The man behind the @GSElevator Twitter account has lost his six-figure book contract in the wake of revelations that he never actually worked for Goldman Sachs.
In a brief statement, publisher Touchstone says: "In light of information that has recently come to our attention since acquiring John Lefevre's 'Straight to Hell,' Touchstone has decided to cancel its publication of this work."
For nearly three years, @GSElevator claimed to dish the dirt to hundreds of thousands of followers, revealing what employees at the poster boy for Wall Street excess say behind closed doors about the great unwashed.
The account proved so popular it earned its author a lucrative contract for a book, to have been called "Straight to Hell: True Tales of Deviance and Excess in the World of Investment Banking,"
But last month things began to unravel when the New York Times uncovered the tweeter's true identity: John Lefevre, a 34-year-old, Texas-based, former Citi employee and bond executive but not a Goldman employee.
Touchstone initially seemed unconcerned about the revelation but waters have since been muddied by claims of plagiarism and suggestions that the Twitter account was the work of more than just Lefevre.
Lefevre has told the New York Times that he is baffled by the decision to tear up his contract, while Goldman Sachs couldn't resist the opportunity to gloat: