Pennsylvania's billionaire Asplundh family got embroiled in a bullying scandal after their son's newlywed wife Katherine Asplundh tried to force another woman into giving up her Instagram handle, and now it has come to light that the family previously faced a $95 million fine for employing undocumented workers.
According to a 2017 press release from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Asplundh Tree Experts, currently worth $5 billion, pleaded guilty to knowingly hiring workers who used false identification documents and received the fine. Katherine, formerly Driscoll, recently married Cabot Asplundh, 27, of the prominent Pennsylvania billionaire tree trimming family, at a reception held in Palm Beach, Florida, just two weeks ago.
Scandalous Family
Prosecutors said at the time: "The highest levels of Asplundh management remained willfully blind while lower level managers hired and rehired employees they knew to be ineligible to work in the United States."
The company settled the matter by paying $80 million in criminal forfeiture and an additional $15 million in civil payments. The combined sum of $95 million remains the highest immigration judgment ever recorded.
The Asplundh family's name once again garnered attention this week when Katherine Driscoll Asplundh reportedly tried to pressure a user named Katherine Asplundh into giving up her Instagram handle.
Based on screenshots of the conversation shared on the NYCInfluencesnark sub Reddit, the new Katherine Asplundh started the conversation with a casual message.
"Hi just wondering if I could purchase your username from you. Just got married and this is my new name," the newly read wrote, according to screenshots of the conversation posted to the NYCInfluencesnark sub Reddit.
The other Katherine Asplundh politely declined the request.
"Hi congrats! That's my name too. I just googled and it said selling my username would get me banned from Instagram," she replied.
Wild Fight Just for Name
This led Katherine to unleash a barrage of messages that appeared to convey a sense of entitlement. She fired back by stating that purchasing accounts was a common practice among high-profile people and that she had acquired Instagram usernames in the past.
"I purchased my username in the past actually that's not true. Celebrities do it all the time that's how they all have their handles as their full names," the newlywed responded.
"So weird I didn't know there was another Asplundh's family out there. There no Katherine asplundh in our family."
Kate clarified to the suitor that the account in question was a "finsta," a private Instagram used for personal stories and photo archiving, while her main account retained her maiden name.
Despite being refused initially, an annoyed Driscoll Asplundh insisted that Kate's name wasn't Katherine Asplundh and threatened to report her.
The influencer claimed that her then-fiancé had also lodged a report against Kate. Her most recent post on the account dated April 30 featured her wedding dress, shared with her 14,600 followers.
In a third attempt to get the username, Asplundh researched on Facebook using the name "Katherine Asplundh." After finding no results, she concluded that she must be the only person in America with that name.
"The family I just married into is the only Asplundh in America."
"I'm not American," Kate responded.
The influencer then requested "proof" from the woman to verify her identity. "Do you have proof that this is your name? Would love to see that."
The request for proof seemed to be the final straw for Kate, who sharply criticized the influencer's attitude.
"I was open to giving her my username," Kate told the outlet. "I just didn't want to sell it because that would get me banned. After I replied to her, her messages came off snarky so I told myself, 'OK, this isn't worth it.'"
Kate lodged two reports with Instagram concerning Asplundh, one for soliciting the sale of the account and another for harassing her. "Have a good day," the original Asplundh concluded.
Katherine Asplundh has since shut down her Instagram account after users joined forces to secure all possible versions of her preferred username.
The exchange has led internet users to rally behind the other Katherine, generating numerous fake accounts with different spellings of the billionaire's wife's name.
As a result, all available username options incorporating either her maiden or married name have been claimed. She had amassed 14,600 followers
