So you look up everybody who you meet irl? I mean the way I'm reading this blog post is that the author had no idea. Personally I don't believe it, that's why I wouldn't accept the apology if I cared about this

>So you look up everybody who you meet irl?

No, but if I'm trying to get someone to give me money for a project, invite them to my lab, and visit "several of their residences" I would definitely look them up

If you're receiving large donations from someone and allowing them to invest in your fund then yes, you absolutely spend some time looking into them.