So again just to be clear what you're saying. A loan with interest is ok. A loan with zero interest where you might get a chance to have it forgiven if you are a top performer at work, is "incredibly predatory and terrifying?"
And by the way, for a guy selling his house for $3mil, having to give back $100k that he knew he might have to give back, after using it free for almost 2 years, is not "a massive loan." My wife and I spent $80k on refugee aid last year, and I don't have a $3mil house. It was an unplanned expense, but it changed our other spending or lifestyle in zero ways. It just means last year we didn't save as much for retirement as the year before.
People should be held accountable for their own stupidity, and it's not like the company did anything deceptive AFAIU. If an adult doesn't understand what a loan is then that's on them (or their education, but that doesn't absolve their responsibility).