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VC-backed startups commit more fraud, and researchers think they know why
2 months ago
- A report from Imperial College and Emlyon Business School maps how Silicon Valley's VC-backed founders commit fraud and the role investors play.
- Researchers built a database of tech founders and companies prosecuted for securities fraud by the SEC and DOJ from 2000 to 2023, including cases like Charlie Javice, Do Kwon, and others.
- Fraud is more normalized in startups than acknowledged, often driven by investor pressure for extreme growth, especially in overheated markets like the current AI boom.
- The study identifies three stages of dishonesty: surface façading (lying about success), reinforced façading (creating fake evidence), and deep façading (building parallel realities with fake demos).
- Investors co-create fraud by continuing to back founders previously accused of fraud, normalizing misconduct, and founder-controlled boards double the likelihood of fraud.
- VC-backed startups that go public face securities class-action lawsuits more often than private equity-backed ones, and staying private longer reduces scrutiny.
- The report recommends routine SEC audits after a large investment threshold and holding investors accountable for pushing unrealistic growth expectations.
The Hair-Dryer Incident Is Just the Start
2 months ago
- A person manipulated a temperature sensor at a Paris airport using a hair dryer (or similar device) to win about $20,000 on Polymarket, sparking police investigation and highlighting a new type of fraud.
- This 'outsider trading'—manipulating physical events to profit on prediction markets—is considered by some experts a bigger threat than insider trading.
- Prediction markets like Polymarket and Kalshi face challenges with markets that are easy to rig, such as those based on single data points or simple outcomes.
- Examples of potential manipulation include Spotify streaming charts, Rotten Tomatoes scores, and even markets on health events like screwworm cases.
- Platforms could mitigate risks by limiting bet sizes, monitoring for suspicious trading patterns, and aggregating data from multiple sources.
- The platforms' marketing stunts, like staged viral chants, blur the line between reflecting reality and creating it, raising questions about their role as 'truth machines.'
Minnesota daycare owner pleads guilty to 2 fraud charges
2 months ago
- Daycare owner Fahima Mahamud pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
- She was accused of misappropriating over $850,000 meant for child nutrition during the pandemic, using it to buy real estate.
- Mahamud also filed separate claims for approximately $4.6 million from the federal Child Care Assistance Program.
- She booked a flight to London after closing her daycare, with a sentencing date pending.
- The fraud is part of the larger Feeding Our Future scheme, whose ringleader was sentenced to over 41 years in prison.
- Dozens have been convicted in what prosecutors call the country's largest pandemic fraud case.
Felons, Fraudsters Flog Offensive Cybersecurity Startup
2 months ago
- IRIS C2 is a cybersecurity startup offering millions to buy zero-day exploits, run by far-right conspiracy theorists and convicted felons Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman.
- Wohl and Burkman have a history of fake intelligence companies, robocall schemes, and fraud, including spreading false claims about politicians and facing multiple felony charges.
- IRIS C2 claims to hire junior engineers for offensive cybersecurity, targeting government contracts, but lacks transparency and has ties to their deceptive past ventures like LobbyMatic.
- The company's operations are linked to Calvexa Group LLC, with no clear government contracts, and Wohl admits no formal cybersecurity training while boasting about technical expertise.
- Critics and reports expose Wohl and Burkman as charlatans, with concerns about their credibility, funding, and potential harm, despite their claims of regular vulnerability acquisitions.

fraud

VC-backed startups commit more fraud, and researchers think they know why

The Hair-Dryer Incident Is Just the Start

Minnesota daycare owner pleads guilty to 2 fraud charges

Felons, Fraudsters Flog Offensive Cybersecurity Startup