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Earlier quoted context omitted.
I read the book and also agree with this. She was the CEO, but he "ran" the company. He also put millions of his own money into it to keep it afloat. He should've been the "adult supervision", so to speak.
Presumably the judge had more evidence to consider than just what was in "the book".
Earlier quoted context omitted.
This - I mentioned in another thread when Holmes was sentenced that even if convicted she'll not spend that long in jail (maybe 5 years, most of it on license I would guess?). I suspect Balwani will serve most if not all of the 13 years. I've no wish to defend either of these people given what they've done, I just think it's worth pointing out that ignoring the disparity doesn't make it go away.
I thought federal sentences did not have parole? So a person has to serve their full term.
I love how I, as a lowly middle-class person, can invest money in a company and if they were pulling the wool over my eyes and I lost my investment, it’s all “oh well, buyer beware”. But let it be some big wigs investing in a disruptive tech (that makes the status quo oh so nervous) then it’s all pitchforks and fire — those devils be damned. Hence I note the faint stench of Denmark in there somewhere.
Nervous? The Theranos approach could not possibly work, and serious researchers were well aware of that. There's even a completely hilarious video online where some folks point this out with the most astonishing diplomacy and politeness but nonetheless in the clearest of terms, while Holmes is forced into some sort of clumsy damage control.
I'm happy he got even more than Holmes (11 vs 13). The book made him sound worse than she was and he was the mastermind internally at keeping the staff working and building a culture of misdirection and obedience. He was firing people on an almost daily basis for a while whenever someone questioned their bullshit. Holmes was the showpiece, who got to play the pretend female Steve Jobs visionary role to the press and…
I disagree. She was the CEO and ultimately had the most control. She also did the most lying to investors. We don't know what SBF will be charged with yet - but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence? As long as it clear that the CEO (in this case SBF) knew about the wrongdoing I think it is fair to hold them to the harshest senten…
Sunny wasn't just one of the employees, he was essentially a cofounder and was Elizabeth's closest advisor. The book made it sound like he ran the actual company while she was distracted with the media and having dinners with politicians.
Re: SBF, he owned 90% of Alameda and was responsible for sending them FTX customer funds to cover their loses, so he will always be more guilty than the girl who ran it and likely made the actual loses. These details matter. CEO's have more control formally but who did the dirty work is most important.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree. She was the CEO and ultimately had the most control. She also did the most lying to investors. We don't know what SBF will be charged with yet - but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence? As long as it clear that the CEO (in this case SBF) knew about the wrongdoing I think it is fair to hold them to the harshest senten…
> but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence Sunny wasn't just one of the employees, he was essentially a cofounder and was Elizabeth's closest advisor. The book made it sound like he ran the actual company while she was distracted with the media and having dinners with politicians. Re: SBF, he owned 90% of Alameda and was responsi…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I disagree. She was the CEO and ultimately had the most control. She also did the most lying to investors. We don't know what SBF will be charged with yet - but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence? As long as it clear that the CEO (in this case SBF) knew about the wrongdoing I think it is fair to hold them to the harshest senten…
> but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence Sunny wasn't just one of the employees, he was essentially a cofounder and was Elizabeth's closest advisor. The book made it sound like he ran the actual company while she was distracted with the media and having dinners with politicians. Re: SBF, he owned 90% of Alameda and was responsi…
I have also read the book and agree Holmes was more into the PR stuff and investor stuff. But again - the crimes had to do with lying to investors.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> but how would we feel if one of the other employees who did more of the actual transfers/faulty accounting got more of a sentence Sunny wasn't just one of the employees, he was essentially a cofounder and was Elizabeth's closest advisor. The book made it sound like he ran the actual company while she was distracted with the media and having dinners with politicians. Re: SBF, he owned 90% of Alameda and was responsi…
I'm not saying he was a random employee but he was definitely lower on the totem poll. Holmes could have had him removed from the company at any time. The same is not true of Sunny removing Holmes. I have also read the book and agree Holmes was more into the PR stuff and investor stuff. But again - the crimes had to do with lying to investors.
I'm happy he got even more than Holmes (11 vs 13). The book made him sound worse than she was and he was the mastermind internally at keeping the staff working and building a culture of misdirection and obedience. He was firing people on an almost daily basis for a while whenever someone questioned their bullshit. Holmes was the showpiece, who got to play the pretend female Steve Jobs visionary role to the press and…
Theranos started in 2003 and had raised $200m+ before sunny joined in 2009. Fraud started before him.
A legitimate startup morphed into a fraud, coincidentally not long after Sunny joined and started secretly dating her.
If you were someone that was a defendant in a case like this where another case finished before you that ended in prison sentence, the natural assumption would be yours is heading the same way. The psychology of that must be intense. If you're the type that accepted that fate, you can start making proper plans for your incarceration too. But these are people that scammed others, so I would assume not the type to acce…
You can also change to pleading guilty at that point. It is very late but still has an impact on sentencing. It may also affect parole decisions.
This is one reason why you see generally longer "sentences" handed down in state courts (where parole is part of the picture) vs. in Federal (where the number is a more accurate representation of how long they'll be in custody).
If you were someone that was a defendant in a case like this where another case finished before you that ended in prison sentence, the natural assumption would be yours is heading the same way. The psychology of that must be intense. If you're the type that accepted that fate, you can start making proper plans for your incarceration too. But these are people that scammed others, so I would assume not the type to acce…