Andy Rubin, the former Google senior vice president whose $90 million exit package caused a worldwide employee walkout at the search giant last year, quietly left Playground Global, the venture firm he founded, in May according to documents viewed by BuzzFeed News.

The revelation comes as Rubin, who was accused of coercing a subordinate into sexual acts while at Google before being given a hero’s send-off in 2014, attempts to make a public comeback with Essential Products, the mobile device company he founded. On Tuesday, Rubin tweeted images of Essential’s new phones, some of his first public statements since late 2018 when news broke on the circumstances surrounding his exit from Google.

Those circumstances caused an uproar at Google, which was already dealing with several stories of executive harassment and misbehavior, and provided direct proof that Larry Page, the CEO of Google parent company Alphabet, and his board members had intentionally tried to cover up misdeeds at the top. Not only were Google executives aware of allegations of sexual misconduct at the time of Rubin’s exit, but they failed to notify employees, lauded him in a departure announcement, and sent him off with a $90 million exit package.

Rubin's departure from Playground was also accompanied by a payout, with a source familiar placing the amount at more than $9 million. Documents related to his exit, which were seen by some investors and the company’s leadership, but not all of Playground’s staff, were reviewed by BuzzFeed News.

“Effective May 31, 2019, Playground Global ended our business relationship with Andy Rubin,” read one internal document. “While Andy is still a good friend of Playground, he no longer has any economic interest in or any ongoing roles at Playground Global or the related funds.”

The exact reasons for Rubin’s exit from Playground are unknown, though he remains on the company’s site with the title of “Founding Partner.” Rubin did not respond to an email request for comment. A spokesperson for Playground acknowledged receipt of BuzzFeed News’ specific questions Rubin’s departure but did not respond in time for publication.

Rubin’s quiet, money-padded exit from Playground and his public reemergence at Essential is yet another example of a male technology executive with sexual misconduct allegations coming back into an industry leadership role and reaping the associated rewards. Recently, executives from companies including SoFi, Uber, and Google returned to positions of power at different tech companies following credible allegations and investigations into sexual misconduct, as some employers and investors have decided to look beyond past indiscretions.

“I don’t think the culture of technology and venture capitalists has changed enough that we should be comfortable bringing back people who have had bad behavior back into the mix,” said former venture capitalist Ellen Pao, who now leads up the diversity initiative Project Include. “We don’t have any accountability to prevent it from happening again.”

In showcasing Essential’s new phone on Tuesday, Rubin — who has made few statements since the news broke about his alleged misconduct and exit package at Google — seemed to be signaling his public return to his hardware startup. In late 2017, he took a leave of absence from Essential after the Information reported about “an inappropriate relationship” with an employee at Google. That was followed by an October 2018 New York Times story in which Rubin was said to have coerced a subordinate to perform oral sex on him in 2013, leading to a complaint with the company’s human resources department.

Instead of firing him, however, Page and Google’s board protected Rubin, the inventor of the Android operating system, announcing that he was leaving to focus on investing and startups, while awarding him a $90 million exit package that has since become the subject of a shareholder lawsuit. In response to the news, thousands of Alphabet employees from Tokyo to London to Mountain View, California, walked out in protest last November.

That outrage spurred some change. Google CEO Sundar Pichai would go on to announce that the company had previously terminated 48 people for sexual harassment, including 13 who were senior managers or above. None received an exit package, he said.