Comment by zinekeller

> attestations of proof of who we are be damned, they just follow their robotic script. so we're just screwed.

Hire a lawyer and send a certified letter with return receipt requiring them to explain their decision, and prepare to sue. I'm presuming that this is a B2B dispute, and I notice that a lot of HN people are (rather counterintuitively, considering Y Combinator owns HN) scared of hiring lawyers. Unless that the records show that your old employee is the recorded administrative owner of the domains (this unfortunately happens frequently to small businesses), this should resolve this issue.