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A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

nytimes.com

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Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#51

Post by jonathankoren »

spitfire wrote: post #19
eropple wrote: post #7

This seemed pretty likely to me the second I saw bouncing between tech/analyst positions and "CEO of mines in Asia and South America" on his LinkedIn (when he was mid-thirties at the latest?). There is only so far one can push it before all thered flags go up.

Actually the "CEO of mine in south america" thing isn't so far fetched. Except you have to know that a "mine" can be a 5 acre plot of land dredging up mud to feed into a processing machine. Friends of mine do it each year. So technically they "own a mine in south america". It's still bullshit puffery though. But you can do it for $20K.

I'll see your bullshit puffery, and raise you.

I'm part owner of an NFL franchise, and it only cost me $250.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#52

Post by PhasmaFelis »

marvindanig wrote: post #23
honkhonkpants wrote: post #11

"... but who expects fraud in Silicon Valley?" lol, wut? Anybody who has been here more than an hour is who expects fraud in SV. The first job I had in SV ended in a joint SEC/DOJ prosecution and jail time for multiple executive officers. Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area.

> Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area. And homelessness. I was disappointed to see hundreds of helpless homeless people, some in horrible mental state, right there on streets in the middle of huge ivory towers that SV thumps its chest on. It's such a shame! And with young kids coming out of those glass doors flashing gadgets and gizmos at each other, with that certain bay area flair … I mean t…

My understanding is that that's largely because SF is actually a pretty good (or at least "less awful") place to be homeless in, so homeless people from other areas travel or are sent there in hopes of finding a better life.

It's apparently a thing for social workers and caregivers in places with drastically inadequate social support (i.e. most of the US) to just stick disabled/mentally ill people on a bus to SF; they'll at least have a better chance there.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#53

Post by [deleted] »

tootie wrote: post #6
throwaawweay wrote: post #4

My money is on this being a Visa scam company bringing Chinese nationals over. The poorer ones probably got screwed, while the ones who paid (400k from one of his employees???) have probably vanished into the country. (I have nothing against the Chinese, or immigrants in general, I'm an immigrant myself, and I feel terrible for the innocent victims who have lost money, jobs, and for many, their american dream)

The only thing that makes no sense is why they hired Penny Kim. The business was seemingly imaginary, the only employees were the CEO's bros and his H1Bs. If the business was some sort of front, why hire a veteran marketing leader to publicize your scam operation? Especially someone who was not in on the scam and was highly likely to rebel? My money is on the CEO being a genuine egomaniac who thought he could will a…

[deleted]

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#54

Post by downandout »

honkhonkpants wrote: post #11

"... but who expects fraud in Silicon Valley?" lol, wut? Anybody who has been here more than an hour is who expects fraud in SV. The first job I had in SV ended in a joint SEC/DOJ prosecution and jail time for multiple executive officers. Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area.

The interesting part is that the technology exists to better vet and monitor investments. For example, why don't startup-friendly banks offer authorized investors read-only access to bank accounts, and maybe an investor alert service that notifies them whenever a charge/check of more than $X posts to the company bank account or credit card, or when a wire goes out, etc? Most types of fraud are absurdly easy to spot; the tools and the will to spot them just aren't very strong atm.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#55

Post by m0nty »

wrong_variable wrote: post #9

I have some issues with this sort of doxxing. In fact unless a court decision is made I think it technically unfair to the company and their employee the way the mob has brought out their pichfork. We have only heard the story from one person - and it makes the company and its CEO look like Satan's spawns - which in my experience never is 100% true. Having said that, I am always a little unnerved browsing LinkedIn -…

> I have some issues with this sort of doxxing.

Or "investigative journalism", as it used to be known. This is what the press is for. If they're wrong, I don't doubt it will end in litigation.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#56

Post by Finbarr »

tsunamifury wrote: post #48
marvindanig wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area. And homelessness. I was disappointed to see hundreds of helpless homeless people, some in horrible mental state, right there on streets in the middle of huge ivory towers that SV thumps its chest on. It's such a shame! And with young kids coming out of those glass doors flashing gadgets and gizmos at each other, with that certain bay area flair … I mean t…

You can judge, but SF goes further than any city I've seen to provide services to the homeless. So much so that it's a mild weather Mecca to many. So you can turn up your nose and go back home to a city that likely ships them here or "takes care of it" so you don't see it -- but you are being naive. The poor will always be with us, and we are judged by how we treat them.

Have you been outside of the US? Coming from Europe, SF is utterly shocking. I've never seen anywhere else like it. Government provides a lot of support for low-income and homeless people in EU.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#57

Post by MichaelBurge »

honkhonkpants wrote: post #32
marvindanig wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area. And homelessness. I was disappointed to see hundreds of helpless homeless people, some in horrible mental state, right there on streets in the middle of huge ivory towers that SV thumps its chest on. It's such a shame! And with young kids coming out of those glass doors flashing gadgets and gizmos at each other, with that certain bay area flair … I mean t…

The reigning ethos in SV is something very close to nihilism, but we do believe in one thing: property. A homeless or insane person has been assigned a near-zero value by markets and is therefore to be ignored. When the only thing you recognize is the exchange of goods and money, how can you assign any value to a person having neither?

>> but we do believe in one thing: property

I thought SV was the world's hardest place to exercise your property rights? Just try demolishing a single-family house to set up a new low-income Section 8 apartment complex. Even if you wanted to, you couldn't.

San Francisco is like the polar opposite of the real-world Rapture you're envisioning it as.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#58

Post by facetube »

wyager wrote: post #43
marvindanig wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area. And homelessness. I was disappointed to see hundreds of helpless homeless people, some in horrible mental state, right there on streets in the middle of huge ivory towers that SV thumps its chest on. It's such a shame! And with young kids coming out of those glass doors flashing gadgets and gizmos at each other, with that certain bay area flair … I mean t…

Homeless people go to California because the weather is good and the locals are rich. What do you want SF residents to do about it? Giving the homeless more will just lead to more of them moving in.

Cold winters can mean death for people who are homeless. It's not a convenience, it's a survival strategy.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#59

Post by wyager »

facetube wrote: post #58
wyager wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homeless people go to California because the weather is good and the locals are rich. What do you want SF residents to do about it? Giving the homeless more will just lead to more of them moving in.

Cold winters can mean death for people who are homeless. It's not a convenience, it's a survival strategy.

No disagreement here. It's a rational decision for a homeless person to move to California, but the locals don't have to be happy about it or encourage them.

Re: A Silicon Valley Dream Collapses in Allegations of Fraud

#60

Post by marvindanig »

tsunamifury wrote: post #48
marvindanig wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Lawlessness, scams, and dishonesty are endemic in this area. And homelessness. I was disappointed to see hundreds of helpless homeless people, some in horrible mental state, right there on streets in the middle of huge ivory towers that SV thumps its chest on. It's such a shame! And with young kids coming out of those glass doors flashing gadgets and gizmos at each other, with that certain bay area flair … I mean t…

You can judge, but SF goes further than any city I've seen to provide services to the homeless. So much so that it's a mild weather Mecca to many. So you can turn up your nose and go back home to a city that likely ships them here or "takes care of it" so you don't see it -- but you are being naive. The poor will always be with us, and we are judged by how we treat them.

> You can judge, but SF goes further than any city I've seen to provide services to the homeless...

That's nice to hear!

I do realize now that my comment is naive; definitely only a tiny snapshot from the limited time that I spent over there and is not a complete picture or a total impression of the place.

But I still do wish that SV had a better situation/solution to these otherwise normal people problems.

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