5 ms·

It will be interesting to see who gets a longer sentence. The CEO or COO? What would it say about our society if it is the latter?

77pt77 4y ago
She already said he brainwashed and abused her since her late teens. She's also a recent mother. She played her cards perfectly.
- ezekiel11 4y ago
  - orangepurple 4y ago
  - dang 4y ago
    Would you please stop posting unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments? You've been doing it repeatedly, unfortunately, and we ban that sort of account. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
- rllearneratwork 4y ago
- curiousgal 4y ago
  I mean, as a woman, I have to sadly agree. She's conniving and despicable.
  - pm90 4y ago
    So is Balwani. From what the trial has uncovered, it does seem like he had a powerful hold on her, when she was young and impressionable. Does that absolve her of guilt? Absolutely not. But its hard to see how any of this would be possible without Balwani.
    - 77pt77 4y ago
      I'm sure if the endeavor had been successful she would also say he was responsible since she had no real agency...
      - pm90 4y ago
        I don’t think it would make much difference either way if they were not involved in fraud. Its when you start to break laws that these things begin to matter.
- bergenty 4y ago
  Perfectly maybe 3 years ago. Times are a changing.
- FireBeyond 4y ago
  > She's also a recent mother. Whilst bodily autonomy is of course a thing, one has to wonder at the mindset - she was already at trial, and knew she was facing a 20 year sentence, doesn't seem like the right time to try for a family. Given her other behavior, more than one person has thought that it wasn't the most coincidental that she got pregnant with a due date within two months of the trial calendar date for sentencing. (Though I will say, even there, that'd be pretty good planning -and- luck to time it that well).
  - sundvor 4y ago
    It really isn't rocket science. Speaking as a dad of two. It took a few months each time, but we got there. We really had to be actively trying wrt the time of the month etc, so to me this speaks volumes.
    - Beltalowda 4y ago
      On the other hand I had unprotected sex with my girlfriend once on holiday and she got pregnant. So, you know, you can get lucky or have bad luck, and probably depends on the involved people's fertility as well.
  - arkis22 4y ago
    >I'll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do... suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly..." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
  - archagon 4y ago
    On the contrary, how are you gonna have a kid of you’re in prison for 20 years?
kstrauser 4y ago
I don’t have a dog in this hunt. Most of what I know about Theranos comes from HN and from watching “The Dropout”. That said, it’s my understanding (and apparently the jury’s, too), that Balwani oversaw the day-to-day operation of the labs. It’s plausible that Holmes was insulated from some of the worst screwups and lies. In any case, while both of them were convicted of defrauding investors, Balwani was also convicted of defrauding patients, where Holmes was found not guilty on similar charges). Given that the CEO and COO were both found guilty of some crimes, and the COO was also found guilty of additional crimes, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the COO got a heavier sentence. If that says anything about our society, it’s that it’s bad to commit more than one crime at a time. Edit: these aren't my claims. They're from various news stories published today. See my comment at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32017919 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32017919 for more info.
- datavirtue 4y ago
  If it says anything about our society, it's that it is bad to get caught or pinned down.
codegeek 4y ago
Doesn't the buck stop with the CEO ? or are we going to look the other way because she is playing the "Pregnant Woman Victim" card and the "Brown Man bad" card. I hope she gets the same sentence as he did. But you never know. She took all the glory and limelight as the CEO and now it is time to suffer the consequences of the fraud as well.
- knodi123 4y ago
  - FireBeyond 4y ago
    She said that he was an abusive partner at home, and abusive to her at work. The latter makes no sense, because if so, why didn't she fire him before they moved in together. You don't abuse/harass your boss and expect to get away with it.
    - cdf 4y ago
      Balwani wasnt just any employee. He was a significant debtor(investor?) to the company and could blackmail Holmes for her role in the fraud. Not saying Holmes is innocent or powerless, but it is not entirely fair to suggest she can fire him any time as he does have significant power over her.
    - foldr 4y ago
      While I’m not generally inclined to believe a word that Elizabeth Holmes says, it’s a fact that people do sometimes stay with abusive partners.
      - FireBeyond 4y ago
        Oh absolutely. I was careful to word things the way I did - because I get that with intimate partner violence (I believe he was "only" accused of being mentally and emotionally abusive, not physically). And it would have become an order of magnitude more difficult when cohabiting. But if they're not living with you, and at the time, your employee, I think the "why did you not fire this person" question is pretty valid - given that she had zero hesitation in firing multitudes of people very close to her for even slightly rocking the boat.
CoastalCoder 4y ago
> The CEO or COO? What would it say about our society if it is the latter? Maybe something, maybe nothing. There are many differences between the two defendants and their court proceedings. CEO vs. COO is just one of them.
- thrown_22 4y ago
  >Maybe something, maybe nothing. There are many differences between the two defendants and their court proceedings. CEO vs. COO is just one of them. Yes, one of them is a blonde woman. The other a brown man. To quote the great philosopher Patrice O'neal: How long do you think the coast guard will look for you if you went missing? https://youtu.be/kYKJ2z7mecQ?t=77 https://youtu.be/kYKJ2z7mecQ?t=77
legalcorrection 4y ago
- kstrauser 4y ago
  I'm confident there are better ways you can describe your criticisms of our legal system.
  - thrown_22 4y ago
    This is the platonic case of a woman hiding behind sexism. There is no better way to describe the legal system in this case because it is the most deplorable sociopath using the most vulnerable to escape punishment for their crimes. She is literally using medieval law's pleading the belly to escape punishment. Anyone who cares about the plight of women would be demanding she be fed to the lions.
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
atlgator 4y ago
Men get harsher sentences than women for similar crimes. That’s a real thing.

