Technology | Maria Zhang Female Yahoo Exec Fires Back at Harassment Suit She says female accuser was trying to save job, shares By Rob Quinn Posted Jul 17, 2014 1:27 AM CDT Copied Yahoo headquarters in Sunnyvale, California. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) The female Yahoo executive accused of coercing a female subordinate into sex has fired back with a lawsuit of her own, accusing former employee Nan Shi of making the whole story up for money. In the countersuit, Maria Zhang says she never had sex with Shi, whom she says concocted the story "to save her job and avoid losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in unvested Yahoo stock," the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Zhang is suing for defamation and seeking damages for emotional distress. According to Zhang's version of events, Shi—who joined Yahoo with Zhang when it bought the mobile start-up Zhang founded—started to complain to human resources earlier this year and only made the sexual harassment claim after her request for a transfer was denied. Zhang's suit says Yahoo looked into the complaint and failed to find any emails, text messages, or witnesses who corroborate the relationship, the Silicon Valley Business Journal finds. Shi was fired earlier this month, and Zhang says she was kept on at Yahoo longer than expected so the company could complete its investigation. Read These Next New Fox star, 23, misses first day after car troubles. Iran's supreme leader makes first public comments since ceasefire. Man accused of killing his daughters might be dead. Her blood isn't compatible with anyone else's. Report an error