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I don't understand American law. Why isn't Elizabeth Holmes behind bars yet? She's been accused of massive fraud by SEC and yet, she's still serving her role in

I don't understand American law. Why isn't Elizabeth Holmes behind bars yet? She's been accused of massive fraud by SEC and yet, she's still serving her role in Theranos?

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
faramarz 8y ago
I beleive it's not in the SEC's mandate/scope to pursue civil cases. They simply enforce Securities laws.
iosDrone 8y ago
The criminal investigation is still underway. I will be shocked if she does not end up in prison.
- lovich 8y ago
  I'll be shocked if she does. When was the last time a CEO went to jail for something they did as part of their business? There is one set of rules for the rich and business owners and one set for everyone else
  - mpd 8y ago
    Martin Shkreli
    - tehlike 8y ago
      He went too far on the direction that disturbed everyone though :)
      - AmericanChopper 8y ago
        He was simply unpopular. I don’t think you could argue he did anything worse than Holmes. But since she was a media darling, and the model female CEO, it’s kinda hard to see her being brought to justice. I’m not defending Shkreli, but it’s not very comforting to see the justice system as a popularity contest.
  - saryant 8y ago
    Enron? Her father did work there after all...
hackcasual 8y ago
https://www.popehat.com/2013/03/18/is-anyone-down-update-the-wheels-grind-slowly-but-they-grind/ https://www.popehat.com/2013/03/18/is-anyone-down-update-the... tl;dr Especially at the Federal level, cases can take a very long time, but they do happen.
- existencebox 8y ago
  Is this a great example? I tried to google around to see what the postmortem was on the founders discussed in that article, and it seems like _not only_ was the punishment a slap on the wrist, and no larger sentencing arose (at least per my brief search, feel free to correct me, I'd regain some faith in humanity if I were wrong). Not only that, but the more vocal of the two founders is now running for a senate seat. If anything you seem to be supporting the unfortunate conclusion that there _is_ no real recompense. I tend to agree with the OP, even as an american, the structure of the law seems unequivocally built to support those with the power to navigate it. Bernie Madoff was the exception, not the rule, and by his own words, even this may not be the level of punishment one might wish (re: imprisonment) "They call me either Uncle Bernie or Mr. Madoff. I can't walk anywhere without someone shouting their greetings and encouragement, to keep my spirit up. It's really quite sweet, how concerned everyone is about my well being, including the staff […] It's much safer here than walking the streets of New York."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff#cite_note-134 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff#cite_note-134
gautamdivgi 8y ago
Because you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The SEC is not a court of law.
astura 8y ago
The SEC doesn't have the power to jail people or bring about criminal charges, they only enforce securities law, and have the right to levy punishment related to violations in securities law. Criminal charges are brought about by the Dept of Justice. The burden of proof for criminal cases is much higher so it takes more time to do the investigation and prepare the case. You also only get one shot at criminal charges - if you bring about a case that's too flimsy and the defendant is found not guilty in court they can't be tried again for the same crime no matter how much rock solid evidence is found later. As far as I am aware, the criminal investigation is still ongoing. The SEC can report their findings to the DoJ to assist with criminal cases.

I don't understand American law. Why isn't Elizabeth Holmes behind bars yet? She's been accused of massive fraud by SEC and yet, she's still serving her role in Theranos?

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

faramarz 8y ago

I beleive it's not in the SEC's mandate/scope to pursue civil cases. They simply enforce Securities laws.

iosDrone 8y ago

The criminal investigation is still underway. I will be shocked if she does not end up in prison.

lovich 8y ago
I'll be shocked if she does. When was the last time a CEO went to jail for something they did as part of their business? There is one set of rules for the rich and business owners and one set for everyone else
- mpd 8y ago
  Martin Shkreli
  - tehlike 8y ago
    He went too far on the direction that disturbed everyone though :)
    - AmericanChopper 8y ago
      He was simply unpopular. I don’t think you could argue he did anything worse than Holmes. But since she was a media darling, and the model female CEO, it’s kinda hard to see her being brought to justice. I’m not defending Shkreli, but it’s not very comforting to see the justice system as a popularity contest.
- saryant 8y ago
  Enron? Her father did work there after all...

hackcasual 8y ago

https://www.popehat.com/2013/03/18/is-anyone-down-update-the-wheels-grind-slowly-but-they-grind/ https://www.popehat.com/2013/03/18/is-anyone-down-update-the... tl;dr Especially at the Federal level, cases can take a very long time, but they do happen.

existencebox 8y ago
Is this a great example? I tried to google around to see what the postmortem was on the founders discussed in that article, and it seems like _not only_ was the punishment a slap on the wrist, and no larger sentencing arose (at least per my brief search, feel free to correct me, I'd regain some faith in humanity if I were wrong). Not only that, but the more vocal of the two founders is now running for a senate seat. If anything you seem to be supporting the unfortunate conclusion that there _is_ no real recompense. I tend to agree with the OP, even as an american, the structure of the law seems unequivocally built to support those with the power to navigate it. Bernie Madoff was the exception, not the rule, and by his own words, even this may not be the level of punishment one might wish (re: imprisonment) "They call me either Uncle Bernie or Mr. Madoff. I can't walk anywhere without someone shouting their greetings and encouragement, to keep my spirit up. It's really quite sweet, how concerned everyone is about my well being, including the staff […] It's much safer here than walking the streets of New York."[0] [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff#cite_note-134 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Madoff#cite_note-134

gautamdivgi 8y ago

Because you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The SEC is not a court of law.

astura 8y ago

The SEC doesn't have the power to jail people or bring about criminal charges, they only enforce securities law, and have the right to levy punishment related to violations in securities law. Criminal charges are brought about by the Dept of Justice. The burden of proof for criminal cases is much higher so it takes more time to do the investigation and prepare the case. You also only get one shot at criminal charges - if you bring about a case that's too flimsy and the defendant is found not guilty in court they can't be tried again for the same crime no matter how much rock solid evidence is found later. As far as I am aware, the criminal investigation is still ongoing. The SEC can report their findings to the DoJ to assist with criminal cases.