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From the American Banker article: FBI and SEC agents stormed AriseBank’s office in the middle of the night where the team had been sleeping after a long night

From the American Banker article: FBI and SEC agents stormed AriseBank’s office in the middle of the night where the team had been sleeping after a long night spent coding. "I got woke up with guns pointed at me," he said. "It was, 'Put your hands up where we can see them.' I didn't know why they were there. They brought us outside, handcuffed us, and put us in a Suburban in the driveway." Upshot: If you break the law to disrupt the taxi industry, expect some lawsuits. But if you break the law to disrupt the financial system, expect to see the business end of the state's monopoly on violence.

jebeng 9y ago
> But if you break the law to disrupt the financial system That's quite the generous description of this $600 million scam operation that was apparently completely full of shit from day one. I mean Uber does some shady things, but it's not a scam.
- panarky 9y ago
  > completely full of shit from day one The CNBC and American Banker articles don't read like completely full of shit. The company's crimes consist of not registering with the SEC, the FDIC or the Texas banking regulator and putting the word "bank" in their name which is against the law if they're not a registered bank. They also lied in press releases. I wouldn't trust my money with these guys, but I'd say their crimes are roughly equivalent to Uber systematically misleading regulators and law enforcement, ignoring laws in countless cities and countries, criminal bribery, theft of intellectual property, etc. The point is that firearms didn't get aimed at Uber employees, but when you challenge banks you get night raids, loaded weapons and black Suburbans.
  - jebeng 9y ago
    Federal level enforcement vs municipal perhaps. Not sure it really has anything to do with banks in particular when all kinds of federal law enforcement agencies act in the same militarized manner.

jebeng 9y ago

> But if you break the law to disrupt the financial system That's quite the generous description of this $600 million scam operation that was apparently completely full of shit from day one. I mean Uber does some shady things, but it's not a scam.

panarky 9y ago
> completely full of shit from day one The CNBC and American Banker articles don't read like completely full of shit. The company's crimes consist of not registering with the SEC, the FDIC or the Texas banking regulator and putting the word "bank" in their name which is against the law if they're not a registered bank. They also lied in press releases. I wouldn't trust my money with these guys, but I'd say their crimes are roughly equivalent to Uber systematically misleading regulators and law enforcement, ignoring laws in countless cities and countries, criminal bribery, theft of intellectual property, etc. The point is that firearms didn't get aimed at Uber employees, but when you challenge banks you get night raids, loaded weapons and black Suburbans.
- jebeng 9y ago
  Federal level enforcement vs municipal perhaps. Not sure it really has anything to do with banks in particular when all kinds of federal law enforcement agencies act in the same militarized manner.