However, there's a consideration - if I somehow steal $1m from Elon, it materially doesn't affect him that much at all. But if I steal $5k from a McDonald's employee, it could ruin them.
“The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal loaves of bread.” -Anatole France
She didn't incinerate the money, she spent it, it went somewhere else. It went to workers and other companies.
Now maybe that money could have been spent to commission 300 workers to make great things. Maybe it would have gone to pump up the S&P 500 or some shitcoin.
The problem is that she used false pretexts to get and spend the money.
It’s what it was directed to accomplish, and if that activity produced something of equivalent value (or more) on it’s journey to that state, or dissipated into heat and noise.
Near as I can tell, Theranos was at least 99% heat and noise.
Or in other words, if a rich person is defrauded and they still have enough money to live a life of lavish luxury, was a crime still committed?
Penalties for misrepresenting your company help ensure that society devotes resources towards actually good ideas.
> Penalties for misrepresenting your company help ensure that society devotes resources towards actually good ideas.
I agree with this in theory but I think fines and a ban from working in certain industries or founding companies is probably enough, not a decade in prison.
I don't think it was common knowledge that theranos was a scam in the medical industry until relatively late.
Near as I can tell, a decade is light
A typical median families income was approx. $70k in 2021. That covers multiple people, and in general across the US is enough to pay for housing, schooling, medical care, etc.
A lifetime of that (inflation adjusted) is usually enough for someone to retire somewhere.
If you take the 48 years from 18 to social security retirement age of 66, that would make a median lifetimes earnings $3,360,000 in 2021 dollars.
Holmes got nearly $1bln from investors in the Theranos mess, which is 297 lifetimes worth of median earnings, which considering that directly maps to someone (or multiple someones) working hard for that time, can be consider ‘life’s works’.
She was convicted of fraud on at least $140 million of wire transfers out of that, or ‘only’ 41 life’s works.
While 11 years is a long time, the destruction of value done is nothing to scoff at.
With decent leadership, 300 people working for their entire lives could accomplish a lot of great things.
Of course, it could also be blown on crypto scams and lambos. It’s not a perfect comparison.