How a hacker deleted one Gmail account and disrupted an entire business

Grow Universe Inc. (Café Melo) suffered an account takeover in February 2025 when its primary Gmail account was compromised and permanently deleted, wiping years of business records; fraudulent emails impersonating Google slowed recovery. Legal action followed with subpoenas to Google, Spectrum, and T‑Mobile to trace logins and identify the actor, and later court filings implicated a former consultant who allegedly had prior access; the report concludes with practical account-protection recommendations for small businesses.