5 ms·

I didn't - what happened?

Svexark 9y ago
They called and threatened his mother. Private investigators followed him. He had $400,000 in legal fees from the layers they hired to harass him.
- gyc 9y ago
  And they probably would've done much worse if he wasn't the grandson of one of the board members at Theranos.
- kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
  If ever there was a clear cut case of barratry this is it. Too bad it would take an act of God to get the state prosecutors to enforce that law.
slimsag 9y ago
I was curious and googled a bit. Relevant part: > In the past year and a half, the grandson and grandfather have rarely spoken or seen one another, communicating mainly through lawyers, says Tyler Shultz. He and his parents have spent more than $400,000 on legal fees, he says. He didn’t attend his grandfather’s 95th birthday celebration in December. Ms. Holmes did. > “Fraud is not a trade secret,” says Mr. Shultz, who hoped his grandfather would cut ties with Theranos once the company’s practices became known. “I refuse to allow bullying, intimidation and threat of legal action to take away my First Amendment right to speak out against wrongdoing.” https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/theranoss-insane-campaign-to-punish-whistleblower-who-happened-to-be-famous-boardmembers-grandson.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/thera...
- bambax 9y ago
  > what the hell is wrong with Theranos that they seemed so focused on attacking anyone who questions them, rather than focusing on actually fixing the problem The problem is unfixable because it's a complete fraud. There is nothing. They're holding the fort for as long as possible, and it's amazing they've been able to hold it for so long.
  - dhimes 9y ago
    You see this behavior in politics also.
    - DonHopkins 9y ago
      <s>You don't say? Can you cite any recent high profile examples of that kind of behavior in public officials?</s>
- blaincate 9y ago
  "It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." a legit company will only go to certain extent to defend. They can still survive. An illegit company will go all / full lengths to attack and defend. illegit company life depends on this !
- bspn 9y ago
  Off topic: he's 95 years old?! I don't care how well connected he is, who thought it would be a good idea to have a nonagenarian on the board of a (supposedly) cutting edge health-tech company?!
  - SophosQ 9y ago
    Could you state reasons to support your assertion that a nonagenarian shouldn't be on the board of an innovative tech. Company ?
    - aaron695 9y ago
      95 years old do not have their full faculities. Even if they were part if a very very small minority that did (if any exist), it would be hard to test for legally I'd imagine. We judge people by their pasts, in extreme old age this is no longer applicable. I do think it's a little sad the obvious has to be pointed out. If not now, in the future you will have to deal with people getting old, hard truths will have to be dealt with at some point.
      - SophosQ 9y ago
        Such individuals are often chosen to be on the board for their experience and networking prowess. It's quite true that testing their mental faculty would be a challenge. Therefore the decision could simply lie with other board members based on their observations of his behaviour and the direct contributions he makes to the company.
  - ncallaway 9y ago
    And what evidence, besides your random agism, do you have to argue that a 95 year old person shouldn't be on the board of a company?
    - smohare 9y ago
      To suggest that mental acuity is uniformly distributed with respect to age seems a bit "post-truth". The priors at play most definetly suggest much greater scrutiny of a 95 year old, but by no means should they be preclusive.
bronson 9y ago
Theranos and Boies teamed up to make his life hell. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/theranoss-insane-campaign-to-punish-whistleblower-who-happened-to-be-famous-boardmembers-grandson.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/thera... One might imagine what they'd attempt if he wasn't related to a boardmember, or if his parents didn't have $400K for legal fees...
- watertom 9y ago
  ah, David Boies the champion of illegal, deceptive and awful business's.
- jacquesm 9y ago
  Yes, that David Boies: https://www.forbes.com/2003/05/28/cz_vm_0528sco.html https://www.forbes.com/2003/05/28/cz_vm_0528sco.html
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - themgt 9y ago
    I remember in the 90s being a teenager reading Boies brilliant work shredding the Microsoft monopoly with such overwhelming skill, and he was almost a hero of mine. Since then I've realized he's just a hired gun, a genius with no morals or integrity who's in it for the money and nothing else. What a disappointment.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      If you only want lawyers to take cases on popular sides you're going to be disappointed. And, in fact, I'd argue that you're effectively arguing that only popular opinion should have good representation--which is pretty much at cross-purposes with the function of the judicial system.