77pt77 4y ago

She already said he brainwashed and abused her since her late teens. She's also a recent mother. She played her cards perfectly.

ezekiel11 4y ago
- orangepurple 4y ago
- dang 4y ago
  Would you please stop posting unsubstantive and/or flamebait comments? You've been doing it repeatedly, unfortunately, and we ban that sort of account. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
rllearneratwork 4y ago
curiousgal 4y ago
I mean, as a woman, I have to sadly agree. She's conniving and despicable.
- pm90 4y ago
  So is Balwani. From what the trial has uncovered, it does seem like he had a powerful hold on her, when she was young and impressionable. Does that absolve her of guilt? Absolutely not. But its hard to see how any of this would be possible without Balwani.
  - 77pt77 4y ago
    I'm sure if the endeavor had been successful she would also say he was responsible since she had no real agency...
    - pm90 4y ago
      I don’t think it would make much difference either way if they were not involved in fraud. Its when you start to break laws that these things begin to matter.
bergenty 4y ago
Perfectly maybe 3 years ago. Times are a changing.
FireBeyond 4y ago
> She's also a recent mother. Whilst bodily autonomy is of course a thing, one has to wonder at the mindset - she was already at trial, and knew she was facing a 20 year sentence, doesn't seem like the right time to try for a family. Given her other behavior, more than one person has thought that it wasn't the most coincidental that she got pregnant with a due date within two months of the trial calendar date for sentencing. (Though I will say, even there, that'd be pretty good planning -and- luck to time it that well).
- sundvor 4y ago
  It really isn't rocket science. Speaking as a dad of two. It took a few months each time, but we got there. We really had to be actively trying wrt the time of the month etc, so to me this speaks volumes.
  - Beltalowda 4y ago
    On the other hand I had unprotected sex with my girlfriend once on holiday and she got pregnant. So, you know, you can get lucky or have bad luck, and probably depends on the involved people's fertility as well.
- arkis22 4y ago
  >I'll just sit here and be quiet, just in case they do... suspect me. They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, "Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly..." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/quotes/?ref_=tt_trv_qu
- archagon 4y ago
  On the contrary, how are you gonna have a kid of you’re in prison for 20 years?

kstrauser 4y ago

I don’t have a dog in this hunt. Most of what I know about Theranos comes from HN and from watching “The Dropout”. That said, it’s my understanding (and apparently the jury’s, too), that Balwani oversaw the day-to-day operation of the labs. It’s plausible that Holmes was insulated from some of the worst screwups and lies. In any case, while both of them were convicted of defrauding investors, Balwani was also convicted of defrauding patients, where Holmes was found not guilty on similar charges). Given that the CEO and COO were both found guilty of some crimes, and the COO was also found guilty of additional crimes, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if the COO got a heavier sentence. If that says anything about our society, it’s that it’s bad to commit more than one crime at a time. Edit: these aren't my claims. They're from various news stories published today. See my comment at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32017919 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=32017919 for more info.

datavirtue 4y ago
If it says anything about our society, it's that it is bad to get caught or pinned down.

codegeek 4y ago

Doesn't the buck stop with the CEO ? or are we going to look the other way because she is playing the "Pregnant Woman Victim" card and the "Brown Man bad" card. I hope she gets the same sentence as he did. But you never know. She took all the glory and limelight as the CEO and now it is time to suffer the consequences of the fraud as well.

knodi123 4y ago
- FireBeyond 4y ago
  She said that he was an abusive partner at home, and abusive to her at work. The latter makes no sense, because if so, why didn't she fire him before they moved in together. You don't abuse/harass your boss and expect to get away with it.
  - cdf 4y ago
    Balwani wasnt just any employee. He was a significant debtor(investor?) to the company and could blackmail Holmes for her role in the fraud. Not saying Holmes is innocent or powerless, but it is not entirely fair to suggest she can fire him any time as he does have significant power over her.
  - foldr 4y ago
    While I’m not generally inclined to believe a word that Elizabeth Holmes says, it’s a fact that people do sometimes stay with abusive partners.
    - FireBeyond 4y ago
      Oh absolutely. I was careful to word things the way I did - because I get that with intimate partner violence (I believe he was "only" accused of being mentally and emotionally abusive, not physically). And it would have become an order of magnitude more difficult when cohabiting. But if they're not living with you, and at the time, your employee, I think the "why did you not fire this person" question is pretty valid - given that she had zero hesitation in firing multitudes of people very close to her for even slightly rocking the boat.

CoastalCoder 4y ago

> The CEO or COO? What would it say about our society if it is the latter? Maybe something, maybe nothing. There are many differences between the two defendants and their court proceedings. CEO vs. COO is just one of them.

thrown_22 4y ago
>Maybe something, maybe nothing. There are many differences between the two defendants and their court proceedings. CEO vs. COO is just one of them. Yes, one of them is a blonde woman. The other a brown man. To quote the great philosopher Patrice O'neal: How long do you think the coast guard will look for you if you went missing? https://youtu.be/kYKJ2z7mecQ?t=77 https://youtu.be/kYKJ2z7mecQ?t=77

legalcorrection 4y ago

kstrauser 4y ago
I'm confident there are better ways you can describe your criticisms of our legal system.
- thrown_22 4y ago
  This is the platonic case of a woman hiding behind sexism. There is no better way to describe the legal system in this case because it is the most deplorable sociopath using the most vulnerable to escape punishment for their crimes. She is literally using medieval law's pleading the belly to escape punishment. Anyone who cares about the plight of women would be demanding she be fed to the lions.

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

atlgator 4y ago

Men get harsher sentences than women for similar crimes. That’s a real thing.