SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A former Uber security specialist accused the company of dispatching a team of spies to steal its rivals’ trade secrets and using shady tactics to thwart its competition in the ride-hailing market, according an inflammatory letter unsealed Friday by a federal judge.

Those tactics allegedly included impersonating other people, illegally recording conversations and hacking into computers.

Former Uber manager Richard Jacobs, who was fired earlier this year, made the explosive claims in a 37-page letter that sought a big payoff for being forced out of the company. The letter, written by a lawyer on Jacobs’ behalf, has already reshaped a high-profile trial pitting Uber against Waymo, a Google spin-off that accuses its rival of stealing its self-driving car technology.

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