They called and threatened his mother. Private investigators followed him. He had $400,000 in legal fees from the layers they hired to harass him.

gyc 9y ago
And they probably would've done much worse if he wasn't the grandson of one of the board members at Theranos.
kevin_thibedeau 9y ago
If ever there was a clear cut case of barratry this is it. Too bad it would take an act of God to get the state prosecutors to enforce that law.

slimsag 9y ago

I was curious and googled a bit. Relevant part: > In the past year and a half, the grandson and grandfather have rarely spoken or seen one another, communicating mainly through lawyers, says Tyler Shultz. He and his parents have spent more than $400,000 on legal fees, he says. He didn’t attend his grandfather’s 95th birthday celebration in December. Ms. Holmes did. > “Fraud is not a trade secret,” says Mr. Shultz, who hoped his grandfather would cut ties with Theranos once the company’s practices became known. “I refuse to allow bullying, intimidation and threat of legal action to take away my First Amendment right to speak out against wrongdoing.” https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/theranoss-insane-campaign-to-punish-whistleblower-who-happened-to-be-famous-boardmembers-grandson.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/thera...

bambax 9y ago
> what the hell is wrong with Theranos that they seemed so focused on attacking anyone who questions them, rather than focusing on actually fixing the problem The problem is unfixable because it's a complete fraud. There is nothing. They're holding the fort for as long as possible, and it's amazing they've been able to hold it for so long.
- dhimes 9y ago
  You see this behavior in politics also.
  - DonHopkins 9y ago
    <s>You don't say? Can you cite any recent high profile examples of that kind of behavior in public officials?</s>
blaincate 9y ago
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it." a legit company will only go to certain extent to defend. They can still survive. An illegit company will go all / full lengths to attack and defend. illegit company life depends on this !
bspn 9y ago
Off topic: he's 95 years old?! I don't care how well connected he is, who thought it would be a good idea to have a nonagenarian on the board of a (supposedly) cutting edge health-tech company?!
- SophosQ 9y ago
  Could you state reasons to support your assertion that a nonagenarian shouldn't be on the board of an innovative tech. Company ?
  - aaron695 9y ago
    95 years old do not have their full faculities. Even if they were part if a very very small minority that did (if any exist), it would be hard to test for legally I'd imagine. We judge people by their pasts, in extreme old age this is no longer applicable. I do think it's a little sad the obvious has to be pointed out. If not now, in the future you will have to deal with people getting old, hard truths will have to be dealt with at some point.
    - SophosQ 9y ago
      Such individuals are often chosen to be on the board for their experience and networking prowess. It's quite true that testing their mental faculty would be a challenge. Therefore the decision could simply lie with other board members based on their observations of his behaviour and the direct contributions he makes to the company.
- ncallaway 9y ago
  And what evidence, besides your random agism, do you have to argue that a 95 year old person shouldn't be on the board of a company?
  - smohare 9y ago
    To suggest that mental acuity is uniformly distributed with respect to age seems a bit "post-truth". The priors at play most definetly suggest much greater scrutiny of a 95 year old, but by no means should they be preclusive.

bronson 9y ago

Theranos and Boies teamed up to make his life hell. https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/theranoss-insane-campaign-to-punish-whistleblower-who-happened-to-be-famous-boardmembers-grandson.shtml https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20161117/15475936076/thera... One might imagine what they'd attempt if he wasn't related to a boardmember, or if his parents didn't have $400K for legal fees...

watertom 9y ago
ah, David Boies the champion of illegal, deceptive and awful business's.
jacquesm 9y ago
Yes, that David Boies: https://www.forbes.com/2003/05/28/cz_vm_0528sco.html https://www.forbes.com/2003/05/28/cz_vm_0528sco.html
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- themgt 9y ago
  I remember in the 90s being a teenager reading Boies brilliant work shredding the Microsoft monopoly with such overwhelming skill, and he was almost a hero of mine. Since then I've realized he's just a hired gun, a genius with no morals or integrity who's in it for the money and nothing else. What a disappointment.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    If you only want lawyers to take cases on popular sides you're going to be disappointed. And, in fact, I'd argue that you're effectively arguing that only popular opinion should have good representation--which is pretty much at cross-purposes with the function of the judicial system.