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Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

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Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#81

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.

I've seen a lot of excuses from CEO's for why they aren't responsible for their actions but "I didn't have adult supervision" takes the cake.

That's a deliberate over simplification of what that comment said.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#82
post #74
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it would be safe to assume people in this high-flying financial orbit would have access to the sorts of people that could get them out of the country without a passport.

Just because you've ripped off Larry Ellison and Henry Kissinger doesn't quite grant you these kinds of globe-trotting powers. I suppose you could always try to pay a coyote, but, uh, that's a bit of a high-risk play. Or you could drive into Mexico, but without actually having fuck-you money and connections (These two don't), you're not likely going to stay outside of the arms of law enforcement for very long. And if…

I think we're underestimating just how many very skilled folks are willing to lend a great deal of discretion for the right price.

Just look at the recent Carlos Ghosn[1] situation. Former USASF operators working as Private Security Contractors smuggled him out of the country. The plot involved what appears to be close to a dozen people too, and included falsifying passenger records on multiple international flights and more.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was thinking the same thing. But then it occurred to me that she was behaving like a version of Steve Jobs. How would then the "adult supervision" of Steve Jobs look like? Fired on the spot? I don't think it's easy or even possible to provide adult supervision in that environment.

Seeing Steve Jobs did get fired from Apple his first time around, probably. Corporate governance is a thing, they had a board, and Balwani was on it.

He was also the one doing all the hiring and firing. Holmes was literally a figurehead who are barely in her office, busy keeping the press and investors happy so the money kept coming in.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carlos Ghosn agrees with your sentiment.

that guy is on another level : ) > splitting his time between Paris and Tokyo and logging roughly 150,000 miles (241 400 km) in airplanes per year even before his latest adventures, he lived a very, very intense life all over the world, including the Lebanon, which is an adventure on its own. It'd be harder to pull off for an average tech executive.

If I'm ever a multi- billionaire, I will invest in a stand-by exfiltratiom team that is ready to get me out of whatever I get into and take me to a friendly place. If guys like Musk and Gates don't have this, their priorities are all wrong. I assume Peter Thiel does.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Carlos Ghosn agrees with your sentiment.

There are higher levels to the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's story. Had the media covered the story in the manner of Johnny Depp's trial or the drama comedy roast in, The Wolf of Wall Street, soon enough, we might know Jeffrey Epstein's sentencing length.

I'm not exactly sure of the connection here?

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#86
sympathyFor(pretty white female pregnant with pretty white child) > sympathyFor(stinky brown man)

Given this uncomfortable fact, I'd expected Balwani to get 2-4x more than Holmes. But hope in humanity enhanced upon seeing their almost similar sentences.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#87
post #82
post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just because you've ripped off Larry Ellison and Henry Kissinger doesn't quite grant you these kinds of globe-trotting powers. I suppose you could always try to pay a coyote, but, uh, that's a bit of a high-risk play. Or you could drive into Mexico, but without actually having fuck-you money and connections (These two don't), you're not likely going to stay outside of the arms of law enforcement for very long. And if…

I think we're underestimating just how many very skilled folks are willing to lend a great deal of discretion for the right price. Just look at the recent Carlos Ghosn[1] situation. Former USASF operators working as Private Security Contractors smuggled him out of the country. The plot involved what appears to be close to a dozen people too, and included falsifying passenger records on multiple international flights…

Yeah, but doesn't Ghosn still, uh, have money? Theranos was a massive fraud.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#88
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think we're underestimating just how many very skilled folks are willing to lend a great deal of discretion for the right price. Just look at the recent Carlos Ghosn[1] situation. Former USASF operators working as Private Security Contractors smuggled him out of the country. The plot involved what appears to be close to a dozen people too, and included falsifying passenger records on multiple international flights…

Yeah, but doesn't Ghosn still, uh, have money? Theranos was a massive fraud.

Theranos was a massive fraud, but there was plenty of real money going around. Sunny allegedly still has access to millions, for instance.

It would not be surprising if these sorts of folks squirrelled away vast sums for a "rainy day" in places that make it difficult for governments to get. Seems pretty standard operating procedure for people who are legit - not just fraudsters.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#89
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

She was convicted of the investor crimes, and he was convicted of the operations crimes.

>Following a three-month trial and deliberations over five days that ended in July, Balwani's jury returned guilty verdicts on all 12 charges brought by the Justice Department — seven counts of wire fraud for defrauding Theranos investors, two counts of wire fraud for defrauding paying patients, two counts for conspiring to defraud investors and patients, and one count for wire fraud related to Theranos advertisement…

All tort cases need someone to be the harmed by the crime. So of course the investors would be the central focus. How they pulled off the crime is how they are prosecuted though.

Running the fake company that investors put money into is as critical (or more so given the due diligence process) as persuasively asking the investors for the money.

Re: Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

#90

HE was convicted on 12 counts. She was convicted on 4 counts. https://www.npr.org/2022/12/07/1141278121/theranos-sunny-bal... In July, a jury found Balwani guilty on all 12 felony counts of defrauding Theranos investors and the patients that used the company's unreliable blood tests. In comparison, Holmes was convicted of four wire-fraud related counts and sentenced to a little over 11 years in prison last month.

What is the sentencing guidelines of wire-fraud vs defrauding investors? I have a feeling that would answer this implied question.
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