Details on NYC Suicide of Bed Bath & Beyond’s CFO Emerge; Lawsuit May Be Factor

By:  Daniella Doria

An exclusive report by The New York Post reveals that the recent suicide by the Chief Financial Officer of Bed Bath & Beyond may have been caused by a secret lawsuit.

Gustavo Arnal, aged 52, recently jumped off the roof of his luxury Manhattan building in response to Bed Bath & Beyond filing for bankruptcy protection.

Arnal, 52, jumped to his death on Sept. 2 from the 18th floor of the “Jenga Building,” a chic luxury tower in lower Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood, while his wife was inside the apartment, which they reportedly were renting for $18,500-a-month. Arnal was a father to two daughters, according to The New York Post.

The $1.2 billion suit — which accuses the home-furnishings retailer, its late CFO, JPMorgan and a big investor of orchestrating a “pump and dump” stock scheme — was recently handed over to a new law firm, even as legal experts question its prospects in court, writes Lisa Fickenscher.

Mr. Arnal joined Bed Bath & Beyond as its chief financial officer in May 2020 as part of an executive shake-up led by the then chief executive, Mark Tritton, who left in June. Mr. Arnal was previously chief financial officer at Avon and held senior positions at Walgreens Boots Alliance and at Procter & Gamble, where he spent more than 20 years of his career, writes The New York Times.

Mr. Arnal spoke to Bed Bath & Beyond investors on Wednesday, giving them updates about the company’s finances and delivering tough news about the impact of its latest turnaround efforts, according to an exclusive report in The New York Times. The retailer said it had started closing 150 stores and would lay off 20 percent of its workers in its corporate office and across its supply chain operations. The store closings will also affect retail associate jobs, the company said.

Bed Bath & Beyond said in an email to The New York Post that it “is in the early stages of evaluating the complaint, but based on current knowledge the company believes the claims are without merit.” Reps for Cohen’s investment firm RC Ventures declined to comment as did reps for JPMorgan.

Bed Bath & Beyond CFO Gustavo Arnal was stressed out by working 18-hour days and was considering taking a leave in the weeks before he killed himself, a new report said. The late executive was also upset about the fallout his mid-August $1.4 million stock sale Generated because he had preplanned the sale and was still holding more than $5 million in company shares, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.