The New York state attorney general is investigating WeWork amid layoffs

Reuters

FILE PHOTO: The WeWork logo is displayed outside of a co-working space in New York

• Reuters reported that the New York State Attorney General is investigating WeWork in the latest crisis facing the embattled workspace giant.
• The company confirmed that it had been contacted by Attorney General Letitia James' office, which will reportedly focus on activities by WeWork's founder and former CEO, Adam Neumann.
• The company has faced trouble since it shelved its initial public offering and turned to its largest shareholder for a rescue deal. Massive layoffs are expected at the company in the coming weeks.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The New York State Attorney General is investigating WeWork, Reuters reported, in the latest crisis facing the embattled workspace giant.

The outlet cited two people familiar with the matter and said the company confirmed that it had been contacted by Attorney General Letitia James' office.

"We received an inquiry from the office of the New York State Attorney General and are cooperating in the matter," said a WeWork spokeswoman told Reuters.

One point of investigation is if WeWork's founder and former CEO, Adam Neumann, indulged in self-dealing for his own profit, including buying properties to lease back to WeWork and planning to charge the company almost $6 million to use his trademark of the word "We" for the rebranded The We Company.

The company has faced trouble since it shelved its initial public offering and took a rescue deal from its largest shareholder, Japanese technology investment company SoftBank. Neumann, has since stepped down as CEO and the company has laid off a large portion of staff.

The report noted that this isn't the first time the NYAG has probed the company, as WeWork scrapped its policy of requiring employees to sign noncompete agreements after reaching a settlement with the attorney general last year.

Read more of our WeWork coverage:

SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son told WeWork executives he wants the company to turn a profit by 2021

Investors are more skeptical than ever that WeWork will be able to pay back its debt

Read the leaked email from WeWork's chairman telling employees that layoffs will begin 'in earnest' this week

One chart shows just how dire WeWork's revenue situation is