They both committed fraud to their investors. I see that Adam Neumann is now wanting to buy WeWork. Why is he not in jail?
In: Technology
> They both committed fraud
I’m not sure it’s been established that he actually committed fraud. He has certainly lied and made exaggerations and been wildly incompetent and taken money that he doesn’t deserve, but fraud has specific legal definitions (depending on the type of fraud and the jurisdiction). Wealthy business people tend to be good at sailing close to the wind without actually crossing the line into fraud. Elizabeth Holmes’ problem was that her central product was built entirely on lies. WeWork wasn’t scientifically impossible, it was just badly conceived and managed.
Basically, it’s the difference between running a casino and sugggesting to your customers that they might be able to make a profit, even though the games are all openly rigged, and running a casino where you tell your customers that they will definitely make a profit even though you have secretly tampered with the slot machines so that they never pay out any money at all.
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