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Big Names Take Hit on Theranos
- rahrahrah 10y agoThis con is mind boggling, especially because apparently she swindled _everyone_. It's not like a small group knew what was going on. It seems like no one knew anything but her.
- ben_jones 10y agoAt what point does ignorance === innocence? At at what point does claiming ignorance === innocence? What are some of the challenges in proving malicious intent in these kinds of, ultimately, financial transactions? The way the last financial crisis was "concluded" and the way Theranos will likely conclude leaves me with little to no hope for our justice system.
- duaneb 10y agoHow is a crime and not just a terrible investment in a charismatic individual?
- rahrahrah 10y agoWhen you claim that you have a machine that does X and you KNOW that's not true, that's fraud. Amazing how people struggle with this simple concept.
- duaneb 10y agoAhh. So the difference is illustrating who knew what when. Good to know, but it's hard to generate much sympathy in an investment BEFORE proof of concept. I had assumed that would be a civil suit instead of criminal.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- ben_jones 10y agoYou have a good counter-point, but consider this example: A Doctor advocates a new medical procedure without doing any research on the procedure. The procedure turns out to be criminally negligent, and the patient is killed as a result. Is the doctor at fault? I believe an investment is at the very least a vote of confidence, and investments by "important" individuals can lead to their mass adoption. Thus many, but not all, of the investors in the case of Theranos are culpable in my opinion.
- Kenji 10y agoElizabeth Holmes for president in 2020, she has the skills and mindset to do it. Ok, that joke was in bad taste. Can't hurt to have a giggle about unfortunate happenings, though.
- at-fates-hands 10y ago>> This con is mind boggling. You can say that again. When I heard she only had one semester of chemical engineering before founding her company I was. . .shocked to put it mildly. To hold yourself out as an expert at 19, with less than a year of college in your field is pretty arrogant. The fact the people investing in her company knew this and still threw millions at her says more about them then her obvious flaws ever could.
- raincom 10y agoI don't feel sorry for these big names. What big guys do to pre-IPO companies is same as what hedge funds on wall street: take 5% position in a company and 'pump' it on media (CNBC, WSJ). And the retail follows, thereby increasing the stock price.