evolv’s interim CEO, Michael Ellenbogan said: “Not one of the challenges the company has faced has to do with the fundamental effectiveness of our technology.” He added that an Evolv scanner recently detected a gun at a Champaign, IL school, that clients are flagging firearms each day and that demand for their scanners is growing.
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An emailed statement from the Champaign Police Department confirmed the incident:
"As students arrived at Central High School on Friday, November 15, an assigned School Resource Officer was contacted by school security after a metal detector alerted at a building entrance. A 16-year-old student was detained by school security while a search was conducted of his bag. The search yielded a firearm. The student was placed under arrest and Champaign Police opened an investigation into the incident.
Because this is an ongoing investigation related to the arrest of a juvenile, Champaign Police are unable to provide additional details on this incident. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law."
Evolv says it will continue to cooperate with an SEC investigation and with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the southern district of New York, which recently requested information.
