Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison

Re:Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison by vkou on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @08:03PM (#33902734)

Just because you've ripped off Larry Ellison and Henry Kissinger doesn't quite grant you these kinds of globe-trotting powers.

I suppose you could always try to pay a coyote, but, uh, that's a bit of a high-risk play.

Or you could drive into Mexico, but without actually having fuck-you money and connections (These two don't), you're not likely going to stay outside of the arms of law enforcement for very long.

And if all this works out, and you end up on the run, you now have to full-sever every connection you have to anyone you know. Not a lot of fun.

Manning up and just doing the 11 or 13 years in Club Fed seems pretty attractive, compared to all that.

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Re:Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison by Alupis on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @08:17PM (#33902837)

I think we're underestimating just how many very skilled folks are willing to lend a great deal of discretion for the right price.

Just look at the recent Carlos Ghosn[1] situation. Former USASF operators working as Private Security Contractors smuggled him out of the country. The plot involved what appears to be close to a dozen people too, and included falsifying passenger records on multiple international flights and more.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Ghosn

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Re:Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison by johnwalkr on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @11:41PM (#33904239)

Ghosn, a Lebanese/French citizen, used American mercenaries to help him abscond from Japan for Lebanon, with at least an narrative (rightly or wrongly) that he wasn't allowed due process in Japan.

It's probably 2 orders of magnitude harder, in the long-term, to arrange for a high-profile American fugitive to use American mercenaries to abscond to another country.

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Re:Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison by willhslade on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @08:39PM (#33902989)

Yeah, but doesn't Ghosn still, uh, have money? Theranos was a massive fraud.

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Re:Theranos exec Sunny Balwani sentenced to 13 years in prison by Alupis on Wednesday December 07, 2022 @08:48PM (#33903060)

Theranos was a massive fraud, but there was plenty of real money going around. Sunny allegedly still has access to millions, for instance.

It would not be surprising if these sorts of folks squirrelled away vast sums for a "rainy day" in places that make it difficult for governments to get. Seems pretty standard operating procedure for people who are legit - not just fraudsters.

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