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In June, investor Nate Paul, once considered a “real estate genius,” indicted Eight felony counts of allegedly making false statements on loan applications ultimately led banks to loan more than $170 million to investors.according to prosecutionIn one application, Paul claimed to have an account with $31.6 million in cash, when in fact the account in question held less than $500,000. Paul’s alleged violations occurred between March 2017 and April 2018.
In 2017, Paul was named to Forbes magazine’s popular “30 Under 30” list. This list pays tribute to those who have made remarkable strides in the business world before turning 31. But his recent indictment is not a one-off situation in which a businessman turned out to be a possible fraudster.
Paul has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is awaiting trial, but joined the infamous group of ’30 Under 30′ winners who were hailed for their early success before authorities discovered an illegal shortcut to get them there.
Since 2011, the magazine has used the list annually to celebrate and recognize entrepreneurs who have excelled in their respective fields early in their careers. The company thoroughly scrutinizes approximately 100,000 candidates each year.The Guardian’s Betsy Reid Note“The problem here isn’t Forbes. The problem is the vision of success we’ve been sold and the fetishization of youth. Under 30 isn’t just a list, it’s a mentality. The pressure to achieve great things before youth fades from you.”
So the next time you’re feeling discouraged that you haven’t reached your goals by a certain age, think of those entrepreneur-turned-felons who were once celebrated for their early achievements. And what of those achievements? None of this was possible without cutting corners and crossing legal lines.
Sam Bankman Freed
Sam Bankman-Fried, Founder of Cryptocurrency Exchanges FTX has been named to the 2021 Financial Sector List.
Bankman-Fried founded Alameda Research in 2017, followed by FTX in 2019, which is valued at $32 billion in 2022. But in November of that year, struggling to raise funds and facing a liquidity crisis, FTX filed for bankruptcy, and U.S. prosecutors accused him of fraud. He was arrested in the Bahamas in December 2022 and charged with deceiving investors with a scheme that led to bankruptcy of the company.
In February, four more charges were added for conspiring to make more than 300 illegal political contributions. Bankman-Fried is currently out on bail, living in his parents’ home, awaiting trial (scheduled for October).
RELATED: Who Is FTX Founder Sam Bankman-Fried And What Did He Do? Everything You Need To Know About The Disgraced Crypto King
Elizabeth Holmes
In 2003, Elizabeth Holmes founded Theranos, a company that promises revolutionary blood-testing technology, and was once hailed as the world’s “youngest self-made female billionaire.” The company has attracted the attention of high-profile investors and companies, many of whom had never even seen the technology before investing, and attracted partnerships with well-known brands such as Safeway and Walgreens.
Holmes was never officially on the “30 Under 30” list, but headlined the 2015 Under 30 Summit. accepted She received an “Under 30 Doers Award” for her work in the healthcare industry and the potential impact of her company’s technology.
But just weeks after winning the performer award, Holmes became the subject of an investigation. wall street journal, raising questions about the legitimacy of her technology. What happened after that was nothing but one accident after another. Failed lab tests, a slew of lawsuits, and let’s not forget the drop in net worth from $4.5 billion to $0 in 2016.
Finally, in 2018, the technology didn’t work at all, the company went bankrupt, and Holmes was indicted by the SEC for “mass fraud” for deliberately misleading investors and the public.
Elizabeth Holmes speaking at the 2015 Fortune Global Forum in San Francisco, California, 2015. David Paul Morris | Getty Images.
After nearly a year’s delay due to the pandemic, Holmes’ trial began in 2021 and was ultimately convicted in 2022 of four counts of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in prison. After his request for retrial was denied in November 2022, Mr. Holmes began his sentence in May 2023. All the while Mr. Holmes has maintained his innocence. She is currently serving time in a prison in Bryan, Texas.
Holmes’ deception story has been widely covered in the media, including a 2019 HBO documentary. inventor, 2022 Hulu miniseries, Drop out (Amanda Seyfried won an Emmy for playing the disgraced founder in this production).
RELATED: I worked side by side with Elizabeth Holmes. She seemed prescient, but we were all fooled. And it is comforting to see justice done.
Charlie Javis
Charlie Javis, known for his college-based financial planning startup Frank, was indicted in May 2023 on wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy charges.Javis’ The center of allegations of crime Exaggerated the value of her startup during its acquisition by JPMorgan Chase In 2021.
Javis was named to the financial sector’s list in 2019 after founding Frank, a company aimed at helping students apply for loans more efficiently.
Prosecutors allege she deceived the bank by falsifying data and inflating Frank’s customer numbers. Ms. Javis reportedly asked her engineering director to create fake data, but when he refused, she hired a data scientist to generate a spreadsheet containing millions of fake user accounts for the $175 million acquisition that eventually led to JP Morgan buying the app.
However, in November 2022, an internal investigation led to her being fired and subsequently arrested in April. In January 2023, JP Morgan sued Javis for defrauding her company. Javis is currently facing charges of securities fraud, wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy. She is currently out on bail and continues to maintain her innocence.
Martin Skrekli
Martin Shkreli was named to the Finance Department list in 2012. At the time, he was recognized for his work as a hedge fund manager and entrepreneur. Shkreli was noted for his success in the biotechnology industry, particularly his involvement with the pharmaceutical company Retrofin, which he founded.
Shkreli has since co-founded several hedge funds and pharmaceutical companies. Turing Pharmaceuticals notoriously bought Daraprim, a life-saving antiparasitic and antimalarial drug, and increased its price by 5,455% in 2015. The move earned Shkreli, then known as “Pharma Bro,” another title: “America’s Most Hated Man.”
He was arrested in December 2015 on securities fraud and conspiracy charges. The charges stem from his involvement with Retrofin and two other hedge funds, MSMB Capital Management and MSMB Healthcare.
Shkreli was accused of mismanaging funds, using his company’s assets to pay off another company’s debt, and defrauding investors. The charges included a plan to illegally use Retrofin’s assets to repay loss-making investors in hedge funds.
peter foleygetty images
In 2017, he was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to seven years in prison and a large fine.
Shkreli was released from prison in 2022 (about four months early), is currently consulting at a law firm, and lives with his sister in Queens, New York, according to the U.S. Probation Service.
RELATED: Where Is ‘America’s Most Hated Man’ Drug Firm Martin Shkreli Now?
Shkreli also gained notoriety when he bought the only copy of Wu-Tang Clan’s album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin at auction for $2 million in 2015. Fans and music industry veterans have criticized the lack of access to such a culturally significant work, compounded by Shkreli’s decision to keep it as a prized collectible with no plans for public release.
Upon his conviction, the album (along with his other assets) was seized by the government and eventually Available in 2021 As part of the forfeiture process. The sale of the album completes Shkreli’s payment of the forfeited money, and the buyer and price remain secret.
Obinwan Okeke
A Nigerian-born entrepreneur, Obinwane Okeke was revered for his achievements in construction, agriculture and real estate. But in 2021, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for being involved in a computer-based fraud scheme that cost victims about $11 million.
Okeke, who ran a group of companies that included the Invictus Group, which was at the center of Okeke’s 2016 “30 Under 30” title, eventually committed various computer-based frauds between 2015 and 2019.
Okeke’s plan included obtaining credentials from hundreds of victims and conducting an “email compromise.” Okeke and his co-conspirators transferred nearly $11 million abroad through fraudulent wire requests and fake invoices. Okeke has also carried out other forms of cyber fraud, including phishing emails and creating fraudulent web pages for him. Okeke is currently in prison and is expected to be released in 2028.