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Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

reuters.com

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Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#21

Post by MrSandman »

goatherders wrote: post #4

Even if they dont "use" anything he stole, 30 months of someone else's life in jail is a zero price to pay for Uber to get even a small amount of competitive knowledge. Even something like an internal calendar of expected timelines would be super useful and cant be unseen.

The document was an open meeting minutes team spreadsheet. It’s how Google runs their teams, tabs like OKRs, Metrics, Weekly Updates, Progress, etc. Definitely a valuable document but trade secret? jail? Bankruptcy? Meanwhile, Waymo just raised 2.5Billion.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#22

Post by erobbins »

SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #7
foolfoolz wrote: post #2

great example of how white collar crime does not get punished. “no more than 30 months” for a theft implicated at multi-billion dollar values. that’s even less with good behavior credit

The lesson if anyone is paying attention that if you’re going to steal $1, better make it a million.... but slow down before you hit Madoff levels. There is a sweet spot north of a million; less than a few billion.

Don't steal from rich people is the secret. Madoff made a rookie mistake.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#23

Post by agoodthrowaway »

seibelj wrote: post #14

After admitting his guilt and serving his time, would you refuse to work with him again? It seems like he was a brilliant guy who made a bad mistake. I don’t think he’s unemployable. Isn’t prison punishment enough? Time is the only irreplaceable resource we have.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance.

Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time. It’s a pattern of behavior built up over a long time.

I’m seriously worried about the lack of basic morals in technology where behavior like this, like Andy Rubin’s, etc.... goes unpunished because these people are “brilliant.”

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#24

Post by [deleted] »

cjensen wrote: post #5
foolfoolz wrote: post #2

great example of how white collar crime does not get punished. “no more than 30 months” for a theft implicated at multi-billion dollar values. that’s even less with good behavior credit

Is your complaint that his sentence is too light? Or that non-white collar crime is punished too harshly?

[deleted]

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#25

Post by wtvanhest »

bosswipe wrote: post #9
foolfoolz wrote: post #2

great example of how white collar crime does not get punished. “no more than 30 months” for a theft implicated at multi-billion dollar values. that’s even less with good behavior credit

Two and half years is a hell of a lot of jail time. I seriously wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

People have gotten used to ridiculously long sentences, but 2 years in jail would be absolutely terrible.

Think of it this way, people are currently SIP and going stir crazy with all the modern stuff.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#26

Post by MrSandman »

battery_cowboy wrote: post #3
foolfoolz wrote: post #2

great example of how white collar crime does not get punished. “no more than 30 months” for a theft implicated at multi-billion dollar values. that’s even less with good behavior credit

I take a different lesson: when a large company is affected, the small guy gets up to 30 months. When a small-time engineer gets his idea stolen by a big company in a similar way, they have zero recourse. To be clear, I think both should be punished, but the large corp stealing ideas NEVER will.

To your point. He started the program. Not that there is no fault - it's just ironic - Google mad people are "stealing" from them and they made billions by stealing all our data... In the end Google ended up shutting down its main SDC rival's entire program, recuperating all their money including employee salary, and raising 2.5 billion. Not too shabby

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#27

Post by MrSandman »

agoodthrowaway wrote: post #23
seibelj wrote: post #14

After admitting his guilt and serving his time, would you refuse to work with him again? It seems like he was a brilliant guy who made a bad mistake. I don’t think he’s unemployable. Isn’t prison punishment enough? Time is the only irreplaceable resource we have.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance. Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time…

Did you read any of the news articles? This isn't about stealing designs...

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#28

Post by agoodthrowaway »

MrSandman wrote: post #27
agoodthrowaway wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seriously? What exactly is brilliant about stealing designs? If he was so brilliant, he’d know what to do better or differently. He’d have been able to work around Google’s IP. That’s true brilliance. Not only is he a thief, by his own admission, but it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. The way he stole the designs he wasn’t worried about getting caught. This is not something someone does for the first time…

Did you read any of the news articles? This isn't about stealing designs...

He downloaded schematics and pcba designs, documents, etc, onto a thumb drive and transferred those contents outside of Google. Call it whatever you want. It’s called theft.

* The files that Levandowski is alleged to have stolen contain drawings and schematics pertaining to circuitry and LIDAR laser-sensors that were used in Google’s self-driving cars. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine, plus restitution, for every count.*

https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/27/20835368/google-uber-engi...

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#29

Post by garrettgrimsley »

chishaku wrote: post #12
SlowRobotAhead wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The lesson if anyone is paying attention that if you’re going to steal $1, better make it a million.... but slow down before you hit Madoff levels. There is a sweet spot north of a million; less than a few billion.

Is there sufficient public data to plot and find the true sweet spot?

I'm not sure about seeing a chart of existing cases and illicit proceeds, but what is available is the United States Sentencing Guidelines §2B1.1. [0] The value amounts increase exponentially, while the points, which correspond to length of sentence, increase linearly. So, like the other poster said, go big. Take the base offense level for the crime, add the points in the chart for the dollar amount, and then reference the Sentencing Table in §5A [1]. Levandowski and other folks with no criminal history will be in column 1 of the chart. Keep in mind that this is only a guideline, and the judge is not bound by it. Let me know if you have any other questions!

To demonstrate:

  Insider Trading - Base Offense Level: 8
   Monetary Loss | Points Added | Total Points | Total Sentence Length | Dollars/month
   >      $6,500         2             10                6-12 months        $812
   >     $15,000         4             12               10-16 months        $1,153
   >     $40,000         6             14               15-21 months        $2,222
   ~~~~
   >    $250,000        12             20               33-41 months        $6,756
   >    $550,000        14             22               41-51 months        $11,957
   >  $1,500,000        16             24               51-63 months        $26,315
   >  $3,500,000        18             26               63-78 months        $49,296
   >  $9,500,000        20             28               78-97 months        $109,195
   > $25,000,000        22             30              97-121 months        $229,358
   > $65,000,000        24             32             121-151 months        $477,941
   >$150,000,000        26             34             151-188 months        $887,573
   >$250,000,000        28             36             188-235 months        $1,182,033
   >$550,000,000        30             38             235-293 months        $2,083,333
https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2018-guidelines-manual/2018-...

https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/2018-guidelines-manual/2018-...

Edit: This isn't meant to encourage anyone to commit a crime of any magnitude. Doing that would likely violate the terms of my probation.

Re: Levandowski agrees to plea deal over Google secrets

#30

Post by 0x00000000 »

CoolGuySteve wrote: post #15
throw03172019 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was much more than just a calendar.

Not according to the plea. You should try reading the article next time.

Did you read the indictment and do you know what a plea deal is? Why do you think google is lying about the 14000 files he downloaded? That could easily be proven or disproven and everyone knows it. It’s obvious they just threw him a soft ball on probably the least incriminating file they could to just get some money back rather than dragging the trial on forever then sentencing him to 100 years. But that doesn’t mean he didn’t take all the CAD files and act in what is clearly bad faith. Yeah, I could see a 24 year old legitimately doing that “for personal reference” but he is fucking 40 years old
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