
How Startups and a Government Agency Were Fooled by a Convicted Thief - iSimone
http://muckraker.me/2012/01/03/the-masked-vc-how-ni-startups-and-a-government-agency-were-fooled-by-a-conman/
======
Terretta
It's odd the author and the James written about both misuse "weary" for
"wary", and the place James supposedly misuses it is in quotes. That makes me
question the author's understanding of quotes.

It's more interesting the dispute was about alleged failure to disclose when
the relevant paragraph of legalese seems to assess the termination fee for any
reason at all:

"5.4 Should for any reason either party withdraw from the negotiations due to
information that would hinder an investment being discovered by the Investors
_or should the Investors withdraw for any reason after the date of this
letter_ , the Investors shall be entitled to recover..."

"We decided we don't like the deal" is a reason. That phrase "for any reason"
is the proverbial hole you can drive a truck through.

~~~
feralchimp
My heart does go out to this guy, but this is yet another case of "know what
you're signing, or hire a lawyer who will."

The perpetrator in this case happened to be an actual fraudster-in-
sheep's-clothing, but even among friendly business partners, contracts are
drafted for the maximum benefit of the author. If you have any doubt
whatsoever about whether a clause puts you in jeopardy, strike or rewrite it
until you're 100% sure you're not getting fucked.

------
videoappeal
Looks like he trying to clean up incase his parole officer finds out (given
the sentence reduction), anyone know what court originally convicted him in
2007?

------
neilk
Post-YC, startup founders are pretty young. Would you care if a founder had
gotten into legal trouble for a business started before their 18th birthday? I
don't know -- given that YC looks for 'naughtiness' that might even be a
positive.

Just to be clear: I am not talking about myself, or anyone that I personally
know. I know of a case kind of like this, though.

~~~
jacques_chester
Depending on your jurisdiction, it is generally held to be impossible for
persons under the age of majority (usually 18) to enter into contracts for
non-essential items (food, clothes, rent etc).

That's why most contracts are actually made with a _parent_ on behalf of the
child.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_majority>
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capacity_(law)>

(IANAL, TINLA).

